Parkingspots.com featured on Springwise!
May 5, 2008
We are thrilled to find that Springwise.com, the uber site for new business ideas has picked up parkingspots.com as a featured story. The intro is as follows: "We've written on several occasions already about online exchanges for parking spots on both sides of the Atlantic. But while most of those have focused primarily on short-term parking needs, a new one serving Canada and the US serves as a virtual marketplace for long-term parking."
http://www.springwise.com/automotive/marketplace_for_longterm_parki/
Parking issue in Los Angeles
May 1, 2008
Stumbled on this a couple days ago and definitely think it's worth a read. Below is an excerpt and a link to an article on parking issues in Los Angeles. Essentially, the more cars you have to park, the fewer units permitted in the building. It may seem rather bizarre but I wouldn't be surprised if this is something happening with parking in other major cities beyond Los Angeles.
"New market condos require 2.25 parking spaces per unit (or, in some cases, 2.5 spaces or even 2.75 spaces in special districts), regardless of the size of the unit. That literally means that they expect every single household to have 2 cars and every other household to have someone over for dinner every other night (0.25 guest spaces). Since this doesn’t reflect reality, what we get are fewer housing units and a lot of expensive empty parking spaces in new buildings".
http://democraticspace.com/blog/2008/04/los-angeles-requires-too-many-parking-spaces/.
Tips for Mall Parking
April 29, 2008
Okay so I reverted to the same article twice...I couldn't help it. I was so impressed with the following Tips for Mall Parking put out by the AAA that I wanted to share it with you all.
Some tips for drivers headed to mall parking lots around the holidays:
— Side entrances usually have less traffic and more convenient spaces.
— Outlying areas have more spaces, lighter traffic and a lower risk of collision.
— Use your headlights when scouring for spaces, even in the daytime.
— Avoid backing out of a space by either backing into it or “pulling through” two spaces that are open nose-to-nose.\ — Avoid parking between tall SUVs or minivans. It might be hard to back out.
— Always be on the lookout for pedestrians.
— Buckle up. Even a low-speed collision can result in injuries.
How to find a Parking Space at the Mall
April 28, 2008
Yes, this one is a little older but frankly a very interesting strategic approach to parking at a mall. Essentially it's boiled down to one of four primary parking tactics: Search and destroy, lay and wait, stalk or see it and take it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6742389/
Wheelchair Parking Needs to Be Respected
April 25, 2008
Now I'm the first one to push the limits of civil liberties but I was floored the other day by a couple of yahoos who decided that at the ripe ol' age of oh...maybe 19, that they had such a pressing need to get into a convenience store that they pulled right in and threw their car in park in a wheelchair parking spot. I mean honestly, what nerve! Next thing you know a little ol granny comes pulling in and of course has to park at the end of a long line of parking spots out front. Not fair. Not fair at all. Those young'uns need a serious reminder about common courtes. So I took the liberty. After a moment of posturing they buckled when the older woman shuffled by. Tails between their legs, they hobbled off.
Parking Wars on Facebook
April 22, 2008
Following our little commentary on parking wars as featured on A&E we had a good chuckle at the parking wars game now found on facebook. An extension of the A&E show, the concept's in fact rather entertaining in and of itself.
Basic premise as follows:
Parking has never been this fun! Turn your profile page into a city street. Park on your friends' profiles and watch them park on yours. When you catch your friends parking illegally, ticket them! Increase your score and get cool new cars!
http://www.facebook.com/applications/Parking_Wars/31435010008
Parking Wars on A&E
April 20, 2008
So here we thought we were breaking into a relatively untapped world of parking and all the intricacies of it. Then we had the pleasure recently of stumbling on to parking wars on A&E. What a concept! Monthly and hourly parkers can learn a little about those parking police we've grown ever resentful of and gain a little perspective on them and their daily jobs. To be completely honest, it's a rather sympathetic experience to watch the show - these people that we find ourselves so often frustrated with are in fact the ones that find themselves in a pretty thankless role. If you have a second take a look at the attached...it paints parking issues in a much different light!
http://www.aetv.com/parking-wars/parking-wars-share.jsp
Parking In Brooklyn, NY Takes on a Whole New Meaning
April 18, 2008
As we are good people who do appreciate that cars and traffic etc. are taking claim to much of urban space, we thought it only fair to pass on to you all this clip. Shot in Brooklyn, this parking story is a little different then the previous ones we've shared. Intro as follows, and then watch this vid...pretty interesting statement being made.
"In June 2006, Transportation Alternatives volunteers staged a “Parking Spot Squat” in Brooklyn’s busy Park Slope neighborhood. The volunteers “liberated” two parking spaces, providing amenities that allowed residents to sit and relax..."
http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/parking-spot-squat/
Parking Games Online
April 15
Okay so we know that video games are a plenty online but what we didn't know was that we'd stumble upon a game that's parking based!! I'm pretty proud of my skills at parking in city spots but apparently I could use a TON more work at it. I couldn't even get the car into the first parking spot. Thank god I'm better behind the wheel or I'd be in some serious trouble! Play 'Parking Perfection' here!
http://www.mousebreaker.com/games/parking/play.php
Parking Space for Your Boats
April 13
When we got into this business we recognized that people were looking for monthly paring solutions for their vehicles. Little did we know how many folks were searching in Chicago for parking spots for their boat engines!! A really interesting request came through the other day that we thought we'd share..."I'm looking for a parking spot that can fit a couple Yamaha outboard engines. Any chance you have one that could house them for us?" Honestly, the answer is yes but wow. Who would have thought that parking spots could be used in such interesting ways!
Future of Monthly Parking
April 10
Rather fascinating the other day to see some of the new technology on the up and up as it relates to parking. I had heard about interesting elevator shafts that basically lift your car up and stack them but I was rather surprised at the use of actual conveyer belts to shuffle and park cars inside massive warehouse type structures. In some cases, these devices are completely automated using nothing but a swipe card and pin number. Just like a food warehouse the cars tehn are brought by conveyer from the back of the warehouse to your feet. Here's a link that shows some of the technology being used or about to be applied to help solve parking problems in New York City and other urban centers needing parking options...hold on to your mouse...it's taking monthly parking to a whole new level!!
http://www.skyparks.com/home.html
Monthly Parking in San Fran vs. San Francisco
April 7
I made the interesting mistake the other day while speaking to a friend about the parking situation in San Francisco. I referred to the city as San Fran. HUGE MISTAKE! Not only did I completely siderail the whole discussion around the creeping price of monthly parking in San Francisco but I wholeheartedly offended the guy I was speaking to. Turns out, referencing their city as San Fran is pretty much akin to calling the pope's following, 'his peeps'. Ouch. I was completely ripped apart by the guy I spoke with! Apparently any reference to San Francisco as San Fran is extremely misinformed and frankly offensive to anyone local to the city. Lesson learnt!
Free Downtown Parking in Major Cities!
April 4
So someone recently brought to our attention an interesting fact about parking in Toronto - did you know that you can actually park for free on King Street between Yonge and Bay for FREE! Every night between 6pm and 7am. Unbelievable and fabulous! It does however beg the question, how many other prime pieces of real estate have this ability in other cities across North America? I mean, what if you could find parking in Manhattan? Or parking in Chicago's Loop area for free? Those tricky parking police obviously overlooked a few parking spots that we hope our parking community can take advantage of. :)
Finding a parking spot in Boston is an exercise in Creativity!
April 3, 2008
 Apparently finding parking in Boston is a rather frustrating exercise. So much so in fact that people have taken to putting personal items on the street to mark their spot. Items seem to range from something as simple as a pylon or crate to the rather bizarre including Nativity statues, chest of drawers and Tide containers! Have a look at some of these pics for a good chuckle.
http://www.boston.com/realestate/gallery/parking_space_savers?pg=12
Plastic storage unit Well, it's tall, so it's not hard to miss if you're thinking of parking where it sits. Bonus: the bottom drawer opens up -- for extra stability.
Random parking fines from across the pond
April 1, 2008
We had a good laugh the other day when we saw this article in the UK's Daily Mail. It's bad enough to have monthly parking rates in our urban centers continuing to rise but to add insult to injury, fines for parking are also getting steeper and frankly quite bizarre. In some cases even a heart attack in a parking spot doesn't get you off the hook!! check out some of these absurd parking stories... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=547350&in_page_id=1770
Parking Spot stealers encroaching on monthly parking folks!
March 31, 2008
There was a great article in the Toronto Globe last week about 'parking spot' stealers. Who would have thought that parking had such a seedy underground to it! The woman in this article became so fed up with people parking in her reserved spot that she resorted to one of two things - she'd drop one of her pre-written notes she kept in her purse on their car or when really frustrated she'd just block them in so they became the incovenienced ones! Brilliant!
Check out her story at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080331.wlparking31/BNStory/lifeWork/home/
Find (or rent) a parking spot easily!
March 25, 2008
Marc Saltzman writes about how parking is no longer confined to just parking lots.
Toronto-based ParkingSpots.com is a new site that lets you easily find a parking spot when you need one – anywhere in Canada and the U.S.
Click here to read the article
Your Parking Stories, Pics and Drama
March 7, 2008
As we’re in the process of setting up a true blog we thought we’d start by collecting some of our users stories about parking. Whether it is a picture, a story, a vent or a praise, we’d love to hear about your love affair with affordable parking. So drop us a line at info@parkingspots.com and we’ll post your stories to share with our other viewers.
Affordable Parking?? Not for this lady!!
I stumbled on this today and had NO idea how to respond. At first it seemed kind of funny but then when the lady in the red car wouldn’t stop I couldn’t believe it. What on earth would possess someone to rack up $600 of damages to someone else’s vehicle all over a $2 parking spot!! It’s unbelievable…check it out! http://www.break.com/index/fight_over_parking_spot.html
TORONTO, CANADA (March 4, 2008)
Was reflecting again on the situation in Ottawa and have a few more comments to make. Looking at the average growth rates for price of parking in various cities on average there is about a 10% a year increase in city parking prices – now compare that to the approximately 3% increase in cost of living factored into one’s salary on an annual basis – hmmmm….something seems disproportionately out of whack here.
TORONTO, CANADA (March 1, 2008)
Surfing the net yesterday reminded me just how serious the parking crunch has become in North America. I was surprised to stumble across a petition put forth by the citizens of Ottawa to help keep parking rates affordable in their city. Ottawa was proposing a hike to $3 per hour for all metered rates. Now that may not seem so bad for folks in some cities but in a city where evening and weekend parking has historically been free, that’s one hell of a jump! Sadly, even with the signatures on the petition the motion passed and the rates will soon take effect. To learn more you can check out the blog at www.moreparkingmeterincreases.blogspot.com
City Plowing
TORONTO, CANADA (February 25, 2008)
Now we’re not trying to disrespect all the painstaking work that the city has to do in order to keep our roads running smoothly but we are curious about why those plows always seem to pile snow right over where we need to park! You’d think there’d be some rule stating that they have to remove snow as opposed to relocating it. Just the other day, a friend parked their car on a busy downtown street and guess what? The snow pile was so far into the road from the sidewalk that a streetcar passing by ripped his mirror off!! There must be a better way….
The Starbucks Phenomonen
TORONTO, CANADA (February 17, 2008)
Okay so call us crazy (and many have!) but we think there’s a conspiracy brewing. Have you ever noticed the number of times you ‘pop’ into a store or to pick up take out only to return to you car less than 5 minutes later and find one nasty yellow ticket on your dash!! People always bitch about it, they always try to beat the meter maids with a quick dash into stores but in the end, that yellow ticket seems to find its way on to your dashboard. We’re not entirely sure why this is happening but there’s one thing for certain – those parking folks have permanent spy stations on any corner with a Starbucks! No joke – they sit there in their perches, waiting for the working folk to beeline in for their caramel macchiatos and somewhere between using your starbucks card and receiving the steaming hot beverage from your local barista…bam!! Dirty yellow ticket slapped on the windshield and the little meter man is gone…skulking back to their lair. You don’t even stand a chance.
Parking Online - Next Generation of Ideas
TORONTO, CANADA (February 12, 2008)
It’s funny in hindsight for us to look back at the responses and feedback we received from so many people along the way of building this idea. One glaring reality – early generation X folks versus the boomers and late X-ers have entirely different perspectives on what consumers are looking for. When we first brought the idea to these older Xers and Boomers, they were cautiously optimistic. “Are you sure there’s that much demand for parking in major cities?”, “Don’t we have enough parking options out there?”. “Do you think people will really care?”. While they were all good questions we knew the need was out there. We reflected on the types of incredible sites that all aim to help make our global marketplace that much more local – autotrader, ebay, craigslist etc. and knew that parking was also one of those things. So against our learned judgment of listening to ‘the elders’ we said to hell with it, let’s just do it. So up we went and the response has been incredible. The number of people out there looking for parking and better yet, the number of people who didn’t realize how that dead space in their driveway could be used to make cash is amazing. Ask those same folks now what they think about our idea :)
Our Story
TORONTO, CANADA (February 8, 2008)
Well, it’s finally happened! After months of planning and building we’re really excited to launch parkingspots.com – your online parking marketplace. After originally buying the domain 5 years ago, frustrated over the lack of affordable parking downtown, our determination and drive gave way to ignorance and tech-virginity. We knew there was a parking problem in major cities but just didn’t know how to get the site up and going. Then as a couple years passed and we began realizing how antsy we were working for others we decided to take the plunge. So – here you have it. As of Feb 1st we are officially live! The solution to North America’s parking crisis all contained in one easy to use site. Whether you have a potential spot and are looking to make some extra cash or you can’t find affordable parking from any of the conventional sites, parkingspots.com has been designed for you. So tell a friend, or use it yourself – let’s get the word out and help each other find affordable, convenient parking.
Happy Parking!!
Parkingspots.com Officially Launches!!
TORONTO, CANADA (February 1, 2008)
Parkingspots.com is pleased to announce their official launch at www.parkingspots.com.
As urban areas continue to grow and become increasingly congested, space has become a key concern. Whether it be space to store personal goods because it can no longer fit in one’s existing abode or even a seat on the subway on one’s way to work, space is running short. Too many people are flowing into North America’s cities and the spatial resources to support them are not growing respectively.
The continual increase in population and subsequent lack of available space becomes acutely evident when it comes to the issue of parking. Every day the number of people commuting in and out of urban cities continue to grow. What do they all have in common? They all need to park their cars somewhere. Whether it be during the day while they’re at work or in the evening while they sleep, their vehicles need space to be kept.
The idea was born a number of years ago as a result of this frustration over available parking solutions in these urban centers. Recognizing how many others were in the same situation, the idea was hatched and has been incubated since. Now officially live, the site serves to not only help potential Seekers find convenient and affordable parking solutions but also to help those that have existing, un-monetized space, generate a little extra income for their families.
Bottom Line: Consumers are in need of some alternatives and we have a solution.
About Parkingspots.com
Parkingspots.com is an online marketplace for people with parking and people seeking parking. The company provides an online database of available parking throughout Canada and the United States. Free to list (for Pspot Owners) and free to search (for prospective Renters), the site is designed as a listing service for parking spots. The site includes easy navigation and search functions that utilize Google Maps as well as postal/zip codes and street address.
All media are invited to contact us at info@parkingspots.com for details on this and additional information surrounding this announcement. | 
