It’s got nothing to do with SF culture , nor a road trip. The OP was parked “for the day”. And as far as parking in front of some stranger’s house, that’s just the reality of living in the city- any city. I don’t even live in SF. When my neighbor’s mother comes to visit for a few days, she’s parked in front of someone’s house. When the teachers arrive at the school up the block from me, they park in front of someone’s house. If you can’t stand the idea of someone parking in front of your house, you need to live somewhere where all the offices and stores and schools have parking lots and where houses have enough driveway/garage space to accommodate the cars of their households and their visitors. In other words, not in a city.
Well, that’s just silly. How do they expect you to move your inconsiderately parked car if your tires are slashed?
Does it make any difference if the “road trip with my buddy” was to do volunteer work at a non-profit organic farm?
The alternatives were: have my friend drive clear across town to pick me up, and again to drop me off; or for me to drive clear across town in the other direction to her house, leave my car there, and then clear across town in the other direction when we returned; or for us to try to meet in the middle. We picked the last choice, which happened to be a residential area with no parking lots. I was planning on parking next to Golden Gate Park, which has all day parking, but unfortunately it was street cleaning there too that day, except the hours were later and it would have made us an hour late. For the volunteer work at the non-profit organic farm.
Next time I reckon I should just sell my car and leave home 90 minutes earlier to get to the meeting place on public transportation, and then hope to get back home again in time for a late dinner (we got back to town at 5:30 pm). I’m sure that would satisfy your tender parking sensibilities
Heh, I just remembered something that happened in my suburban neighborhood a while ago. A strange car parked on my street, and the driver was picked up by another car. A suspicious neighbor called the police. 100% honest here, the police shut down the street, staged the fire department nearby, and brought in bomb-sniffing dogs to investigate the car. It was so suspicious that someone would just park their car on the street and leave (at night even!) that it was deemed to be a possible terrorist threat against our soft target.
So, you’d want a guest to pay $50 to visit?
Yes, it can and does cost $50 to park in some areas in SF. Of course SF hates cars and will anything to fuck with them. Cars are eviiil dontchaknow.:rolleyes:
Ditto. I don’t know how people who live in congested areas don’t know or notice this. I can leave the car parked in front of my house fairly tight between two cars and, over time as other cars move in and out of spaces, I can end up with a half car length in front and in back of me. I would never in my life assume if I see a car taking up two-ish spaces on a full street that it was being a dick unless I actually witnessed it moving into the space,
From your OP:
[QUOTE=Roderick Femm]
First, I know I should just ignore it, and there is small chance I will ever park there again anyway. But I can’t seem to let it go. What parking crime did I commit? There are two choices that occur to me - 1) parking all day in a neighborhood not my own; or 2) possibly I was hogging two car spaces (I didn’t think so but I didn’t go back to check). #2 is a nearly-capital offense in this parking-shy town, while #1 has no merit at all, as far as I’m concerned.
I considered writing something rude on a photocopy of the note and posting it on the nearest light pole, ending with “p.s. I am keeping the original for the police.” But I doubt the effectiveness of such a tactic in reaching the original note-leaver. Or I could park there again, and sit in a friend’s car nearby to see if anything happens.
Would something like this affect you at all? Could you easily ignore it and let it go? Would you park there again, if the occasion warranted it? Or would you want to retaliate in some way (want to, even if no practical way is available)?
[/QUOTE]
The fact that you have to ask some of the questions posed in your OP tells me parking is the least of your concerns. Most rational people don’t have to ask these questions.
Hard-core urban and typical suburban sensibilities are different. Because the situations they face are different. I’ve lived both ways and some intermediate ways as well.
The big difference is that suburban sensibilities aren’t violated very often, and they also carry minimal impact on the person miffed by the “rude” behavior.
The urbanites who think they “own” the space in front of their residence get “violated” every day. They’re wrong in thinking that way, but they persist. I presume because they enjoy the anger.
If anyone here wants a flame war, ask about what happens in the northeast cities after a big snowstorm & folks have shoveled out a hole in the snow along the curb for their car. Folks really think they own that hole, even if they don’t normally think they own the road under it or the curb next to it. There are threads and threads on this.
Agreed, except in one particular case: the person at the beginning of the parking has an obligation to park as close to the beginning of the parking zone as possible. There is a sign on the street in front of my house that marks no parking beyond this sign; if someone leases too much space, but not enough for another car, it’s pretty clear they did so and it screws up the whole block.
Um, the note that started this whole thing? Folks were guessing that maybe the note was about the OP parking too far from a driveway and I was surprised that was inspire such venom. I thought maybe it had to be something worse.
The fact that you posted this thread about this tells me you are WAAAAYYYYYY over internalizing this whole thing. The fact that you admit that you are considering parking there again and hiding to see what reaction you might get, tells me that you need therapy.
Let it go, but I highly doubt you can.
Sounds like a splendid set-up for one of those rather desperate Victorian patter-songs some poor comic might try.
*“Oh, The Remarkable Doings That 'Appened Wen I Left Me ‘Orse An’ Cart On Their Ownsome ( ---- Outside Number 13 Downing Street )”
*
1 - You violated some real or imagined parking rule, of either a statutory or conventional nature, and got hit with nothing other than a rude note. No fine, no physical or even in-person threat.
2 - You don’t park here regularly, and don’t foresee doing so again any time soon.
So just move on with your life.
If you’re plagued with guilt and must know what you did to earn such vitriol, it seems the reason is in your own OP. There is a two hour limit on non-permit parking on that street, intended to benefit residents who both live in the area and pay for the permit. But you, a non-permit bearer, parked there all day. You used a spot that should only be possible for a permit-bearing resident to use, for an extended period of time - and if by “all day” you mean “24 hours” (overnight), that could be a really big inconvenience for someone who’s accustomed to parking on that street with a permit.
The person who left you the note is probably a permitted resident who was forced to park farther (perhaps much farther) away, came back later (far more than 2 hours later) and saw you still there, without a ticket/fine, and left you a nastygram as the only penalty you incurred for breaking local parking rules and inconveniencing him or her.
Taking up 2 spots or not parking flush to the corner is bad form, but not usually nastygram level bad, since as other people have pointed out, it’s quite possible the gaps were left from other people with smaller vehicles pulling out after you’d parked.
Did you actually read the OP?
He makes very clear that, while MOST of the spaces on the street are two-hour spaces that require residential permits to park all day, he found a spot that did NOT have such a restriction.
It’s right there in his very first paragraph:
If I got that note, with its threat of violence and homophobic slurs, I’d drop it off with the SFPD. Obviously, they wouldn’t be able to do anything in this case, but it could be evidence of a pattern if they pick up a tire-slasher in the future. They may already have some idea who’s doing this and might be assembling a file.
How you parked is irrelevant here.
It’s a dick note from a dick person. I once got a death threat from someone who claimed to be “A Good Christian” (yeah because Jesus was all about the anonymous death threats) over a bumper sticker. Shit like this makes me hate people for a few hours, and hate that person forever, and then move on. How could I retaliate? I have absolutely no way of doing so. It’s a cowardly, asinine way to deal with people - stick a note on the car and run away.
You need to move on with your life. It’s simply not that big of a deal.
I got the equivalent of that kind of nastygram once upon a time. Girlfriend of that era had driveway privileges but there was no room for my car to go there also, and parking @ curbside was not permitted for anyone in her little “court” cul-de-sac. One block over in back was a regular residential street with no signs about parking and a big wide safe margin on each side of the road in which to do so, so I started parking there.
Came back to my car 3 days later to find FOUR tickets on my windshield, for bullshit things like allegedly being too close to an intersection and claiming no inspection sticker and no valid registration. Went to court and got all that thrown out.
The next day a police officer hailed me and walked over and said “Can’t you take a hint? The neighborhood association people who live around here don’t want your car here!” I asked if I were in violation of any law and he shrugged and said probably not but that I should nevertheless find somewhere else to park.
Instead — not having any other easy options — I wrote up my own letter, xeroxed it a couple dozen times, and stuck it in every screen door and under every windshield wiper of cars and houses all up and down that street.
Dear Neighborhood Assocation: it has come to my attention that you’d prefer I did not park my old blue Toyota on Maple Street between High and Ridge. If I had someone else to park legally in reasonable walking distance, I’d do so. If you have specific suggestions for where I should park, please feel free to leave a message under my windshield wiper. But I’ve been informed that where I’m parking is legal and that I’m within my rights to park there. I need to park somewhere. Sorry for any inconvenience. (Name and Tel Number and Mailing Address).
No notes and no more police harassment. (Also no vandalism to my car, although anyone contemplating vandalism would have probably decided there was no way to inflict any damage that I’d notice short of running over it with a steamroller).
They’re bullies. And like most bullies they’ll stand down if you stand up, especially if you go all reasonable and cooperative on them.
I would go back to that neighborhood and take a dump on everyones porch. But that’s me.
Seriously people. Stop littering! You are ruining the world.
Yes, yes I would. If you want the privilege of visiting me you park in the damn parking lot. That spot in front of my house is mine.
Well since you know this person well enough to know that they “claim” to be “A Good Christian” then you should know them well enough to retaliate. Or did they “stick a death threat note on your car and run away”. If so then how would you know they “claim” to be “A Good Christian”?
Good for you. They are bullies and needed to be put in there place. Although I would have probably left my email address and social security number as well to make sure they would be able to contact me.