Parking Rage Boiling Over In San Francisco

9 January 2007 - 7:00am

Anger over parking difficulties in the city has spawned attacks between motorists and enforcement officers, and even led to the death of one resident.

"Burdened with one of the densest downtowns in the country and a Californian love for moving vehicles, San Franciscans have been shocked in recent months by crimes related to finding places to park, including an attack in September in which a young man was killed trying to defend a spot he had found.

More recently, the victims have been parking control officers -- do not call them meter maids -- who suffered four attacks in late November, and two officers went to a hospital.

All of which has left officials in this otherwise civilized community scrambling to explain, and solve, 'parking rage.'"

"Many local planners say the lack of parking is in part an unfortunate byproduct of the city's popularity."

"That said, Professor [Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles] noted that San Francisco had some questionable parking policies, namely cheap on-street parking and expensive garages and lots, a dynamic that encourages drivers to look endlessly for meters rather than pay for the privilege of parking off the street."

Full Story: San Franciscans Hurl Their Rage at Parking Patrol

Source: The New York Times, January 8, 2007

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Likely Story From the New York Times...

Submitted by vtboy99 on Wed, 01/10/2007 - 17:17.

Compared to the Big Apple, the City by the Bay is quite mellow, relaxed, and friendly. Talk about negative, yellow journalism...

San Francisco is not all "bottle up rage". Quite the contrary. It's just an absolutely wonderful city with typical, contemporary urban issues. The New York Times needs to get off their pissing contest with California cities and focus on their own region.

And the parking really ISN'T that bad in San Francisco. Try parking in New York City and tell me which place is worse.

You can't compare New York to San Francisco

Submitted by akring on Thu, 01/11/2007 - 08:58.

Having lived in both cities - parking in New York is significantly easier to find parking. And I haven't heard of anyone BEING KILLED over a parking space. To me, that sounds like the LA road rage made it's way up to SF.

The culture of New York and San Franscisco is wildly different. (And yes, San Francisco is by and large a wonderful and friendly city. And, if you've been to New York, you would find people are friendly there, too. You must remember that news is not about the ordinary.

But to compare the parking between the cities, if you want to generalize about each city, the following points address the typical for each city:

1.In New York, You can get a cab by wishing for it to appear. In the neighborhoods of San Francisco, you have to call for a cab - which may or may not show up within 24 hours.

2. East Coasters walk. West Coasters do not. We drive. We exercise more, but we do not walk for transit. We drive to a park to go for a run.

3. New Yorkers, especially Manhattanites, don't own cars. Which is why it easier to find parking in New York.

In San Francisco, it took me nearly TWO HOURS one night to find a parking spot. Lucky for me, a spot opened up about a mile away from my house when a man had to be rushed to the emergency room by his wife.

I have fought hard for a parking spot. I had one man, wearing a business suit, try to run me over as I stood in the parking spot. Another gentleman simply let his car roll into the spot, actually hitting my legs. He was smiling, because he knew he had won.

The longest I ever looked for parking in Manhattan was 20 minutes. Even on a Friday night in Greenwich Village.

KILLED. Over a parking spot. I wouldn't call that sensational journalism. I would call that ludicrous.

amy k ring
university of michigan
graduate student
MS, 2007

Actually the NY Times loves to compare..

Submitted by vtboy99 on Thu, 01/11/2007 - 10:28.

We must live in alternate realities.

I currently live in SF and am originally from NYC. San Franciscans DO walk. Not sure what part of SF you had trouble parking, but I NEVER had as much trouble parking in SF as in NYC. Cabs are all over SF, especially in the Financial District and North Beach. And they are easily hailed from the street, just as in NYC.

San Franciscians and Bay Area residents as a whole regularly and in large numbers (as compared to automobile commuters) utilize public transit, given the plethora of providers to choose from (MUNI, BART, ACE, VTA, Amtrak Capital Corridor, etc etc). More outdated, elitist California stereotyping on the part of the NY Times.

And yes, the fact that this story came from the NY Times proves that this is in fact sensationalized journalism on the part of a New York-boosting publication. The NY Times LOVES to slam constantly on SF and LA. No LA-style road/parking rage that's "made its way up to SF", just yellow journalism and sensationalism, nothing more. Difficulty finding a parking spot in SF is not the "urban warfare" that the Times plays it up to be. Gimme a break!!

Just part of that old urban rivalry.

And thanks for letting us know you're a grad student at the University of Michigan!