Commuting and Parking
Since beginning my new job in August, I’ve been commuting downtown by bus every day. The commuting itself is convenient and simple, provided I catch one of the two express buses. But parking at the transit center is inceasingly challenging. My local transit center is undergoing a substantial renovation and relocation; once complete in mid-2009, the entire transit facility will be much larger and more modern. But while construction is underway heavy equipment is occupying / tearing up more than half of the parking spaces in the existing lot resulting in a morning dash to find parking. I arrive in the morning before 7:00 AM and it’s not unusual for all of the parking spaces to be full, with the overflow lot being over more than four blocks away.
In order to maximize the capacity of the smaller lot, the parking spaces have been restriped to make them about 1/3 smaller than standard parking spaces. I drive a Toyota Camry and it barely fits within the lines of these spaces. Large trucks and SUVs cover both lines, encroaching on adjacent cars. On several occasions I’ve found myself unable to get slither into my car because the doors can’t be opened.
I’ll be happy to see the new transit center completed. It will be a big improvement just to have a sufficient quantity of regular parking spaces again.