Parking Headaches

If you read my previous post, you read about the maze that I go through to get from the parking garage to the office. I guess I shouldn't complain. I do not envy those who pay up to $50/month for guaranteed parking spots elsewhere around the building. Although those that get to park inside the garage adjoining the building have it made. They have been with the county for 30 years or more. Thankfully, when my coworkers are on vacation, they notify me so I may park in their spots. How nice!

There are some that park on the hill. Sidewalks and streets in the winter have been less than desirable for walking. One should bring skates, sled or toboggan to get the most out of the experience. I think they put chains on their shoes to get up the hills. They are San Francisco steep. Only San Francisco doesn't have ice and snow.

UMD has a rather profitable enterprise for their parking system. They sell maroon parking passes for $140 a semester. Get there quick, they say, so you can get one. It has been revealed that they sell more maroon passes than they have parking spaces for. This leaves a mess with the parking situation there as there is no guarantee that you will find a maroon parking spot. You may still have to pay to park in the pay lot. It is $2 per entry to get a spot there. However, often the lot is full. One of my classmates waited 2 hours for a parking spot. They also have parking meters. They are very predatorial with their ticketing practices. You can bet that they you will have a ticket if you are 5 minutes over.

Despite their parking nightmare, UMD continues to build new buildings in their current parking lots. It appears they have no room to expand outside their current boundaries, so they expand within their boundaries. Just outside the campus are parking spots that are available only to residents. None of this new construction includes a parking garage. Apparently they believe it would be an eye-sore. I don't think they have looked at their current buildings if they came to that conclusion.

After my umpteenth experience with parking perils at UMD, I vented to the class that was not yet in session about the parking situation. It is a common gripe. The teacher responded that UMD wants people to take the city bus. (Must be another business venture of theirs.) I responded that I would be happy to if they travel to Two Harbors to pick me up - they don't - and don't make allowances for commuter or ancient students, either. Finally we decided to hold class off campus. The teacher was fine with it and we were ecstatic with it, so we did it! Now it is so much less stressful! Wow! The things you have to do to reduce stress!

The Maze

My first day interning at St. Louis County Department of Health and Human Services possessed the usual discomfort one experiences at a new place, yet with some that I had never experienced before. I couldn't find any of the free parking spots that I was told about. These spots are atop a steep hill that the Government Services Building sits midway on. They were all taken. So, I checked out the parking garage I was also told about. I found a spot, inserted a handful of quarters and wondered how I would get from the garage - point A - to the Government Services Building - point B.

I knew I could see where I was going from the outside but wasn't too sure about how to get there from the inside. Going in and out of buildings just didn't seem right. Walking outside the courthouse, I was told to stop. I had to wait for a chain of prisoners to go by and get safely in the building with their guards and the vehicle to leave before I could pass. Construction left me walking outside of barricades onto busy streets. Pray then run! Pray then run! Finally I got to the right building. l asked my coworkers about this and found that there is indeed a system to doing this. Now I have it down pat! In fact I have even tweaked it so it is more efficient.

Here is the routine:
Keep walking through each instruction - except the elevators, of course.
Park on level 4 of the garage.
Walk to the doorway of the garage.
Open door 1
Enter small enclosure.
Open door 2
Walk across the skywalk to the courthouse.
Open door and turn left immediately.
Press the down button on the elevator.
Enter the elevator and press M.
Enter the main floor cafeteria/break room that was once a coffee shop.
Proceed across cafeteria to door.
Open door 1 (Caution, door swings both ways)
Open door 2 (Tunnel to City Hall)
Breathe in aroma of mold.
Open door 3 (glass door says that it will be locked at 5:15)
Go through cement floor tunnel that sometimes appears to have vomit on it. Painted in a delightful institutional gray.
Turn right.
Turn left.
Pass door with boxes of architectural drawings of city.
Pass police dressing room, evidence room...
Pass through doorway where cement ends and marble floor begins.
Walk to the middle of the room take a left at the elevators and push up button.
Upon entering the elevator, press 1
When exiting the elevator, take a right.
Take another right when you reach the verigated spider plants in the oversized planters.
Walk through the atrium to the skywalk.
Open door and proceed through skywalk.
Open door at the end of skywalk.
Enter hallway of govt services building.
Walk down ramping tiled floor to main floor.
Turn right, walk 2/3 of the way down to the elevators...etc.

On a good day with the timing just right on the elevators, I can make it in 10 minutes.

I often pass the same people going the other way and wonder if we should trade parking spots.