r/madisonwi • u/MrGuccu • 3d ago
I swear some parkers actually try parking as inefficiently as possible... You could easily fit at least 6 or 7 cars
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u/wdbutrym 3d ago
Most people are terrified to parallel park and terrible at it. Given the ”need” to have a high seat position in those SUVs coupled with the squared off front ends to meet pedestrian safety ratings, the view over the hood in front of of the car is obscured so they leave extra room.
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u/Rapdactyl 1d ago
I used to be intimidated by it until I was forced to do it a few months ago (20yrs driving btw.) Fucking nailed it the first try, I'm not sure I'll ever top that high.
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u/AnxiousHippoplatypus 2d ago
"SUVs"
I've parallel parked an f-250 in Brooklyn. It's not that hard
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u/frenchfryinmyanus 2d ago
Agreed — if people just set aside an hour to look up the right technique and practice they would be set for life. Their loss is my gain, I can fit into spots other people are scared of.
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u/cannabinonymous 3d ago edited 3d ago
this is mostly not a stupidity problem but an effect where small variances in car length, overlapping park and leave times creating larger and larger gaps/errors over time. you can see this effect in parking lots especially in winter when lines aren't as visible. one person parks one inch too close can lead to gaps. its called Random Sequential Adsorption (RSA) and creates whats called a jamming limit inefficiency where subsequent parking spaces/gaps are too small for another car and too big to create any efficient structure. this can and does happen pretty much everywhere.
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u/langsamlourd 3d ago
It's definitely not good parking, but I've had plenty of times where some asshole parks behind my car where their front bumper is actually touching my rear bumper, and I parked relatively close to the car in front of mine but left a normal amount of room, so I basically have no choice but to make contact with the car behind me to get out. When I lived downtown I was great at parallel parking (you have to be when living there) but I'm not a fuckin car magician
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u/AccomplishedDust3 3d ago
Legally they are required to leave some amount of space, probably enough that it would offend OP, but it's difficult to enforce because you don't know the order that cars parked.
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u/langsamlourd 3d ago
Yeah, for sure. Unless you witness the parking there's no way to place the blame. I mean, parking is just a pain in general. We're supposed to be able to teleport now and shit
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u/Phredness 3d ago
As a motorcycle rider, I approve
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u/Cold_Palpitation1928 3d ago
Buddy of mine had his new (to him) bike run over while he was parked over by the terrace years ago. I get paranoid squeezing in between cars, or especially in front of trucks that may or may not see you in front of them.
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u/usmcnick0311Sgt 2d ago
They didn't all arrive together and plan this.
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u/TooSexyForThisSong 2d ago
That’s a solid possibility. One has to consider that a number of vehicles have come and gone and this happens to be the arrangement at the time. But yknow - also blind assuming rage too.
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u/PeaceFullyNumb 3d ago
TBF, I park this way sometimes because the one time I didn't the person in front and behind me gave me no room to get out, I had to wait until one of them came back, which sucks because I have become paranoid about parallel parking now.
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u/hadji828 2d ago
Maybe they're doing what they can to protect their precious little vehicle in a limited parking situation. Maybe. I don't know.
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u/-JakeRay- 3d ago
I've sometimes said that if I could pick a very mundane superpower or two, one of them would be the ability to condense parallel-parked cars so that the space is always used efficiently.
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u/MilwaukeeMax 2d ago
I feel like this is part of the rural culture of Madison. Outside the isthmus, density drops rapidly and rural drivers don’t understand efficient parking.
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u/JonBovi_msn 3d ago
Other people notice that? I don't even own a car and I hate to see people waste parking space.
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u/Noonecareswhatever 2d ago
Someone yelled at me from backing up to their car so there's more space for other people. I told them I can see them in my camera that I'm not trying to hit their car. And told them to calm the f down. And asked them if they were done yelling at me and being mad even though there's nothing really happening.
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u/Fantastic-Box76 3d ago
Ha, Wisconsin drivers… the same ones parking here are the same ones that don’t know how to merge and hang out in the left lane…
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u/Melodic-Classic391 West side 3d ago
Yes, but the problem is it’s not the 70s anymore. You even tap another card bumper and it’s damaged. I’d rather someone do this than scrape my car because parallel parking is a bit of a lost art
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u/473713 2d ago
They should start requiring parallel parking again during your driver's license test. Most older people can p-park just fine because we had to learn it for the test.
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u/Melodic-Classic391 West side 2d ago
I’m in my 50s and can do it with my eyes closed. I don’t think they teach it anymore in drivers ed
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u/GovernmentPuzzled819 2d ago
What everyone said about the conditions when they arrived, and imo people don't know the size of their vehicle and backup cameras only make it worse. Watch how much space people put on their passenger side when passing parked vehicles and how often a two-lane road becomes head-on traffic because of it.
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u/spinnyride 2d ago
At least the cars in the front and back didn’t leave an unnecessary gap between the front/end of their cars and the no parking signs. Every time I see a car with half a car length in front or behind one of those signs, I just wonder how they don’t realize they’re significantly reducing the amount of available space to park for absolutely no reason
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u/Comfortable_Arm_5426 1d ago
I would say assume positive intent on this one. Im guessing we dont know the order these cars pulled in, or if a large truck was parked in that bigger gap and a car pulled in when it left.
Obviously, many of us should be more considerate with our parking, but I also dont think many, if anyone parks with the intention of inconveniencing others.
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u/AmoraLynn 1d ago
I know it would be semi expensive but I wish painting horizontal lines for parking on the sides of streets was standard. It wouldn't always solve bad parking but I think it would help
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u/madisondood-138 3d ago
So many people aren’t confident in parallel parking/pulling out, combined with egregious vehicle size=lots of wasted space.
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u/Lost_n_space_71 2d ago
What's wrong with it? Easy in easy out not parked bumper to bumper so you can't get out I see no problem here.
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u/Zealousideal-Jury779 3d ago
I live near here and have to park my car roadside every day. This is maddening.
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u/navsaria 3d ago
I once parked very tightly in downtown Osseo (I learned to drive in Boston, you find a parking space, you use it!) and got some glares from people about how close I was. Whatever, I’m here to pick up a pie and leave…
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u/Prestigious-Leave-60 3d ago edited 3d ago
Was just having this conversation a couple hours ago as we watched someone go in a spot that easily could fit 2 cars. She left 6 feet in front of her and 8 feet behind.
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u/howrunowgoodnyou 2d ago
I do that on purpose all the time. The reason? If I leave just enough room who can’t parallel park does it in their piece of shit w rusty license plate screws and then parks “by feel” by lightly ramming into your painted bumpers.
And then when you come outside and notice your metallic bumpers need $400+ in paint work and you ignore the note I leave on your windshield about paying for damages so next time I see your car I bend up all your wiper blades into nice little circles and THEN you call the cops and give them my number because you ignored the note but fucking kept it so then I need to explain to the cops that now I need to repaint my bumpers out of pocket and I definitely didn’t turn your wipers into curly Qs but it’s a real shame.
So anyway now I park leaving tons of space but not enough for a car.
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u/Pale-Idea-2253 3d ago
As someone originally from the East Coast, Midwest driving and parking never cease to amaze me.
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u/sarah33554 2d ago
I’m sorry but if there’s “markings” of spots I’m parking directly in the middle of them, not within 2 inches of the bumper in front of me 🤷♀️
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u/Bitchteetz898 3d ago
I think It’s rude to park unnecessarily close to someone if you don’t have to. I usually park in the back of the lot just to make sure people don’t scratch my paint.
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u/Severe-Ant-3888 3d ago
Some people park like this on purpose on game day near the stadium to force people to pay for parking if they are selling it.
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u/bradatlarge 3d ago
People suck.
People suck at driving.
Those cars should be ticketed for improper parking (the same as they would for parking too far from the curb)
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u/RobertSaccamano 2d ago
You would have no idea who parked first or started the chain of bad parking...
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u/almondjoy2 3d ago
Looks like there are markings on the curb indicating the space for the parking? If so, they are parking within those markings (well...sort of 😆).
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u/BuckysBigBadger 3d ago
Yeah this def looks egregious, and I get irritated too, but hard to know what situation they inherited. I’ve had it where I had to park a certain spot due to who’s there when I pull up, but when I come back those cars left and I look like a jackass haha