# Why no, I don't really need to be able to get to my car **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 10, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321 "2013-04-10T13:09:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/21 "2013-04-10T19:31:39Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > For 36 hours so they could repair the street, with shuttle service and alternative parking available, to avoid longer delays and more expensive repairs? Sure. It’s not ideal but it may make the most sense. We don’t have enough details to know for sure but it’s not outrageous based on what we do know. I will say the OP was not very clear about the situation, which muddled the comment stream. Certainly for a short-term situation with the described inconveniences, the HOA could have done better. But HOA often slides to HUA… ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/22 "2013-04-10T20:09:14Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Okay, I guess I missed that this is a temporary matter, not a permanent one. As VT put it, what else could they do? go north south one day and allow parking on the east west streets. Then reverse the process the next day. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/23 "2013-04-10T20:53:27Z")
You can walk a mile a few times a year. It’s good for you. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/24 "2013-04-10T21:15:39Z")
What kind of mess is your street that they repave it twice a year? ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/25 "2013-04-10T21:48:27Z")
Pit Fail. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/26 "2013-04-10T22:53:24Z")
How would they provide a shuttle in the middle of the day, if the road is blocked to any traffic? It sounds like the shuttle runs to get people out and in when they are not actually working on the road. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/27 "2013-04-11T01:04:35Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > You can walk a mile a few times a year. It’s good for you. Hm, arthritis in every joint south of my waist, and spinal stenosis. They could pay for my cab fare because I am not walking more than about 30 feet or standing more than 5 minutes on a good body day. [My point is that walking isn’t good for _everybody_] ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/28 "2013-04-11T01:59:32Z")
You’re just not walking hard enough. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/29 "2013-04-11T03:07:11Z")
So at my last dealership the city repaved the street that was the entrance to my service drive. This is a driveway that had 50 customers a day drive in, plus technicians and porters shuttling cars. Needless to say I was very concerned. I went to the foreman and expressed my concern. He worked with me. As a result my drive way was unusable for about 20 minutes one day when they stripped the old surface, and maybe 30 minutes the next day when they laid the new asphalt. Talk to the foreman. Point out your disability and ask him to work with you. Unless they are trenching for a new sewer I don’t see a major problem here. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/30 "2013-04-11T03:54:38Z")
If the main road has parkable space, the others who mentioned it are spot-on. The HOA could get the municipality to allow parking there for a couple days. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/31 "2013-04-11T05:27:27Z")
I’m used to either streets being closed only partially (as several posters have said, work one lane at a time) or, if they’re not wide enough for that, short strips of street being worked on one after another, maybe with traffic reroutings. Whole neighborhoods? That would get the major involved turned into sausages. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/32 "2013-04-11T12:57:03Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > …but really, our HOA is generally not bad. So, what happy chirpy little bluebird flew up YOUR ass and died? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/33 "2013-04-11T14:37:24Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > How would they provide a shuttle in the middle of the day, if the road is blocked to any traffic? It sounds like the shuttle runs to get people out and in when they are not actually working on the road. It pulls over to the side of the main road like a bus would. The work was just being done on our side street (which is a cul-de-sac and has no other way in/out). Walking’s great - but remember you’re doing over a mile to get your car, then another mile after you’re done and need to get back home. That’s most of an hour added onto any trip. On uneven terrain where even the sidewalk is pretty rough (asphalt / tree roots), and if it’s been raining it’s often got underwater places with swampy mud on either side, so your choice is wading, or losing your shoes. And just for fun, maybe it’s nighttime and there are no lights along that stretch of road… Add to that the fact that people might not be _able_ to walk that far (me, about 50% of the time), or might not love the idea of lugging two toddlers and an infant as one of my neighbors would have to do, and you’re dealing with a situation that is flat-out unacceptable. Parking on the main road might not work, as it’s a 4-lane street which sees a lot of “faster than they oughta go” cars zooming through - and no shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/34 "2013-04-11T14:45:06Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > For 36 hours so they could repair the street, with shuttle service and alternative parking available, to avoid longer delays and more expensive repairs? Sure. It’s not ideal but it may make the most sense. We don’t have enough details to know for sure but it’s not outrageous based on what we do know. I absolutely agree - with the note that “shuttle service” was not really available. Not during the times when many people needed it. That is the real problem here. The “twice in 2 years” was another delight: last year’s lockout was because they needed to repaint the fucking curbs in yellow paint because our entire neighborhood is a fire lane. Same deal as this year - out of your house by 6 AM or some such, can’t get back until late morning the following day, “shuttle service” offered when _they_ felt like it. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/35 "2013-04-11T14:59:22Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Hm, arthritis in every joint south of my waist, and spinal stenosis. They could pay for my cab fare because I am not walking more than about 30 feet or standing more than 5 minutes on a good body day. [My point is that walking isn’t good for _everybody_] Yeah, because **friedo** was talking to you and only to you specifically. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/36 "2013-04-11T16:03:06Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > It sounds shitty, but what do you expect them to do instead? > [@Simplicio](#): > > Yea, if they never pave the road, its not going to be much good for driving on eventually anyways. I don’t live in an area with a HOA, but they still have to close the streets for repairs every once and a while. The only difference is that there’s no shuttle set up for us. > > Closing the roads for 36 hours really doesn’t seem that major of a hardship. If your really disabled or something, I’m sure you can talk someone into giving you a ride. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Okay, I guess I missed that this is a temporary matter, not a permanent one. As VT put it, what else could they do? > [@zweisamkeit](#): > > I get the gripe, though I agree it’d be way worse if it was for an extended period of time. It’s only a day and a half? > But if it WERE longer, I’d encourage everyone to still park on their driveways… Then just drive down the front lawns to the end of the street. Then figure a way, through the HOA bylaws, to have the HOA pay for any landscape repairs they squawk about. > [@Telemark](#): > > I originally read this as you had to move your car once every 36 hours and I could see that being a pain. But moving your car for one 36 hour period? Suck it up buttercup. We recently had a snow emergency here that lasted 4 days, with half our on-street parking unavailable. You deal with it. > > Yes, they could run the shuttle for much longer but then you’re paying a lot of money for a few people. Maybe it’s worth it, maybe not. But aside from that what else makes sense for a brief inconvenience? > [@Steophan](#): > > You had to walk for twenty minutes 2 or 3 times, and this is something to complain about? Normal people do that daily. > [@Telemark](#): > > For 36 hours so they could repair the street, with shuttle service and alternative parking available, to avoid longer delays and more expensive repairs? Sure. It’s not ideal but it may make the most sense. We don’t have enough details to know for sure but it’s not outrageous based on what we do know. > [@friedo](#): > > You can walk a mile a few times a year. It’s good for you. > [@panaccione](#): > > Pit Fail. So now we know who on this board is an apologist for tin-pot dictatorships and localized tyranny. All of you are incredibly stupid. You deserve to be given a Singapore-style caning. You embody the worst attributes of humanity. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/37 "2013-04-11T16:30:06Z")
[Well!](http://www.fatwallet.com/static/attachments/251256_anchorman_well_that_escalated_quickly_966.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/38 "2013-04-11T16:41:24Z")
I agree, it’s an inconvenience. In my city, there is a parking ban on the streets from December 1st-March 15th every winter, from midnight to 6AM, regardless of the weather. I found a nearby business that let me use their lot in the evenings, but I had to move my car by 8AM every morning. So, for seven days a week this winter I had to park a half mile away, and I had to get up first thing in the morning every day and walk out to my car and move it. I am assuming that you knew about the street closure in advance, so you could make necessary arrangements? Yes, an inconvenience, but hardly worth wasting the energy to get angry about. Heck, the HOA is even paying for a shuttle to run for four hours of the day. To borrow the language from the OP: You knew you had a doctor’s appointment, and you knew the street was going to be closed, and you knew that you were physically unable to walk to your car, and you didn’t find someone to help you, or call a cab, or re-schedule? Too fucking bad. You are going to lose your job because you can’t park next to your house for a day and a half? Too fucking bad. I mean, road/utility work has to get done. If they’re able to accomplish what they need to in four days over a 1 year period, and you get notice as to when that’s going to happen, I’d just count your blessings. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/39 "2013-04-11T17:03:06Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > So now we know who on this board is an apologist for tin-pot dictatorships and localized tyranny. > > All of you are incredibly stupid. You deserve to be given a Singapore-style caning. You embody the worst attributes of humanity. Well, isn’t that special. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321/40 "2013-04-11T17:24:33Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > So now we know who on this board is an apologist for tin-pot dictatorships and localized tyranny. > > All of you are incredibly stupid. You deserve to be given a Singapore-style caning. You embody the worst attributes of humanity. All this because we realise roads sometimes need mending, and that walking isn’t (for most people) actually a big deal? Dude, get help. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-i-dont-really-need-to-be-able-to-get-to-my-car/655321.md?page=3)