AARoads Forum

Driving in various parking garages, I'll watch people drive real slow, and appear where anytime there may be an open spot, immediately stop to try to fit in it, no matter how tight it is.  Others, like me, tend to loop around finding a spot near the elevator.  If I can, I'll keep an eye on the downslopes, and if traffic starts to thin out, switch to the exiting ramps and park near the elevator there.

I don't know why people call ramps "garages"

I always try to find a spot at the far end furthest away from the entrance to avoid anyone parking alongside and denting my car. This applies to all parking lots. I find it's laziness which causes cars to cluster nearest the store, elevator, stairs. No one wants to spend an additional 30 seconds walking to where they want to go.

Usually the first spot available near my exit point.  However, I'm not picky.  If I have to park in a big garage, then I already know there's a possibility I have to walk a bit to reach my destination.  It's also a priority that I park in a spot that's easy to find again when I return–near a sign, pillar, or stairwell.

It depends on the specific garage, but in general, I try to use whatever insider knowledge I have and head directly to the section of the garage gives me the best combination of a fast, painless route to the parking space itself plus a quick walk to my ultimate destination.

For example, Tampa International Airport's long-term parking garage has a pedestrian walkway to the terminal on Level 2, but since most people seem to default to finding a parking space on the lowest possible level, I would have a tough time finding an open space on Level 2

On the other hand, there's a very lightly used monorail to the terminal that departs from Level 5. So I just scurry straight up the ramps to Level 5, take an open parking space, and I'm on my way.

As an aside–I appreciate the garages that have electronic displays showing the number of open spaces on each level and green and red lights over the spaces showing which are available or taken. In the aggregate, I have to imagine that a tremendous amount of fuel is wasted by people futilely  hunting for that one last open space, and these electronic monitoring systems would help reduce that amount dramatically if used more widely.

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 10:33:39 AM
I don't know why people call ramps "garages"

I first heard that term when I was in Minneapolis.  Oddly enough, it was a single level basement garage for a hotel...the only ramp was the incline to and from the street.

Quote from: briantroutman on February 21, 2017, 10:56:32 AM
...As an aside –I appreciate the garages that have electronic displays showing the number of open spaces on each level and green and red lights over the spaces showing which are available or taken.

I was in a new garage recently that has overhead lights over the spaces.  I was on the ground level which offered 2 hour free parking.  Red indicates the spot is taken.  Green indicates the spot is open...OR...the car has been parked there more than 2 hours.  Good idea in theory, although you would think they could figure out another color or code to indicate when a car has been there too long.

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 10:33:39 AM
I don't know why people call ramps "garages"

Funny, and here I thought the term was parking deck, or parkade if in Canada.

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 10:33:39 AM
I don't know why people call ramps "garages"

A parking garage has multiple ramps. You can park on the ramp in the garage, but why park on just the ramp?
"Parking deck" I like better. "Parkade" is just silly. Don't the Brits use that term as well?

There is certainly a weird psychology going on in garages. Even when you put floor space availability on a sign, people will wait for a spot in front of them to open up, no matter how much it backs up traffic. There's a mall in San Jose where the traffic is typically backed up out into the street due to people waiting for people to get in their cars and back out of a spot.
And what's the deal with absolute refusal to park on the roof? I love parking on the roof if it's not crazy hot out. Maybe there are more vampires out there than I thought? Or maybe others like exhaust fumes and echo-y car noises more than I do.

Quote from: Brandon on February 21, 2017, 11:11:15 AM

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 10:33:39 AM
I don't know why people call ramps "garages"

Funny, and here I thought the term was parking deck, or parkade if in Canada.

Is parking ramp some kind of a regionalism?

Throughout my life, I've always referred to (and heard others refer to) any enclosed structure in which vehicles are parked as a garage–whether it be single-level or multi-level, attached to a building or freestanding, have flat floors with corkscrew ramps between or continuously inclined floors and no definite "levels"  (basically one long rectangular ramp–which I assume is the parking ramp mentioned).

I'm also familiar with parking deck, although I tend to associate that term more with a garage that is inside of or attached to a building in an urban setting. But even in the case of a detached suburban or rural garage, someone could say "My car's in the parking deck,"  and I wouldn't flinch.

As for me, I don't park in garage often enough to develop any insider knowledge of the system. Maybe few times a year, almost always out of town, and rarely twice in the same one. So most time it is first available spot - dealing with unfamiliar, usually high traffic area, leads to "park anywhere and get out!" approach.

Quote from: coatimundi on February 21, 2017, 11:22:45 AM

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 10:33:39 AM
I don't know why people call ramps "garages"

A parking garage has multiple ramps. You can park on the ramp in the garage, but why park on just the ramp?
"Parking deck" I like better. "Parkade" is just silly. Don't the Brits use that term as well?

It's a ramp when it has multiple levels.

I have sort of a hierarchy of spaces I'll use, unless my father happens to be with me because he has a handicapped pass due to balance issues he's had since he had a mild stroke some years back.

First priority is that I try to avoid any space that requires me to leave my key. I also hate valet parking and will never use it if I have any choice in the matter.

Second priority is that if possible I prefer a space where I would not be blocked in by stack parking if I need to leave earlier than the end of the work day. A lot of downtown DC garages have stacked spaces where you park and then there's another space directly behind you and they park another car there. You then have to find the attendant to move that car if you need to get out prior to the end of the work day (at which point the attendants usually move all the cars around so nobody's blocked in).

Third priority is that I prefer a space next to a pillar or a wall so my car can only get hit from one side, especially if the garage has a lot of back-in parkers who aren't good at backing in. That sort of thing seems to be common here–people see other people have parked backwards and even though they're afraid of hitting the wall or are apparently unable to back in straight, they try to back in anyway and you get vehicles at weird cockeyed angles or sticking out into the aisle or whatever.

Fourth priority is if I'm familiar with the garage and there are particular spaces I know to avoid because they're hard to get out of due to the location or things like that (example might be if there's a poorly-placed pillar).

Once those things are taken into account, the next consideration is a practical one: What is the payment system? The downtown garage I currently use most often (at my wife's office) is a "pay station"  garage where you pay at the machine before you drive to the exit. That particular garage gives you ten minutes to exit after you've paid. One of the two exits is also very close to a Metrorail station and thus it can take a while to get out that way due to the heavy pedestrian traffic (I tend to opt for the other exit for this reason). Because of these considerations, in that garage I'll try to find a space near one of the pay stations if it's feasible to do so. If I have to park far from the pay station, sometimes I'll retrieve the car before paying and then stop at the pay station on the way out.

I also consider things like traffic flow. The garage where we park for hockey games has multiple directions of traffic that all funnel into a single spiral exit ramp, and in that garage I try to park as close to that funnel point as I can because otherwise it can take forever at the various other intersections as everyone has to take turns. At least people do take turns in there.

---

I think "parking ramp" is a regionalism. I've never heard it used outside Minnesota to refer to a garage. I've heard the Brits refer to parking garages as "multi-storey car parks."

At the building where I used to work from 2000 to 2008, I would often park "on the ramp," literally meaning I parallel parked on the side of the ramp between levels, if I had to do so to avoid leaving my keys.

I often find myself parking on the first floor of my local garage, but in other garages I'll have to make my way up a few floors before finding a spot.

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 21, 2017, 12:16:03 PM
First priority is that I try to avoid any space that requires me to leave my key.

At one San Francisco garage where I had to leave my key–not because it was valet situation, but because the garage was one of those labyrinths that the management trusts only employees to navigate–I got my car back enveloped in the distinct aroma of burning clutch.

At the parking garage near Ed Debevic's in Chicago, I once paid the attendant upon entry, then several yards farther in encountered a ticket machine.  Apparently, the garage did not employ any attendants.   :eyebrow:

Quote from: kphoger on February 21, 2017, 01:07:03 PM
At the parking garage near Ed Debevic's in Chicago, I once paid the attendant upon entry, then several yards farther in encountered a ticket machine.  Apparently, the garage did not employ any attendants.   :eyebrow:

Heh.  In Portland, OR, you find people who just wear a reflective vest and carry a flashlight on busy weekends, parking people into free parking spaces on the street and then charging them $5 or so.

It depends on what/how long I'm parking for. If it's for a concert or something else with a large draw/large number of people that will be leaving at about the same time, I'll park higher up/further away to make it easier to get into the exit queue. Anything else, I'll usually take the first full-sized stall I come across. If I know there are storms in the forecast, I'll avoid parking below grade. I won't even enter a ramp with valet service.

If I'm wandering around a city and don't see any street parking, I will try and find a "garage" or a "parkade".

Looking for a spot, if it's a multi-story deal, I'll just go straight to the top, regardless if there's a sky bridge or something.

UNLESS I'm at work. I'm a valet by day, and in those cases, I always go for the first spot, unless it's a larger car. Those have to go in the non-compact spots (otherwise I can't open the door).

If I'm going to a concert, I don't drive because I don't wanna sit in traffic (nor pay for parking). I take the bus or train, or an uber if I don't think the traffic will be too bad.

A garage is where you take your car to be repaired.

Or is that the "fillin station"?

I always find them difficult to back out of spaces in.  Usually I'll go to the highest or lowest level simply because there is usually less people.  I like to find a space that doesn't have another spot on least one side, no issues walking for me.

Incidentally a little inside tip for anyone on a trip to Key West.  The city actually has unadvertised parking at the western end of Southard Street past Truman Annex at the old Naval Sub docks.  All you have to do is drive though the faux gate (they really are there to answer questions) and park at the west end of Southard in the lot.  Sure beats paying $8 dollars an hour or the daily maximum at the parking garages. 

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 02:48:30 PM
A garage is where you take your car to be repaired.

Or is that the "fillin station"?

A car repair place is a "service center" up here. "Garage" has several meanings, but it's usually a covered parking area.

FWIW, very few gas stations have service centers here. I don't know of any near me.

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 02:48:30 PM
A garage is where you take your car to be repaired.

Or is that the "fillin station"?

If a "garage" is an auto repair shop (or just "repair shop" when in the context of cars), then what is a garage in a house?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXJkLBj6G1k

I stayed at a hotel in Reno a few months ago that was valet-only because the ramps in their garage were too narrow for two cars. I went up without realizing this (there was a sign when you come in, but to hell with signs) and the valet chased me down. I just parked on the street.

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 02:48:30 PM
A garage is where you take your car to be repaired.

Or is that the "fillin station"?

Quotega·rage   /ɡəˈräZH,ɡəˈräj/
noun: garage; plural noun: garages
1. a building or shed for housing a motor vehicle or vehicles.

You get your car repaired at a repair shop or a service center. While you can repair your car in the garage, a garage is primarily for storage, IMO.

I know of independent repair facilities that have garage in their name–such as "Ralph's Garage" , but most people I know don't generically refer to auto repair shops as garages. I'd more likely hear someone use the name of the business: "My car's at Ralph's again–starter motor went bad."

Colloquially, instead of in the garage, I more often hear the phrase in the shop (or at the dealer if that's the case) when someone's car is being repaired. Out of context, if I was at someone's house and he told me that his car was in the garage, I'd probably think it was parked in that room with the big roll-up door that's attached to his house.

As to gas stations with repair bays, I would call them service stations. With all due respect to Gomer Pyle, my understanding is that a filling station is a place to do just that–fill your fuel tank (i.e. no repair facilities or convenience store). Like the curbside pumps of the '20s.

For actually automotive repair centers I've mostly heard them referred to as a "shop."   It seems to me that a long time ago a lot of corner automotive shops would use the phrase "garage" somewhere in the title of the business.  I think that lots modern automotive businesses tend to associate the term "garage" negatively since it has that tinge of 1950s/1960s Mom & Pop speak to it.

What about "Parking Deck" instead of "garage?"   I've heard that one fairly regularly over the years.

Quote from: DaBigE on February 21, 2017, 03:21:50 PM

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 02:48:30 PM
A garage is where you take your car to be repaired.

Or is that the "fillin station"?

Quotega·rage   /ɡəˈräZH,ɡəˈräj/
noun: garage; plural noun: garages
1. a building or shed for housing a motor vehicle or vehicles.

You get your car repaired at a repair shop or a service center. While you can repair your car in the garage, a garage is primarily for storage, IMO.

My mechanic houses my motor vehicle in the service center building (sometimes overnight) while working on it.  This makes it a garage.

Quote from: kphoger on February 21, 2017, 03:49:33 PM
My mechanic houses my motor vehicle in the service center building (sometimes overnight) while working on it.  This makes it a garage.

Anything that can house a motor vehicle for any period of time is a "garage". Places that serve more than just that purpose, however, are usually referred to by a more specific name, such as a service center.

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 21, 2017, 03:43:24 PM
What about "Parking Deck" instead of "garage?"   I've heard that one fairly regularly over the years.

Might be a Southwest thing. I've literally never heard that term. Also, never heard the term "ramp" to describe anything other than an incline between two levels.

^^^^

Actually I think the "deck" term was mostly a southeast thing.  Seemed like it was common slang in Florida, Georiga, and the Carolinas.  I've lived so many places I forget what came from where sometimes.

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 21, 2017, 04:06:28 PM
Actually I think the "deck" term was mostly a southeast thing.  Seemed like it was common slang in Florida, Georiga, and the Carolinas.  I've lived so many places I forget what came from where sometimes.

I was assuming southwest because that's where you live (AFAIK). You said you've heard the term fairly regularly.

Quote from: jakeroot on February 21, 2017, 04:11:57 PM

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 21, 2017, 04:06:28 PM
Actually I think the "deck" term was mostly a southeast thing.  Seemed like it was common slang in Florida, Georiga, and the Carolinas.  I've lived so many places I forget what came from where sometimes.

I was assuming southwest because that's where you live (AFAIK). You said you've heard the term fairly regularly.

Yeah that's true but when I ran it through Yahoo most of the articles or pages with the term were in the Southeast.  I was in Florida for a long time and still visit regularly, I guess living there rubbed off.  I still catch myself saying "y'all" from working in Texas for a couple years even...weird how that happens.

Incidentally what the hell ever happened to California Slang?  I never have once heard someone say "gromet" or "hella" in three stints living/working here. 

Back to the original question....

It depends on how crowded the garage is.   If it seems to be at or near capacity, I take the first available spot.   If it seems more open, I'll look for a space that does not have another space next to it, and/or one near the steps/elevator.

The Oxford dictionary has an entry for garage has a service station which performs repairs, probably because covered locations were best for repairs. I think it's just old-fashioned usage...the earliest repair shops for automobiles were usually just gas stations. Dealerships didn't always sell used cars (at first), the garages and petrol stations did it, because there was limited profitability. 

Garage and "Deck" I've encountered - but to me, "Ramp" just sounds like the incline from one level to another. I'm in British Columbia this week, and they call the multi-level parking facility a "parking garage", so "parkade" must be regional.

I try to avoid the spot right next to an incline or backs right  into it. And I'll back into my spot whenever possible, since visibility is terrible, the passages are usually narrow, awareness is limited in unfamiliar places for most drivers.

I was driving a decently-tall rental is SUV into MSP's garage, and this gave me a good scare!

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8084%2F29844826525_a377f7fe06_b.jpg&hash=c5efd513a30eebead3d9a1fef3e26084635ea81e)

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 21, 2017, 04:18:43 PM

Quote from: jakeroot on February 21, 2017, 04:11:57 PM

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 21, 2017, 04:06:28 PM
Actually I think the "deck" term was mostly a southeast thing.  Seemed like it was common slang in Florida, Georiga, and the Carolinas.  I've lived so many places I forget what came from where sometimes.

I was assuming southwest because that's where you live (AFAIK). You said you've heard the term fairly regularly.

Yeah that's true but when I ran it through Yahoo most of the articles or pages with the term were in the Southeast.  I was in Florida for a long time and still visit regularly, I guess living there rubbed off.  I still catch myself saying "y'all" from working in Texas for a couple years even...weird how that happens.

Incidentally what the hell ever happened to California Slang?  I never have once heard someone say "gromet" or "hella" in three stints living/working here. 

Or "wicked" :P

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 04:31:45 PM

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 21, 2017, 04:18:43 PM

Quote from: jakeroot on February 21, 2017, 04:11:57 PM

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 21, 2017, 04:06:28 PM
Actually I think the "deck" term was mostly a southeast thing.  Seemed like it was common slang in Florida, Georiga, and the Carolinas.  I've lived so many places I forget what came from where sometimes.

I was assuming southwest because that's where you live (AFAIK). You said you've heard the term fairly regularly.

Yeah that's true but when I ran it through Yahoo most of the articles or pages with the term were in the Southeast.  I was in Florida for a long time and still visit regularly, I guess living there rubbed off.  I still catch myself saying "y'all" from working in Texas for a couple years even...weird how that happens.

Incidentally what the hell ever happened to California Slang?  I never have once heard someone say "gromet" or "hella" in three stints living/working here. 

Or "wicked" :P

See I always thought that was more 80s/early 90s slang akin to something like "rad" or anything the Ninja Turles said in the cartoons.

I'm just going to start calling them "parking service centers" and see if it catches on.
Though they're not as common in the US, it would be nice to have a different term for a garage that features the parking-vators.

Quote from: formulanone on February 21, 2017, 04:27:02 PM
I was driving a decently-tall rental is SUV into MSP's garage, and this gave me a good scare!

I didn't see the "MSP" right away and was trying to guess the airport because I knew I had been there before.
IAH & PHX have similar deals. Better to catch the height failure on something that has some give and in a place where you can more easily back up and get around it. I saw a lifted truck hit one of those one time, and the staff all ran out to chase him before he got too far into the garage.

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 21, 2017, 04:34:22 PM

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 04:31:45 PM
Or "wicked" :P

See I always thought that was more 80s/early 90s slang akin to something like "rad" or anything the Ninja Turles said in the cartoons.

Isn't "wicked" New England slang?

Quote from: formulanone on February 21, 2017, 04:27:02 PM
I'm in British Columbia this week, and they call the multi-level parking facility a "parking garage", so "parkade" must be regional.

With whom are you speaking? While "parkade" is far from universal, I hear it fairly often in BC. I generally hear "parking garage" when at hotels. Locals speaking in relaxed conversation seem to prefer "parkade".

All this regional terminology got me going.

Over here we would call a parking garage a multistorey. The word garage is used only to describe a gas station, a workshop that repairs cars or a part of the house to park your car. We never use the word to describe a parking lot. In fact parking lot isn't used here either. We would call it a car park although everyone over here would understand what a parking lot is.

Quote from: coatimundi on February 21, 2017, 04:41:48 PM

Quote from: formulanone on February 21, 2017, 04:27:02 PM
I was driving a decently-tall rental is SUV into MSP's garage, and this gave me a good scare!

I didn't see the "MSP" right away and was trying to guess the airport because I knew I had been there before.
IAH & PHX have similar deals. Better to catch the height failure on something that has some give and in a place where you can more easily back up and get around it. I saw a lifted truck hit one of those one time, and the staff all ran out to chase him before he got too far into the garage.

We drive a Nissan Pathfinder and, with five in our family, long trips now usually involve a rooftop cargo box. Parking garages are therefore a no-go when we're far from home.

Quote from: briantroutman on February 21, 2017, 01:00:27 PM

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 21, 2017, 12:16:03 PM
First priority is that I try to avoid any space that requires me to leave my key.

At one San Francisco garage where I had to leave my key–not because it was valet situation, but because the garage was one of those labyrinths that the management trusts only employees to navigate–I got my car back enveloped in the distinct aroma of burning clutch.

Heh. The clutch is one reason I dislike having to leave my key because the bite point on mine is a little vague until you're used to it and I don't want some valet causing the car to slam into something because he has trouble with it.

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 21, 2017, 09:03:00 PM

Quote from: briantroutman on February 21, 2017, 01:00:27 PM

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 21, 2017, 12:16:03 PM
First priority is that I try to avoid any space that requires me to leave my key.

At one San Francisco garage where I had to leave my key–not because it was valet situation, but because the garage was one of those labyrinths that the management trusts only employees to navigate–I got my car back enveloped in the distinct aroma of burning clutch.

Heh. The clutch is one reason I dislike having to leave my key because the bite point on mine is a little vague until you're used to it and I don't want some valet causing the car to slam into something because he has trouble with it.

Having a clutch pedal is a pretty good deterrent from anyone else from driving your car.

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 21, 2017, 09:03:00 PM
The clutch is one reason I dislike having to leave my key because the bite point on mine is a little vague until you're used to it and I don't want some valet causing the car to slam into something because he has trouble with it.

Trust me, we've seen something like it before. I've driven everything from an '88 Land Cruiser from Australia, to R34s from Canada, to brand new A4s. There's no clutch that a good valet can't handle (no stage has thus far defeated me, though a bio-fuel powered Lancer which needed lots of throttle pumping really pissed me off a while ago). There are definitely some incompetent valets out there; I don't have any experience with those (all ten valets on our team drive stick without a problem). To see if they could handle your car, you could always quiz the valet upon arrival ("which stage is harder to drive: 1 or 3?" "what's the correct shut-off procedure for a Saab with a manual"? "what's the easiest way to get a manual BMW into reverse"?).

Quote from: coatimundi on February 21, 2017, 04:41:48 PM

Quote from: formulanone on February 21, 2017, 04:27:02 PM
I was driving a decently-tall rental is SUV into MSP's garage, and this gave me a good scare!

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 21, 2017, 04:34:22 PM

Quote from: texaskdog on February 21, 2017, 04:31:45 PM
Or "wicked" :P

See I always thought that was more 80s/early 90s slang akin to something like "rad" or anything the Ninja Turles said in the cartoons.

Isn't "wicked" New England slang?

I seem to recall people in Boston saying "wicked pisser" a lot....sans the "R" making it sounds like "piss-ah."   Incidentally ask someone with a heavy Boston accent to say "park the car in the garage," the results are fairly amusing.  :)

I generally don't mind handing my vehicle over to a valet, although I generally try to plan it in advance (ie: clean car, valet key in ignition, etc).  The Cherry Hill Mall here has valet outside a strip of restaurants we tend to visit.  Since parking is a bit skimpy in the area and the valet is free, I don't mind turning over the car there.  The mall has a newer (free) parking garage as well...unfortunately these restaurants can't be accessed from within the mall, despite being attached to the mall.

For the parking garage I park in at work, the lanes are 2-way, with perpendicular parking spots.  But it also has a unique design: Of the 5 levels, levels 1, 3 & 5 can only be accessed by one particular entrance/exit, and levels 2 & 4 can only be accessed by another particular entrance/exit.  Honestly, it's a pain, especially if you happen to be on a side where the exit is backed up for whatever reason.  It's an employee only garage, where we're supposed to keep our key cards with us to enter/exit the pedestrian doorway to the elevator/stairs.  However, they have a convenient, not-really-secret entryway which can easily be accessed without a key card.  This alternative entrance works well as the wonderful department in charge of the key cards refuses to put both the parking garage access and building access on the same key card, despite it being the same design/model/etc.  And when the two are near each other (say, in a wallet), they cancel each other out and the system will refuse to unlock the doors.  Thus, the garage key card stays within the car.

BTW...anyone sleep in a parking garage (in your vehicle, hopefully)?  I've done it a few times...weekend nights, in Atlantic City, when we're there late and hotel rooms are way too expensive.  I usually plan this out in advance as well, just in case.  I'll park in a spot that's not too well lit and a bit hidden, (which is generally against the regular advice about finding a spot to park), although the garage is usually fairly filled anyway.  With our Honda Pilot, we can even put an air mattress in the back.  More comfortable than trying to sleep in the drivers/passenger seat...which we've seen others do as well in those garages.  Due to it being AC and the alcohol-fueled atmosphere there, security is much more lenient about people sleeping in their vehicles there than, say, if someone where to find you sleeping in a car in a shopping center parking lot.

Quote from: Truvelo on February 21, 2017, 10:45:57 AM
I always try to find a spot at the far end furthest away from the entrance to avoid anyone parking alongside and denting my car. This applies to all parking lots. I find it's laziness which causes cars to cluster nearest the store, elevator, stairs. No one wants to spend an additional 30 seconds walking to where they want to go.

I do pretty much the same, not so much because people might dent the car (it's 20 years old, after all) but because it's easier to find parking and I get a little bit of extra exercise walking the longer distance. And I get into the store and start my shopping while other people are going around and around the parking lot just waiting for one space closer to the door to open because God forbid they have to walk an extra 10 feet.

Where do I prefer parking in a structure/garage?  If possible, anywhere but up on the roof/top level!  Around here, that seems to be where smokers congregate on their breaks and lunch periods.  Besides, every bird within 50 miles seems to use these structures for target practice! :-(

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home last night and it made me think of this thread. I don't really want to start a new thread since the topic is similar. I found myself wondering what thought processes go into your space selection at a place like that as opposed to in a parking garage (assuming for present purposes the grocery store doesn't have a garage....I know of at least two that do).

When I go to the grocery store, my parking theory is motivated mainly by trying to avoid spaces where people are likely to leave stray carts, either because they're too lazy to return them to the corral or because the store doesn't have a corral at all (the two nearest our house do not have them, so I avoid shopping there). This usually means avoiding the ends of the rows or any row facing an island or curb, as some people park the carts with two wheels hooked over the curb. Counter-intuitively, I'm often more likely to park in the space next to the return corrals because I find even the most obnoxious cart-non-returners tend not to leave carts adjacent to the corrals.

I do try to get a closer spot, but I won't wait for someone to put their entire load of groceries in the car.  If I'm coming down an aisle, I'll scan the aisle to see what's available.  Sunny days are good for this - shadows of vehicles on the pavement make for easier spotting of spots available.  Sometimes, parking further down the strip (parallel to the building) is actually closer than parking down an aisle (away from the building). In the case like Walmart which has two sets of doorways, I'll frequently go down the aisle between the doors.  Generally no handicap spots in that area; I get a close spot, and no matter which door I use I'm fairly close to either of them.

I had a friend claim he never parks next to those cart corrals, because people just throw their cart at the corral and could care less where it goes.  I've never actually see that happen.  As far as I'm concerned, at least no one will swing open their car door and hit my car on the side of the corral (I witnessed that once to my car...a kid flung the door open hitting my car.  Lovely mama didn't notice and/or care...and really, what was I going to do...call the police for a door ding?).

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 23, 2017, 07:34:31 AM
We stopped at the grocery store on the way home last night and it made me think of this thread. I don't really want to start a new thread since the topic is similar. I found myself wondering what thought processes go into your space selection at a place like that as opposed to in a parking garage (assuming for present purposes the grocery store doesn't have a garage....I know of at least two that do).

When I go to the grocery store, my parking theory is motivated mainly by trying to avoid spaces where people are likely to leave stray carts, either because they're too lazy to return them to the corral or because the store doesn't have a corral at all (the two nearest our house do not have them, so I avoid shopping there). This usually means avoiding the ends of the rows or any row facing an island or curb, as some people park the carts with two wheels hooked over the curb. Counter-intuitively, I'm often more likely to park in the space next to the return corrals because I find even the most obnoxious cart-non-returners tend not to leave carts adjacent to the corrals.

My objectives are basically the opposite of yours.  With a family of five, I try my hardest to park against an island so that the kids can walk along the island instead of with traffic.  I also try to park near a cart corral so I don't have to leave everyone waiting for me longer than they have to–especially when the weather is hot or cold.

My first job was pushing shopping carts.  So I still do my best to straighten up the corral every time I return my own cart to it.  The worst thing to happen to the corrals, IMO, was the introduction of small carts that are too small for the bigger ones to nest with.  There's only so much you can do to fix that nightmare if they're all jumbled.

At the grocery store, I usually try to park next to the corral.  One, you don't have a door-dinger parked next to you, and, two, I always like to take a cart from the corral into the store with me because they often are out of the smaller carts inside the store, and I almost never buy enough groceries for a full-size cart.

QuoteThe worst thing to happen to the corrals, IMO, was the introduction of small carts that are too small for the bigger ones to nest with.  There's only so much you can do to fix that nightmare if they're all jumbled.

The Wegmans near us has that problem and they put up signs in the corrals saying, basically, small carts on the left, large carts on the right (they have arrows so people don't have to know left from right). Doesn't help. People are just plain lazy. Of course, those annoying kiddie play carts with the plastic cabin and steering wheel don't help either since they don't fit with either of the normal styles.

I seem to recall when I was a kid Magruder's in Vienna had full-length two-level carts where the top basket folded down. But I don't think they allowed them into the parking area since no local stores allowed that back then as far as I can recall.

Quote from: frankenroad on February 23, 2017, 09:54:44 AM
At the grocery store, I usually try to park next to the corral.  One, you don't have a door-dinger parked next to you, and, two, I always like to take a cart from the corral into the store with me because they often are out of the smaller carts inside the store, and I almost never buy enough groceries for a full-size cart.

I do that too...it's not how close your space is, it's where you need to finish.  Of course there are all those lazy people who don't bother to put their carts away.

Yeah, it's amazing how lazy people can be.  Instead of walking their carts into a row, they just shove them in the corral, so everything's a jumbled mix of small and large carts.  Because I'm a neat freak, you can almost always tell which corral I returned my cart to, because it's the one that's been meticulously organized and straightened out.

I should mention (and I only do this when my family isn't with me)...  If I see that someone has parked in two spaces at once, because they're so obsessed with their car that nobody should be allowed within eight feet of it, I do my best to squeeze into whatever is left of one of the spaces–hopefully with my side mirror a quarter-inch away from their side mirror.  If I have to crawl out the passenger's side door, so be it.

I don't mind people taking up two spaces way out in the back of the lot where hardly anyone parks, but I just can't stand it when they do it towards the front of the lot.

I OCD on how the corrals are placed in the first place.  Usually, they are just placed willynilly; sometimes, they are in a nice row across all the parking aisles.  Either way, you wind up being near one, or being far away from one.

Let's take an average grocery store parking lot.  For a fairly large grocery store, you may have about 5 double-stack parking lanes on average.  Smaller stores, a bit less; Targets & Walmarts, a bit more.  For my example, I'll do 4 double stacks aisles, and 2 single stacks aisles on either end.

In this example, there are 6 full (double) corrals, and 3 half ones, with the orange spots detailing my preferred placement for the corrals:

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi225.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fdd144%2Froadnut%2FParking%2520Lot%2520Before.jpg&hash=ad65049256e7b2a2ed3a1c99d8275668d620f7b8) (http://s225.photobucket.com/user/roadnut/media/Parking%20Lot%20Before.jpg.html)

However, they are strategically placed so you are never more than 3 parking spots away from a corral!  Green spots are the cars; with the arrow showing the closest spot to the vehicle...always within a 3 spot walk!

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi225.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fdd144%2Froadnut%2FParking%2520Lot%2520After.jpg&hash=ebf93eca0d654ed8ed9cf48a2a3348942f40e62b) (http://s225.photobucket.com/user/roadnut/media/Parking%20Lot%20After.jpg.html)

This, personally, is how a parking lot should look.  If you have fewer corrals or a larger parking lot, the same thing could be accomplished by walking no more than 4 spots.  Or maybe 5 spots.  But once you get that far, people start getting lazy and don't want to walk it, so they just leave them in the middle, up on the curb, or whatever.

"Ramp" is a regionalism most common in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes states. If you say "parking garage" in Buffalo, people will look at you like you have two heads. Me? I'm from the "garage" part of the country.

As far as where I park, as close as I can reasonably get to my destination or the elevator. I'm not afraid to go up a few more levels (which many seem to have an aversion to), but I won't park on the roof if it's hot or precipitating.

Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 23, 2017, 01:34:51 PM
walking no more than 4 spots.  Or maybe 5 spots.  But once you get that far, people start getting lazy and don't want to walk it, so they just leave them in the middle, up on the curb, or whatever.

There are plenty of people out there who park immediately next to the corral but still can't be bothered to put their cart away before driving off....

I've occasionally been known to walk up to someone's car as they're getting in, glare at them briefly, grab their cart, and put it away.

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 21, 2017, 12:16:03 PM
Fourth priority is if I'm familiar with the garage and there are particular spaces I know to avoid because they're hard to get out of due to the location or things like that (example might be if there's a poorly-placed pillar).

I like to take those spots as most people avoid them and I hate searching for a spot. I'm good at parking my car at tight spaces and squeezing out my door if need be, so I don't mind that part of it.

Around here, a "parking ramp" refers to the ramp to and from a parking garage, often an underground one in downtown. Calling the entire garage a ramp sounds weird.

Quote from: kphoger on February 23, 2017, 03:04:33 PM

Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 23, 2017, 01:34:51 PM
walking no more than 4 spots.  Or maybe 5 spots.  But once you get that far, people start getting lazy and don't want to walk it, so they just leave them in the middle, up on the curb, or whatever.

There are plenty of people out there who park immediately next to the corral but still can't be bothered to put their cart away before driving off....

I've occasionally been known to walk up to someone's car as they're getting in, glare at them briefly, grab their cart, and put it away.

I've often wondered what I would do if I found someone leaving a cart touching my car (I have indeed seen that happen to other people's cars). Thankfully, I have yet to find out.

---

Quote from: kphoger on February 23, 2017, 01:11:19 PM
I should mention (and I only do this when my family isn't with me)...  If I see that someone has parked in two spaces at once, because they're so obsessed with their car that nobody should be allowed within eight feet of it, I do my best to squeeze into whatever is left of one of the spaces–hopefully with my side mirror a quarter-inch away from their side mirror.  If I have to crawl out the passenger's side door, so be it.

I don't mind people taking up two spaces way out in the back of the lot where hardly anyone parks, but I just can't stand it when they do it towards the front of the lot.

I'm reluctant to do that only because I don't want someone keying my car or intentionally sideswiping it on the way out.

Quote from: jakeroot on February 21, 2017, 04:42:37 PM

Quote from: formulanone on February 21, 2017, 04:27:02 PM
I'm in British Columbia this week, and they call the multi-level parking facility a "parking garage", so "parkade" must be regional.

With whom are you speaking? While "parkade" is far from universal, I hear it fairly often in BC. I generally hear "parking garage" when at hotels. Locals speaking in relaxed conversation seem to prefer "parkade".

I asked a few people at work, and they said they use them interchangeably.

Sure enough, Vancouver International Airport uses "parkade" (which looks like a portmanteau of arcade and park).

Quote from: kphoger on February 23, 2017, 01:11:19 PM
I should mention (and I only do this when my family isn't with me)...  If I see that someone has parked in two spaces at once, because they're so obsessed with their car that nobody should be allowed within eight feet of it, I do my best to squeeze into whatever is left of one of the spaces–hopefully with my side mirror a quarter-inch away from their side mirror.  If I have to crawl out the passenger's side door, so be it.

I don't mind people taking up two spaces way out in the back of the lot where hardly anyone parks, but I just can't stand it when they do it towards the front of the lot.

I find it just as obnoxious in the back of the lot. There's a few people who do it, and then if the lot fills up, they're taking up the last available spaces by doing that still. If you want to make it less likely someone parks next to you, parking in the back already accomplishes that. I know I had a friend who hit someone who parked in 2 spaces, he took pictures of how there car was completely not in a single space, and successfully used it to argue his liability down to a smaller percentage of the accident. If they were only on the lines, he would have been fully liable.

Quote from: formulanone on February 24, 2017, 09:17:06 AM

Quote from: jakeroot on February 21, 2017, 04:42:37 PM

Quote from: formulanone on February 21, 2017, 04:27:02 PM
I'm in British Columbia this week, and they call the multi-level parking facility a "parking garage", so "parkade" must be regional.

With whom are you speaking? While "parkade" is far from universal, I hear it fairly often in BC. I generally hear "parking garage" when at hotels. Locals speaking in relaxed conversation seem to prefer "parkade".

I asked a few people at work, and they said they use them interchangeably.

Sure enough, Vancouver International Airport uses "parkade" (which looks like a portmanteau of arcade and park).

It's definitely "parking garage" here in the northeast.  I've never heard the term parking ramp; it sounds like a component piece of a parking garage.  When I hear the term "Parkade", I think of a shopping plaza, because there are a couple of plazas near me called Manchester/Meriden Parkade.  In Europe, especially Britain, I've heard them referred to as "car parks".

Usually just the first spot available, though if there's plenty of spots available I would try to get close to the elevator.

And it has always been a parking "garage" to me. I have occasionally heard "deck" or "structure", but never "ramp" until reading this thread 

I go for the roof of a parking garage though and avoid peak hours at a parking garage.

I think the Rochester NY dialect leans toward ramp garage, as in "South Ave. Ramp Garage" .

In my opinion, that makes most literal sense:

• The word garage already means a place to park, so parking garage is just redundant. If you park your car in your garage at home, then that's also a parking garage, isn't it?
• A parking ramp could just be some highway ramp where parking is permitted.
• But a ramp garage is a garage that has ramps – what a perfect description!

Quote from: GenExpwy on February 25, 2017, 05:49:11 AM
I think the Rochester NY dialect leans toward ramp garage, as in "South Ave. Ramp Garage" .

In my opinion, that makes most literal sense:

• The word garage already means a place to park, so parking garage is just redundant. If you park your car in your garage at home, then that's also a parking garage, isn't it?
• A parking ramp could just be some highway ramp where parking is permitted.
• But a ramp garage is a garage that has ramps – what a perfect description!

Never heard the term ramp used in Rochester for their parking facilities, they just use garage, as in Civic Center Garage, Court St. Garage, etc. Ramp is more of a Buffalo thing.

Quote from: Truvelo on February 21, 2017, 10:45:57 AM
I always try to find a spot at the far end furthest away from the entrance to avoid anyone parking alongside and denting my car. This applies to all parking lots. I find it's laziness which causes cars to cluster nearest the store, elevator, stairs. No one wants to spend an additional 30 seconds walking to where they want to go.

^THIS sums it up for me^

My wife jokes that I should probably just leave the car at home and walk to the store. It might be shorter, lol.

One of the BEST parking spaces I've used was when the Total Beverage in Springfield was located on the east side of Brandon Avenue. See Street View link below–the space is the diagonal one directly ahead of the camera viewpoint between the Acura sedan and the Mercedes SUV. Unfortunately, Total Beverage moved across the street and the new lot doesn't have a space like this one. I should note that when I used to use that space, people didn't leave the shopping carts all over the grass like that. If I were to park there now, I probably wouldn't use that space after having seen this.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.7806619,-77.1827658,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHgTSGjWQl6EIzoPy84kT4Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Quote from: steviep24 on February 25, 2017, 01:15:34 PM

Quote from: GenExpwy on February 25, 2017, 05:49:11 AM
I think the Rochester NY dialect leans toward ramp garage, as in "South Ave. Ramp Garage" .

In my opinion, that makes most literal sense:

• The word garage already means a place to park, so parking garage is just redundant. If you park your car in your garage at home, then that's also a parking garage, isn't it?
• A parking ramp could just be some highway ramp where parking is permitted.
• But a ramp garage is a garage that has ramps – what a perfect description!

Never heard the term ramp used in Rochester for their parking facilities, they just use garage, as in Civic Center Garage, Court St. Garage, etc. Ramp is more of a Buffalo thing.

Ditto.  The first time I ever heard "ramp" was last year when someone from Region 9 was describing where to park for a rail meeting.

Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 23, 2017, 01:34:51 PM
I OCD on how the corrals are placed in the first place.  Usually, they are just placed willynilly; sometimes, they are in a nice row across all the parking aisles.  Either way, you wind up being near one, or being far away from one.

Let's take an average grocery store parking lot.  For a fairly large grocery store, you may have about 5 double-stack parking lanes on average.  Smaller stores, a bit less; Targets & Walmarts, a bit more.  For my example, I'll do 4 double stacks aisles, and 2 single stacks aisles on either end.

In this example, there are 6 full (double) corrals, and 3 half ones, with the orange spots detailing my preferred placement for the corrals:

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi225.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fdd144%2Froadnut%2FParking%2520Lot%2520Before.jpg&hash=ad65049256e7b2a2ed3a1c99d8275668d620f7b8) (http://s225.photobucket.com/user/roadnut/media/Parking%20Lot%20Before.jpg.html)

However, they are strategically placed so you are never more than 3 parking spots away from a corral!  Green spots are the cars; with the arrow showing the closest spot to the vehicle...always within a 3 spot walk!

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi225.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fdd144%2Froadnut%2FParking%2520Lot%2520After.jpg&hash=ebf93eca0d654ed8ed9cf48a2a3348942f40e62b) (http://s225.photobucket.com/user/roadnut/media/Parking%20Lot%20After.jpg.html)

This, personally, is how a parking lot should look.  If you have fewer corrals or a larger parking lot, the same thing could be accomplished by walking no more than 4 spots.  Or maybe 5 spots.  But once you get that far, people start getting lazy and don't want to walk it, so they just leave them in the middle, up on the curb, or whatever.

Please, please, please, please start consulting with Wal-Mart.  Their "neighborhood grocery store" outlet here in SJ has only three corrals total for six rows of parking, plus an outlying row along their property line.  As a result a normal percentage of spaces blocked by carts is about 25-33%!  That shot upwards to over a half during the recent rainstorms!  And their local "management" at the store just shrugs their shoulders in a "what can we do" attitude.  But the problem of stray carts in parking spaces seems to be widespread enough to qualify as a local phenomenon; about the only store that seems to regularly patrol the lot and pick up carts is Trader Joe's!   

I forgot to mention that I avoid spaces right at the ends of adjoining passageways between levels; seems a good place for someone to clip the bumpers of your parked vehicle in dim lighting and cramped quarters. If there's a giant slab of concrete support flanking my bumper, then it's okay!

I see lots of "close calls" in airport and rental car parking garages, although usually the latter do not park vehicles very close to those kinds of passageways (San Francisco International Airport seems to be a notable exception).

Quote from: vdeane on February 23, 2017, 12:44:29 PM
Yeah, it's amazing how lazy people can be.  Instead of walking their carts into a row, they just shove them in the corral, so everything's a jumbled mix of small and large carts.  Because I'm a neat freak, you can almost always tell which corral I returned my cart to, because it's the one that's been meticulously organized and straightened out.

You would have been quite busy had you been at the Wegmans I visited this afternoon.... (This annoys me big league, though not enough to clean it up, especially since the employees were coming around to haul the carts back to the store anyway. The lighting makes it hard to tell, but both sides were jumbles of small and large carts.)

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi31.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc378%2F1995hoo%2FRoad%2520sign%2520pictures%2F9741d86108665374d211a08552f8da4d_zpstntacpne.jpg&hash=9856d72407609e6dac9609bd8097bf605b98ec09)

I might go crazy if I pushed carts for a living these days, with different-sized carts.