Parkingspots.com - Blog

What takes Precedence: Neighborhood Economic Growth or Reduced Congestion?
October 4, 2009

Wow.  Has it really been almost two months since I last posted?  I have no clue where time goes these days...unbelieveable.  Well I'm back.  And finding myself quite enthralled really by a debate currently underway in Toronto that I'm guessing is similarly experienced across other North American cities.  The impact of parking on the livelihood of a neighborhood.  Dundas West in Toronto is a funky eclectic community of shops, lounges, old-world ...

Park(ing) Day 2009 - 50 cities and counting!
August 12, 2009

Park(ing) Day.  A fabulous and inspiring movement launched in NYC a few years back to reclaim open space and make it liveable again.  It's a brilliant idea frankly - taking public space like that and making it into whatever you want it to be for a day.  Definitely worth taking a look at the official website and seeing how folks in NYC have brought to life these forlorn slabs of concrete! Click ...

Pink Parking Spots!!
August 11, 2009

I had a good chuckle when I saw this come across my newsfeed.  So it seems that a woman's equality group in Seoul Korea has decided that to make parking 'fairer', there needs to be designated parking for women in stilletos!  Interestingly, they place these spots, distinctly marked in hot pink, directly beside the handicapped spots....strange irony in that i suppose. So far the group has 'pinked' 4,929 spots and counting.  ...

Vancouver Proposes SLashing New Parking Spots
July 10, 2009

WHen I first read this article I wasn't entirely sure which side of the fence I sat on.  The issue is as such:  Vancouver is looking to curb congestion and get more folks traveling by bike and foot by reducing the number of new parking spots allowed in the city.  From an environmental standpoint I get it.  Congestion wise, I get it.  What I don't get is that at this point ...

Parking in OWN Driveway = Ticket in Toledo, OH
June 16, 2009

Now I see a lot of wonky stuff out there since I began my foray into the world of parking but never one quite like this.  Apparently the city of Toledo, OH has decided to TICKET folks in their own driveways!   The law apparently says it's illegal to park on unpaved ground - hence anyone with a gravel driveway is being issued parking tickets!!  The mayor in fact is actually supporting ...

Parking During Rush Hour Being Eliminated
June 4, 2009

An interesting debate is ranging on Dundas West in Toronto.  Two years ago the city agreed to put in metered parking along the strip during rush hour in the hopes that it would slow the traffic flow down along the strip.  Now local councillors are trying to eliminate them and instead put up a bunch of new pay and display machines along side streets instead.  Problem is in the process of doing ...

Parking Pay Stations Designed To Ease Congestion in San Francisco
June 3, 2009

It was only a matter of time before cities began to really leverage supply and demand when it comes to parking rates.  SO in San Francisco a new set of 'pay stations' literally does that.  City sets curbside meters based on anticipated demand.  When demand in an area goes up, so does the rate to park there.  What they're trying to do is basically try to regulate street parking so that ...

PrimeTime Parking Rates Jacked in Brooklyn
May 5, 2009

Parking in Park Slope, Brooklyn just got a little more expensive. In an effort to ease congestion in the Park Slope business area, a beta test is being run that jacks meter prices from 10am to 4pm in that zone.  The intent is to keep folks from leaving their cars parked for too long but instead get higher turnover from each spot(and thus more money for the city!).  It came about after ...

Mpark Parking Technology Hits Dubai
April 30, 2009

We get really excited when we stumble on new parking technology rolling out across the world's cities.  While yes, for many this sort of info may be the last thing that gets them excited, for us it's a pretty cool glimpse into the future.  So, when we stumbled on Mpark, we got almost giddy!  Mpark is a system that Dubai is introducing that essentially connect's all on street parking meters to ...

Zipcar and Zimride...interesting pair...
April 13, 2009

Read an interesting article today about how Zipcar and Zimride are partnering. For those that don't know Zipcar is a car sharing/rental company and Zimride helps connect those needing rides with those who are driving somewhere. The article brings up a really good point though.  Zipcar is all about being part of a car sharing arrangement where you essentially have a membership to be able to 'rent' vehicles for fairly cheap rates that include ...

Trendwatching Picks Up Parkingspots.com
April 6, 2009

It's always a great morning when you wake up and find some new, cool press on your company!  Trendwatching.com did their April briefing around the whole premise of sellsumers - essentially consumers who take their existing property/assets and sell them.  The writeup references some cool areas that consumers are looking to in order to generate dollars - from their parking spots to their rooms to their jewellery.  Anything goes these days. ...

NY1 News Story About Parking Options
March 30, 2009

It was a big week for us at parkingspots.com last week...having survived a crazy earthquake in the Palm Desert early in the week we figured luck was  on our side.  And frankly it was!  Friday found me in NYC meeting with some major journalists who are interested in our story (yay!).  Not only that but something must have been in the air as that morning, unbeknownst to us NY1 ran a ...

Mr. Bean in the Car Park
March 17, 2009

Okay so I must admit...got up this morning determined to write something perhaps a little cheeky about the Irish in light of St. Patty's day but in the process stumbled upon this hysterical video of Mr. Bean.  HOnestly, how many times have you ended up leaving a car park or parking lot, inserting your ticket and seeing some astronomically high number pop up on the display as amount owed?!  Well, check ...

MIT's New Stackable Car is Fascinating
March 9, 2009

Okay so I know those folks down at MIT are geniuses but I didn't realize the scope of their ingenuity extended into my world (my ignorance at fault on this one).  Stackable cars.  Craziness.  Coined CityCars, these vehicles are actually able to fold up into compact little packages on wheels.  In essence they are a similar concept to our friends at ZIpCar the big difference being these vehicles are just ...

Single Car's Journey to Find Parking and it's Carbon Footprint
March 7, 2009

K so this was super cool.  A guy named Bern who's also in the business of parking did a cool little exercise where he traced his buddy's travel and emissions going from a suburban area in TOronto to a downtown office.  Key stat?  He spent 10 to 12 minutes just circling for parking - that's 39% of his entire trip!  Not to mention, circling and slowing for parking is one of ...

WARNING - Fake Parking Tickets
February 25, 2009

How malicious does a person have to be to go to this length to infect someone's computer with viruses?  Essentially, some idiots have taken it upon themselves to 'fake' ticket peoples' cars with tickets that direct them to a website.  Soon as they get there, the site then fills their computer with viruses.  Umm...lovely.  I mean honestly, who has the time to walk around slapping these tickets on cars in the first ...

Adding New Parking Lots At What Cost?
February 24, 2009

There's been a lot of press lately around Toronto's plan to increase parking around commuter train lots due to the ever increasing volume of commuter traffic.  I get that.  Logically, it's a necessity.  What kills me though is how uncreative cities are when it comes to developing solutions to urban problems.  What's the plan?  Essentially to bulldoze more green space and replace it with concrete parking lots.  The thing that irks ...

Overselling parking spots?
February 18, 2009

I know I wrote yesterday about parking on campus but some more insanity related to this just came across my inbox.  University of Houston - 10K parking spots and yet 24K parking permits issued.  I get the need to 'oversell' but similar to the airline industry, this exercise tends to raise a little frustration in consumers! Click here for the story.

The Issue of Parking on Campus
February 17, 2009

Why is it that so many of the articles I stumble on in my field address the issue of parking on campus?  I mean, isn't academia supposed to be the think tank of society?  Aren't our major breakthroughs supposed to come from these campuses of higher learning?  Then why is it that the basic issue of parking can't even be solved at these campuses?  mind blowing.. ...

Cities Increase Parking Enforcement - Their REAL Motives
February 2, 2009

I'm really disappointed to know what's happening in Brooklyn when it comes to Parking Enforcement.  SEems that the city is using it as a way to grab quick bucks from drivers in the region by indiscriminately ticketing.  Add to that the fact that according to the Brooklyn Eagle, the only item in the budget that WASN'T cut was on parking enforcement - enough $$ to add another 253 hires!!  I mean honestly...it ...

HIstory of Parking
January 25, 2009

Here we've been writing about parking related stuff for half a year now and yet, never have we thought to question the 'history' of parking.  I mean honestly, when did people start paying to park their transport?  Were there fees levied on chariots?  Trolley pulling donkeys?  Anyone out there who has any clue or theories on where and when parking began to be a 'commercial' operation, I would LOVE to hear ...

Alternative Parking - the Perks of a Hybrid
January 16, 2009

Ahhh...got to love those hybrids.  It's interesting watching drivers who are not hybrid vehicle owners deal with rising frustration over the benefits granted hybrid drivers.  This sign was one of many at a parking lot at the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia.  Freakonomics blog picked it up and links in some other interesting hybrid perks.  Have a read... ...

Parking spot in Vail hits $500K mark!
December 7, 2008

It's amazing that even in today's economy there is a market for exorbitantly priced parking.  A $500,000 spot was recently listed in Vail.  Close to major lifts and near Vail Village, the spot was put on the market by a father trying to help fund his daughter's ski career.  Props to the dad for believing in his daughter and supporting her in this endeavor but my word...that's one hell of a ...

The Parking Spots Index - New Financial Metric
November 17, 2008

I think this is brilliant and frankly a very interesting means for judging the state of the economy.  The Parking Space Index.    Essentially it's an indicator based on how many parking spots are available at a mall/public place (and how good the spots are - ie. right up by entrance vs back of the lot).  Forget the Starbucks Index or Big Mac Index - this one is right up our alley! ...

Bike Parking akin to Car Parking?
November 16, 2008

NYC is looking to change its current laws to encourage more people to make the shift from cars to bikes. They are in the process of more than doubling the cities bike lanes to 420 miles by 2009. In addition, a new law would mandate that new apartment buildings set aside space for 1 dedicated bike parking spot for every 2 apartment units.  FOr the full story read here... ...

Parking Not Needed
November 9, 2008

It always amazes me when I get to travel somewhere new and see how an unfamiliar city/town operates.  Sitting here in Gasparilla, FL cars have been forsaken by many in favor of golf carts.  Yep - golf carts!  What a fabulous little invention they are and environmental to boot!  Now if speed's your thing, this mode of transport definitely doesn't offer much but frankly, in this part of the world, there ...

Parkingspots.com Hits The National Post
October 17, 2008

As any business knows, press and awareness is crucial to growth.  Well, we lucked out this week with a fabulous article on our business in the Financial Post.  Derek Shankey profiled the company and our new affiliate program in a full page spread.  To see the full article please click here... ...

A Break from Parking
October 13, 2008

Ahhh...long weekends.  The bliss of being relaxed, outside the city, enjoying the beautiful fall colors and the last few days of cottage season before it's closed for the season.  Driving through small towns to get to the lake district always helps to alleviate the stress of city living and also manages to put so many things in perspective - the hours one sits in traffic every day, the jockeying for lunch ...

Washington and Parking Minimums
October 2, 2008

So Washington is dealing with the issue of parking minimums and it's creating quite a stir.  Some advocacy groups are fighting vehemently to convince the city they should drop the minimum parking spots associated with new developments.  The theory?  Too much space is being devoted to parking and it's unnecessary.  We couldn't agree more!  Why not better use the space we have??  Read more here.... ...

International Park(ing) Day!!
September 23, 2008

As it turns out, yesterday was International Park(ing) Day - yes, it's really a celebrated day!  Launched three years ago, the premise is to take existing parking spots and temporarily convert them into works of art.  Well, apparently the parking folks in Toronto didn't like the idea very much...have a read of this bureaucratic debacle.. ...

McCain's Million Dollar Parking Lot
August 28, 2008

It turns out that Presidential hopeful John McCain is in the game of parking.  More impressively (in some bizarre way) is the fact that someone took the time to put together a video about McCain's parking lot.  It's located directly beside the Arizona Diamondbacks stadium and it seems people think it's just terrible that he's making upwards of a million a year off it.  I mean honestly?  All it proves to ...

Infiniti's New Parking Technology
August 26, 2008

Various forms of parking assistance technology have been rolling out over the last few years but the latest and greatest from Infiniti is really pretty cool.  Using 360 degree cameras (one even extends out of the grille when you throw it in reverse!), the new technology is unbelievable for a number of reasons:  A) it's just simply so futuristic and B) are people such bad drivers that they no longer ...

Hybrids the New Kings of Parking
August 22, 2008

In the game of parking, it's rare that anyone has a leg up on someone else in securing a spot.  For the most part it's an aggressive, frustrating and frankly annoying headache that people prefer to just avoid altogether.  But, no longer for Hybrid car owners.  In select cities across the US including Austin and Chicago, Ikea is actually now offering up the best spots in the lot to those with ...

'I'm Sorry For Scratching Your Car when I Parked'
August 5, 2008

Okay so this cracked me up.  A very conscientous individual decided to write an apology to another driver when he 'accidentally' scratched his car.  The reason?  Well, turns out the other driver had used two spots in one garage and the second driver decided he should very thoughtfully leave a note about why the double parker should now find scratches on his vehicle...have a read, it's hilarious! ...

Dog Days of Summer Make Parking Downtown a Dream
July 29, 2008

Not sure about the rest of you but this last week of July and the first week of August are by far the two best driving and parking weeks of the year.  City congestion is gone, parkings spots abound on the streets and in public lots, the sky's beautiful and sunny, gardens are in full bloom...well you get the picture.  Being able to zip across town in under 20 minutes ...

Innovation and Metered Parking Spots In San Francisco
July 25, 2008

I know it's been awhile but frankly things have been so busy that it's been hard to find time to write!  I must say, for a startup business, not a bad problem to have.  Stumbled on this today and am intrigued.  So the city of San Francisco is launching a really interesting approach to parking in the city.  As of this fall 6,000 of the city's 24,000 metered parking spaces ...

People in Parked Cars
July 3, 2008

Okay so this may seem like an odd one but it's something I've always been curious about. People who sit in parked cars.  7am, they sit in a parking lot in their car or sit outside a subway station or a park.  These people seem in no hurry to do anything.  They let their cars idle (no regard apparently for the gas they're clogging the air with unnecessarily).  Maybe I'm crazy ...

Trendwatching's Top Innovations Names Parkingspots.com
July 1, 2008

What a fabulous day in the life of an entrepreneur to be picked up by trendwatching.com!!  Parkingspots.com has been identified as one of the Top 40 Innovations out there right now.  Have a read here to see the article. ...

PrimoSpot Offers New Spin on Parking Search
June 30, 2008

I was having a great chat at breakfast this morning about whether or not to post this but consensus was go for it.  Why the indecision?  Well, frankly, we're about to tell you about another parking search service.  PrimoSpot which originally launched a year ago is an interesting service designed to help NYC folks find street parking near their destination. Unlike www.parkingspots.com, these spots are hourly/daily street parking around the city of New York.  Very ...

Condo Parking - The Small Print
June 14, 2008

A woman in Calgary was reviewing the terms of her new condo and saw that it indicated an extra parking stall was included. Problem was the small print. She thought she'd bought the spot with her condo but in fact the $4000 charge was really a lease on a spot. She never actually purchased the second parking spot!! From what we understand this is not an isolated ...

Portland Citizen Issues Parking Ticket to Cop!
June 8, 2008

I had a good laugh at a posting I stumbled upon today.  Turns out there was a gentleman in Portland,OR who, newly minted as a lawyer, took advantage of an obscure state law that allowed private citizens to issue parking citations.  Talk about taking parking into your own hands!

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/04/private-citizen.html

US EPA Addresses Parking Planning
June 8, 2008

Okay so sometimes we need to discuss not just interesting parking stories but also the more serious issue of urban planning.  As many of us are aware, the debate rages on about parking spots and urban planning in major cities.  A report was released by the US EPA about the role that parking plays in community planning.  It does a good job of highlighting a couple great flexible solutions to ...

Parkingspots.com's Blog Goes Interactive!!
May 31, 2008

Parkingspots.com is really really excited to finally have a blog that allows you, our monthly parking community to post your thoughts, ideas and parking stories!!  It will be a couple days before all our recent posts are loaded onto the new blog but in the meantime we invite all of you to join the conversation. Happy Parking!! ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Free Downtown Parking in Major Cities!
April 4, 2008

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 ...

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.  ...

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 ...

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 ...

Find (or rent) a parking spot easily!
March 25, 2008

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. Imagine you've got an important business meeting somewhere around the Yonge & Eglinton area in midtown Toronto and don't know where to find a good spot. At this site you can type in the address or postal code you're going to and with the ...

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!!
March 4, 2008

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 ...

City Plowing
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 ...

The Starbucks Phenomonen
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 ...

Our Story
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 ...

Parkingspots.com Officially Launches
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 ...