John started at PCC (Portland Community College) today. I went with him. He had dutifully obtained a parking permit ahead of time, and we arrived 30 minutes in advance of his first class. We then spent half an hour cruising around the various parking lots looking for a place to park. There wasn't any. I ended up just dropping him off. That was fine for today, but what good is a parking permit if there aren't any parking places?
These are some fancy parking lots. They have little medians and dividers with trees and shrubs, and all the spaces are clearly marked, and there are plenty of spaces for the handicapped, most of which were empty.
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You know, I don't understand this. What is it with the little bits of landscaping in the parking lot? Whoever thought that was a good idea? Oh, occasionally you can find a shady spot under a tree, but more likely you will find a bird using the tree a rest stop, or the tree will be dripping some kind of corrosive sap on your car. Or you want to get out of your car, or cut across the parking lot on foot, and your way is blocked by some stupid bush.
There is a requirement that a certain percentage of the land area of any project must be devoted to landscaping, and I can understand that. I like trees and bushes as well as the next neanderthal, but I think there is a better way to deal with it. How about carving off a corner of the lot and making a little park out of it, something people could actually use and enjoy, rather than these little decorator bushes stuck up in the middle of parking lots, taking up space and annoying me?
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2 comments:
Hi, I'm Dana Haynes, the communications guy for PCC. And yes, you correctly guessed that landscaping for parking lots is mandated by cities and counties in Oregon. Also, the city of Portland mandates that parking spaced be limited in order to "drive" (so to speak) people into mass transit options. Parking during the first week of fall term is always problematic, but it will get much better soon.
I really like the idea of mass transit, but the reality is another matter. It takes roughly twice as long to get anywhere using Max as it does driving, even during rush hour. Let's pretend the bus isn't any worse. Time is our most precious commodity. Mass transit is cheap, but it isn't cheap enough to make up for the lost time.
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