moreobservations

INTENDED AS BACKUP

INTENDED TO FLESH OUT OR CAPTURE THE EMOTIONAL QUALITY OF PARKING…

Appendix

The present of parking

A   ... what does a visitor see?

Dear Familia,

Hi, I'm writing from Soapy’s internet café on the beach. When I left Caracas, I had no idea what kind of adventure waited for me in the USA. I flew in to Miami to go to school for three weeks and improve my English.

I rented a car near Miami airport and I drove north.

I wanted to stay on the beach in beautiful Fort Lauderdale. I drove north, I followed the signs on the highway. It was so easy. I went east on 595 and onto the federal highway. I went to the beach and I found a motel near the beach.

What a lovely place. So easy to find parking at my hotel.   The first evening, I walked to the ocean and I walked to a restaurant. The evening was perfect, the food was delicious, and I went home happy.

The next day I went to look for saw grass mall. My wife wanted to me to go there first. The hotel had a brochure so I could find this famous shopping area very easily. I went west on sunrise blvd and I drove and I kept driving. There are big signs when you get close to the mall. The parking is every where and the idea is only how do you find your car again. I was lucky because I could see the white sea horse and it was simple to go back to find the sea hor se when I left. I spent six hours in saw grass and I know that my wife will be happy with the things I bought.

The next day was Monday and I went to my language school. It is across from galleria mall.   I went to a big food shopping store called wild oats. It was nice to find a parking space in front. I went to the shool. When I walked out of the elevator and into the school, I saw a big sign "What is TOW AWAY ZONE"

Ah. This was a new word for me. I asked about the sign and the reception person asked me if I drove to school. When I said yes, she wanted to know if I parked in front or behind wild oats food store. I said in front and she was not happy. "Please, i am sorry, you need to put your car behind wild oats." SO now I know that tow away is like "take away>"

After the morning lessons, I went with my teachers to lunch and then i had an afternoon class. By four pm I was tired of school and I decided to park in las olas, the famous blvd.   I drove on the street and there were many signs P and Parking and funny machines on the road. The sign said parking after six thirty. I looked at the coin machine and it could not take my money. Someone stopped and told me, "No, the machine takes money after six thirty. You need to park in another location, behind the stores."   so I drove in the back and I put two hours on the meter.   I was walking back and forth on the interesting street, looking at many nice stores. I even went to a bookstore and I was a little distracted and I saw many nice photos and books. I took a book, drank some coffee and I was thnking about returning to my hotel when I noticed that it was almost time to go to dinner. I went to a reastaurant with two lions and it was funny to see the first cars arrive. first there were two lines of cars driving fast, then one car stops and the driver parks,... the cars behind him stop too and then go around him. Now it was easy to cross the road because there was only one lane of driving cars.

I was sitting and watching all of this and then I remembered. IT's seven o’clock and I put only two hours of coins in the meters. I looked and I looked and I was lucky to find a restaurant that could give me four more quarters. I walked back to the car and I was lucky to see the person writing the ticket.   "Ah, excuse me, I am so sorry, I forgot the time, I arrive in time to put the money." this was not enough for the person .. "I already wrote the ticket. :

"Oh, maybe you are nice for me because this is my first day here in fort lauderdale."

"there's nothing I can do>'

I said, “Maybe you can explain to me”

"sorry, I'm busy now. you can read the instructions on the back of the ticket."

But I was not very good with my English and I could not understand some of the information. I was not sure where it was possible to pay the ticket without a check. I don't have a bank here, of course, so I was confused.   and the ticket had very small writing...

so i brought the ticket to my school and my teacher helped me. He wrote a check and I sent it and all was okay. I only tried to make it nice.

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LETTERS FROM the files of the CVB

Nightmares from Ohio

ohio woman who will not return because of the treatment.

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Parking in 2040

The visitors arrive, they rent a car, they receive a brochure… Ah, you are in broward ... did you rent a car in broward? the car automatically comes with a smart card….

2040
Hello, Family,

I'm writing from Fort Lauderdale after a week that was full of surprises.

The flight from Caracas was smooth and uneventful. I arrived in Miami last week on time and I rented a car at the airport. It was a nice experience. The car company automatically gave me a brochure to welcome me to South Florida. Since I was going to Broward County, the rental company gave me a special brochure that told me to "please stop and get a free parking card from the Fort Lauderdale Visitors Center near the Airport."

It was a simple drive north on I-95. When I saw I-595 and the airplanes right next to the airport, I saw the large sign with the Visitors Center logo, the smiling sun. It was impossible to miss it: Every 300 meters was another sun sign with an arrow "Visitor Information / Parking Information/ Ahead 1 mile / 1,6 kilometers" then "Ahead 1/2 mile / 800 meters."

I went to the Visitors Center and received my free card. I needed to show my passport and my airplane ticket and "like magic" it was already with five dollars -- that turned out to be about 2 hours of parking time in the downtown area, but one dollar was enough for almost 90 minutes in a small town near Sawgrass Malls. If I wanted more time, I could pay the Visitors Center or recharge the "Smart Card" at a kiosk next to some of the popular downtown parking meters, like on Las Olas Boulevard. It was so nice. I really felt that they want me to visit downtown. With the smart card there were instructions in six languages and brochures from two internet-cafe companies, so I could send you this message from Soapy's Internet café near the beach, and there were certificates to visit ten restaurants and many stores. These companies wanted my business, and it was a good way to get my attention. It was a nice feeling to come and understand something about this wonderful place.

There was even a schedule of special events and suggestions on where to park.

One time, I think it was two days ago, I made a mistake about the amount of money to put in the machine (I could not find the smart card and I was a little distracted with all of the pretty t-shirts on the beach).   I returned to my car and I discovered my first parking ticket. It was a big surprise because my father told me about coming to Fort Lauderdale about 40 years ago and he told me to be very careful about the parking. I think he had a bad experience because I don't think he ever went back to this nice city. (It's a shame. I think he would have really enjoyed this place now.) So, when I got a ticket it was not a bad thing.

I think in Caracas we should do the same thing like Fort Lauderdale. Inside the envelope was a colorful brochure that explained to me in Spanish that if I was not from Fort Lauderdale, and if this was my first ticket, I just needed to send a photo copy of my airplane ticket or my home license driving license (they suggested that I go to a nearby hotel and ask for a free copy). The parking ticket would be ignored and discarded if I followed this procedure. If I didn't do this within five days, I was going to get the ticket put on the rental car's driving record, so you can be sure I acted quickly...it was a $30 ticket! Fifty-five dollars after five days!   I didn't have a stamp to mail the envelope but the brochure from the city's parking organization even told me where I could get a stamp (from a Mail Box Etc. or a hotel, if I couldn't find the post office).   This is was a "Special Courtesy" free ticket. They kept my information, I'm sure, in the computer so they could give me a real ticket if I tried to do this again. The brochure ended with a suggestion that I have a nice vacation and visit to Fort Lauderdale and it asked me to please be more careful and use the smart card.   They even gave a list of places where it was possible to find the smart card and recharge it -- they even sell it over the internet.

Here's another surprise. When I returned hotel today, there was a nice postcard from the people at the parking office to tell me that they hoped that I had a good time in Fort Lauderdale and it showed a map of parking and places to recharge the smart card. I also received a blank postcard so that I could tell my friends about the friendly people in Fort Lauderdale. It was a nice thing.

I never had a problem with parking like my dad because all of the signs were translated, even the "pull away" zone... oh they call it "tow away" zone. There's even a picture of the truck to pull away the car.

I'm off to my meeting soon, so give hugs to everyone. I'll be back in a week. I will check my email again when I come to get another free coffee from the Internet Café.

Federico Rojas

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Experiences of two users of park spaces in Lauderdale by the Sea

Anecdote 1
The Success: Arlene

Arlene was headed to a workshop at Lauderdale by the Sea. Because it was a popular convention, most of the parking spaces were occupied. She found a row that stated that parking meters were enforced 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It was 8 p.m., so she figured the parking was free. She went to the event to drop off a packet of information and returned at 8:25 p.m. to find a parking ticket on her car's windshield.

She made a special trip the next day with a Polaroid camera to record the signage in the area. She wrote a letter and mailed it to the address shown on the enclosed envelope, spending in all nearly three hours in travel time and letter writing, including documenting the purpose of her trip to LBTS. The reply informed her that if she wanted to protest the ticket, she needed to attend a traffic court in two months. (This is an activity that rewards people who have an organized way of doing things!)

She spent another 90 minutes waiting for her turn before the traffic court judge 8 weeks later. "It was the principal of the thing," she admitted. Instead of paying a $25 fine, she accumulated at least 3.5 hours at $20 an hour or $70. The judge looked at the materials that she had previously mailed to the parking organization and he waived the fee. He agreed that the signage was confusing.

RECOMMENDASTIONS
Create more parking locations and shuttles when there's a conference of show in a confined area with little surplus parking, such as Lauderdale By the Sea, Deerfield Beach or Hollywood Beach.
Consider sending shuttles as far south as Oakland Park Blvd. To pick up people who use the meters there to go to the conference in LBTS.
Install temporary signs along A-1-A to suggest that people can park near Oakland Park and then catch the free shuttle to the LBTS show.

Anecdote 2
The Failure: Timothy

Timothy was in Lauderdale by the Sea for a lunch meeting. He put in money for one hour and emerged from the restaurant 50 minutes later. With 10 minutes on the meter, he ducked into a shop that had some tourism trinkets. "Maybe this shop will have the key chain that I need for my marketing campaign." He got distracted hunting down other postcards and hats and suddenly said aloud, "Oh, the meter!" The storeowner replied, "Oh, here's a quarter."

Tim responded, "I hope I'm not too late."

A brown envelope rested on the windshield. "DAMN! Two minutes!" Tim returned the quarter to the shopkeeper, paid for his purchase, kept the receipt and vowed to write a letter to get an exemption. He composed a letter, noting that "failure to pay a meter while I dropped $40 to buy marketing materials ought to have some redress" and mailed his request for a waiver. The reply was "see you in court in 90 days." Tim looked forward to his day in court...but overlooked it. The resulting $13 added to the $25 fee turned his experience into at $78 shopping spree. He has not returned to LBTS since.

Anecdote 3
A time for some flexibility

Imagine the typical Saturday noon lunch crowd on Las Olas Blvd. Cars are whizzing up and down on four lanes until about 11:30, when the first cars start to park on the outside lane. This is not permitted during weekdays until 6:30 p.m., but on Saturday and Sunday cars routinely are found at 10 am parked next to the curb.

Now picture it: July 4. Wednesday. Tim, the driver tries to enter money in the parking machine. The machine won't accept it. "Ah, it's the holiday. No fee! Great!" He proceeded to a restaurant 100 feet form the car and enjoyed a great meal with friends.

As they were ordering dessert, one of the friends pointed to Tim's car. "You're about to get a ticket."   An Interceptor three-wheeled one-passenger vehicle was parking behind Tim's car and an officer was pulling out a pad, getting ready to record the license plate number.

"What's the problem? Did I park too far from the curb?"

"What does the sign say?"

"Parking on weekends is allowed and on weekdays after 6:30 p.m."

"So, why are you here?"

"It's a holiday. I figured it must be like a weekend"

"Did the machine accept your money?"

"No, I figured it won't accept money on the holiday."

"Move it."

Tim, who has a graduate degree from Florida Atlantic University, quickly jumped in the car and marveled at his own inability to interpret a parking sign and at the inflexibility of a parking enforcement officer.

Recommendations

The anecdotal accounts are intended to highlight the most important facet of parking that is ignored by typical reports:

a) almost everyone is annoyed by not having a convenient place to park
b) almost everyone likes to receive a break (and to feel that their problems have been given special attention)
c) nobody likes to stand in line
d) technology allows organizations to offer "customized service" in a standardized way.
e) everyone likes to feel that they've been heard -- we all have stories of why we were late and why the meter ran over, and maybe there's a way to reduce the stress of the parking experience.

To view parking as an economic resource, a magnet for development and a facilitator of commerce and social interaction is to miss the emotional component. Our culture is not alone in belittling the people who enforce the parking ordinances. (Parisians call their parking meter personnel "aubergines" or eggplants, and that refers not just the color of their uniforms. The suggested allusion is to imagine that the vegetable has a higher capacity for independent thought.) Since the focus of attention is on paperwork and "rental" of a public space (often paid for with public money, such as on-street parking), the local resident often has a sense that "this is my city, so it's my parking system, and this is my parking space. Why is my government bothering to put a ticket on my windshield when there are 20 empty spaces around me? Doesn't the government have something better to do than monitor when I move my car? I was late returning to the car because I was boosting the local economy. There ought to be some sort of compensation!"

Suggestion...

1. Make the first ticket a free one. This is for residents and visitors.
2. Keep a record of people who make repeated errors. Suggest that they buy a smart card. Keep a database on people who have more than two parking tickets a year and mail them a reminder that "Smart cards avoid tickets".
3. Allow smart cards to be purchased over the internet.
4. Interface the records of the Utility company with the driver license office to allow a cross check: Yes, this person standing in front of the counter really is a resident of Fort Lauderdale. Here's the utility bill on the computer screen and here's the guy's driver license. (Requiring people to show up with
5. Allow over the telephone subscribing for the smart card with a processing fee of $5 (for the staff person's time to look up items on line and to complete the form). No service fee is needed for signup in person or online.

6. Improve the signage: signs can be in other languages. A label can be affixed to the back of the sign where it can be translated. A simple web site could list the rules of the road that the visitor can look up online at a local café. Www.whereinbroward.com gives a sample web page under "Visitors Guide to Parking" which explains some of the cultural traditions and procedures here in the USA.

7. Sell smart cards to visitors
8. Consider a pilot program to distribute free smart cards to visitors. If the leftover parking money goes to a hotel resident or if the smart card is left behind as a tip to the hotel guest, there could be a "reward for return" of a free 2-liter bottle of coca cola or a pack of 5 postcards if someone returns the smart card to a smart card kiosk (where cards can be deposited) or to the Visitor's Center near the airport at State Road 84 and Federal Highway.

9.   Consider allowing parking to take place on the street in Las Olas more often. In particular, when a holiday falls on a weekday, let the parking schedule follow the Saturday and Sunday schedule of all day parking on the street.