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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Parking Privileges

posted by on May 21 at 18:05 PM

Someone who claims to speak for all residents of 16th Ave. E. left a note on the windshield of a car that someone had the nerve to park on 16th Avenue E. (Click on image for large version.)

parknote1small.jpg

Classy. The person that owns the offending car wrote a response and posted it—along with the original letter above—one a light pole near his or her usual parking spot. (Click on image for large version.)

parknote2small.jpg

I have to say that I disapprove. Now discuss.

RSS icon Comments

1

Dueling douchebags.

Posted by Providence | May 21, 2008 6:11 PM
2

The Residence of 16th Ave lost credibility. SIGN YOU DAMN NAME!!! But I would have just slashed the tires of the offending car. They could bike or bus to work. Parking problem solved!

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger | May 21, 2008 6:14 PM
3

The first note is written by the entitled bitch wife/bastard husband of a rich man/rich woman (all permutations implied), who stays home to walk the triplets in their sidewalk-chewing pram whilst watching out for unknowing innocents upon whom she can spring her passive-aggressive missives.

It all boils down to the fact that the gardener won't screw her/him anymore, and s/he's mad as hell.

The note in response was funny, but puerile in the end. Better to just let Soccer Mom/Soccer Dad stew in her/his juices.


-- Brought to you by The Gender Neutral Hate Society of America

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | May 21, 2008 6:17 PM
4

I live in the one rental house on a block of Capitol Hill view houses. Certain of my neighbors will actually go door to door to find out who parked in "their" space. Or they'll leave little passive-aggressive notes like this one. Or put out decoy parking cones. They pretty much act as if they think of the space on the street in front of their homes is their property.

I'm not sure where this idea comes from. It seems to thrive in more expensive locales, though.

Posted by flamingbanjo | May 21, 2008 6:17 PM
5

I feel that the offender who parked on the street should probably just be executed by the state for misusing public resources. That's just my opinion and I'm entitled to it, you dumb bastards.

Posted by NardDog | May 21, 2008 6:18 PM
6

Oh for fuck's sake. You know what? People in my old city of Ann Arbor used to park on neighborhood streets and walk in to work or catch the bus b/c parking fees can add up. It's legal. It's a public street. The residents should just deal with it.

That first letter writer is stupid.

Posted by Balt-O-Matt | May 21, 2008 6:19 PM
7

um, they don't "own" the street so tell the fat c*nt to watch her kids and stop worrying about everyone else. this kind of shit really pisses me off. any chance we can put the jail and released sex-offender housing nearby? i'd like to see this d-bag get her panties in a wad.

Posted by holz | May 21, 2008 6:20 PM
8

I would like to ask everyone to please stop parking between 16th Ave and Broadway, north of Pike and south of Republican. It's RUDE and CHEAP, and makes it difficult for me to find parking for myself, my children, and my elderly handicapped construction worker.

Posted by pox | May 21, 2008 6:21 PM
9

Anyone else feel inspired to park their car on 16th?

Posted by Roadtrip! | May 21, 2008 6:23 PM
10

problem solved!

Posted by morebikelanesplz | May 21, 2008 6:25 PM
11

In my hometown (Pittsburgh) people put old chairs out to save parking places because most parking in the city is street parking (there are very few driveway and/or garages in residential areas). They usually only do it in the winter to save a shoveled space, but other drivers almost always respect the parking chairs.

Posted by Sheryl | May 21, 2008 6:26 PM
12

@6: Totally agreed (and congrats on no longer being Michigan Matt!). If it was important for the guy to not park there, the street would be zoned accordingly. The original note-writer could move to a zoned street, or go fuck herself; either solution would work just fine.

Posted by Aislinn | May 21, 2008 6:26 PM
13

a caretaker for my mother who was from Montana was shocked that just anyone could park in front of our house so maybe this is a blue collar undereducated thing. so is it a clinton, mccain or obama street?

Posted by frank | May 21, 2008 6:27 PM
14

IMO, both letters are rude...the first a little more so since it had no provocation.

Posted by j4zz3rgrl | May 21, 2008 6:28 PM
15

Bitch needs to live in LQA for a while, especially when the Sonics are in town. Then she can bitch about parking.

Posted by LT L | May 21, 2008 6:32 PM
16

"Resident of 16th Ave" is a big dumb cunny.

Posted by greg | May 21, 2008 6:33 PM
17

It's rude to tether your horse in front of someone else's house because when the horse shits you won't clean it up. Give it a few years, $10 for a gallon of Saudi Black Sweet, and the posting headline will be something about tethering your horse to the post on 16th...

Posted by Sargon Bighorn | May 21, 2008 6:34 PM
18

Parking on Lower Queen Anne during Sonics games is not as difficult as people think.

Posted by joykiller | May 21, 2008 6:35 PM
19

Both are assholes, and both suck.

I don't have a car, but if I did have one and someone left a note, I'd leave my car there permanently.

And I don't have a car, but if I was annoyed but the way someone parked, I steal the car and drive it into the lake. Then the dumbass would really never park there.

So both of them are shit heads for 1) having cars, 2) writing notes, and 3) being so pissy in their notes.

Posted by Andrew | May 21, 2008 6:37 PM
20

Hey fucking assholes, the city owns the parking space in front of your house, not you.

Anyone can park there legally.

Posted by I'm a Nuclear Bomb | May 21, 2008 6:37 PM
21

The Gender Neutral Hate Society of America would like to ask Slog's readers: why do you assume it's a woman that wrote letter #1?

Maybe a man wrote both letters? Maybe a man wrote the first and a woman, the second?

Is it the pen(wo)manship in letter #1? It seems kind of gender neutral to us. Maybe a gay did it, but that's about as close as we're willing to go.

Shame on your assumptions. "Woman is the noodle of the world." -- John Lennon

Thank you,

The Gender Neutral Hate Society of America

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | May 21, 2008 6:38 PM
22

Going by the handwriting, Jube. But whether it's a man or a woman, it's a douchebag for sure. Unzoned parking is there for everyone.

Posted by Fnarf | May 21, 2008 6:45 PM
23

Sod off, #16.

Posted by Greg | May 21, 2008 6:49 PM
24

Once, my girlfriend and I went to a party, and I parked in a legal on-street spot. Because the strip was planted in a ridiculously overgrown manner, I parked near the cement runner so that my lady could get out of the car, in her heels and formal clothes, without having to go off-road.

We got a note from the lady who lived in the house we parked in front of, telling us how rude we were for blocking her access. The note was very condescending, and obviously written by an old lady with a preacher's eye towards laying on the guilt.

It's a perfect case of the fundamental attribution error, which is the tendency to overestimate the environment in your own actions and underestimate them in the actions of others. The old lady assumed we knew she was an old lady and needed access to her house. The idiot that wrote this note assumed that people parking on 16th should give a shit.

So long as I'm parking legally, deal with the inconvenience because I don't know anything about you, and don't want to learn.

Posted by monkeyNose | May 21, 2008 6:50 PM
25

It's gems like this that keep Slog at the top of my To Do List (my (do it twelve times a day To Do List).

This also reminds me of another favorite site that you may or may not know about:

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

Enjoy.

Now, I'm off to an 'ethnic food fair.'

Posted by David K. | May 21, 2008 6:52 PM
26

Anyone can initiate a parking zone change in their neighborhood, especially if they have the time to *ahem* write letters and *nudge* case the neighborhood:

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/parkingrpz.htm#HowToInitiateRPZ

Posted by meggers | May 21, 2008 6:57 PM
27

The residents on the section of Cap Hill have a bad habit of parking facing the wrong direction. It's the residents then who for the most part are in the wrong. The original writer's solicitude for her (handwriting obviously female @21) children is easily eliminated by making sure that the phenotypes to whatever wretched genes she has passed on find an early grave.

Posted by kinaidos | May 21, 2008 6:58 PM
28

@7: I'd really rather the residents of 16th Ave had to deal with a house full of Paultards than a registered sex offender, I live nearby and walk a lot.

And really, like walking ever hurt a kid or a construction worker. More of both should walk more often.

Posted by Jessica | May 21, 2008 7:00 PM
29

Why is this considered news? When Capitol Hill was the mythical gay wonderland some would have you believe, there was no shortage of angry dikes and pissy queens who would pull this kind of crap all the time.

Bitchy and/or passive-aggressive behavior on the hill is nothing new, darlings.

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | May 21, 2008 7:00 PM
30

Legal parking=STFU and deal with it. The note in return was far far too polite. And I used to have to try to park next to a university campus near downtown LA. No one's entitled to the city street near their house unless there's an ordinance.

Posted by Sean | May 21, 2008 7:06 PM
31

Catalina, it's not new, but it's still funny.

Posted by Fnarf | May 21, 2008 7:18 PM
32

Fucking hell. Seattle is so lame sometimes.

Posted by laterite | May 21, 2008 7:18 PM
33

I think I would have made a point to park their form here on out. I fact I would probably do so as obnoxiously as is legally allowed.

Posted by Giffy | May 21, 2008 7:25 PM
34

Thank god somebody this preachy and judgmental isn't the News Editor of any of Seattle's alt weeklies.

Posted by elenchos | May 21, 2008 7:46 PM
35

I used to get parking tickets for parking in front of my own house because there's a law that your car needs to move every three days, and moving it around on the same block isn't allowed. What's that law for if not to benefit the non-resident parkers? If people are required by law to move their car to a different block every few days, it's going to be in front of somebody else's house some of the time.

Posted by poltroon | May 21, 2008 7:46 PM
36

Wait! Don't you get it? These two notes are just like reading a Slog post and a comment on it. It's like blogging has escaped the internets and gotten loose on the streets! Awesome!

Posted by MyDogBen | May 21, 2008 7:49 PM
37

Wow, that first letter-writer is an asshole. Under what circumstances would it be not appropriate to legally park on a non-zoned street?

Maybe it's because I'm from Chicago, but, you take any damned parking spot you can get here. And if you have a problem with people parking on your residential street, you petition to get it zoned.

By the way, people here also do the whole "save a shoveled street spot" with lawn chairs and cones thing. Nobody parks in those spots because they don't want to get keyed or worse by the pissed off "owner" of the spot.

Posted by Julie | May 21, 2008 7:51 PM
38

A van kept parking right in the middle of a curb that was just long enough for two cars in front of my place in Oakland. One day someone left a note on his windshield. They used a brick for a paperweight. That was the last day i saw the van.

Posted by i miss that place | May 21, 2008 7:52 PM
39

Holy shit, elenchos, this post was not written by Erica and has nothing to do with Erica. What the fuck is your problem, dude?

Posted by Obsession, much? | May 21, 2008 7:57 PM
40

@19 If a car isn't moved for 72 hours it can be towed:

http://www.seattle.gov/Transportation/parking/parking72hour.htm

Regardless, this note is laughably absurd.

Posted by Mountain Gremlin | May 21, 2008 8:00 PM
41

if having ample parking is such a value in your life, move to lynnwood or bellevue or renton or somewhere. jeez

Posted by Tiffany | May 21, 2008 8:06 PM
42

can I get the address so I can go park there? i thought the responder was pretty restrained given the accuser's stupid and high-handed attack (and I do think it was a woman - dan seems to have some inside here - was it?)

"i demand that you make way for my construction workers - my remodel must be completed on time!"

Posted by momster | May 21, 2008 8:11 PM
43

@39

Why are you afraid to sign your posts?

Posted by elenchos | May 21, 2008 8:14 PM
44

I am not a regular Slog commentor (just an impartial observer who noticed your seeming hatred of Erica), so it wouldn't matter even if I did.

Posted by Obsession, much? | May 21, 2008 8:46 PM
45

These two are a candidate for this fine site:

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

Posted by tiptoe tommy | May 21, 2008 8:49 PM
46

Fnarf dear, I wasn't questioning the humor of the situation - I was merely observing that things like this were also commonplace back in "my day"

I have to admit that I didn't regard the mention of construction workers as being some sort of reference to the wealthy and their endless renovations. Instead, I found it more Capitol Hill Utopian Proletariat in tone, especially when you consider the company the construction workers were in (Children, Handicapped and elderly) But I can see now the folly of my ways - if it had been old school Capitol Hill, there would have been much more rage, it would have been printed, and the references would have been to "Honored Citizens" "Differently Abled" and "The Working Poor", with a few GLBT's and PWA'S thrown in for good measure. And it probably would have been a lot longer.

I must be slipping, living out here in suburbia.

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | May 21, 2008 9:13 PM
47

elenchos- what's up, man? Your humor quotient is down, and your "cranky old man" quotient is way up. Too much going on at home? Aislinn is stealing your lunch. Bring us back the good stuff!

Posted by Big Sven | May 21, 2008 10:08 PM
48

e- ps: my (totally unsolicited) advice: ride more. A week after my mom died, my buddy and I rented a couple of big BMWs (him an RT, me a GS) and did a MSP-->Lanesboro-->Galena-->Tomah-->Winona-->MSP 850mi 48hr bike trip that *totally* cleared my head.

Posted by Big Sven | May 21, 2008 10:13 PM
49

"*whom* you supposedly represent". Not *who*.

BLEARGH

Posted by A | May 21, 2008 10:15 PM
50

Sorry, but if parking is allowed for 8 hours, it's allowed for everyone, end of discussion. If that's a problem, I would suggest asking the city to designate the block a residents only area and limit parking to a shorter period of time.

It's not hard. People who monitor the parking in front of their house (I once thought a neighbor of mine in Boston was going to have a coronary because I parked in front of her house when she had a garage!) are creepy and weird.

Posted by MIke in SF | May 21, 2008 10:18 PM
51

The note didn't even deserve a response. The respondee must have been pretty pissed to take the extra time to go back to work and type one out. He or she should have just ignored it and kept parking in or near the same spot day after day. Let the original note writer have a fucking conniption fit. There's nothing she can do about it.

Posted by keshmeshi | May 21, 2008 10:22 PM
52

My apartment in Redmond has a few parking spaces out front in a row, and we pay for them. Inconsiderate people will occasionally park on the one-car-width path between the apartment steps and the parking spots in such a way that you not only have to walk around them to get into the apartments, but it is difficult to turn wide enough to park in your own spot.

I've never written a nasty note, but I have cursed to myself when I have to turn between a truck and my neighbor. Someday if it's more than just an inconvenience, I suppose I could have them towed.

That first letter is way too sanctimonious for on-the-street parking, though. The second one is more of the tone I'd consider.

Posted by V | May 21, 2008 10:25 PM
53

Cars are so evil. Period.

Yeah, public parking is public parking. So unless the 16th Ave people get some kind of city mandated sticker restriction type thing going on, any car may park there.

I understand the frustration though. When I lived in Belltown, I knew better (after one disastrous New Year's Eve) than to throw any kind of party for friends who had to drive into town on a holiday or during a Seattle Center event. All kinds of suburban people come into town and park ALL DAY free on every street avoiding the lots around the Center (and truth be told, the lots are sometimes full). End of story: my friends had to turn around and go home. There was no place to park.

The happier route is to take it up with the city. Happier still, give up the fucking car. Leaving notes just creates hostility and that doesn't solve anything.

Posted by Bauhaus | May 21, 2008 10:28 PM
54

Whoa! I got an almost identical note from a rich asshole on 15th, near Prospect. They think they own the fucking street.

Posted by M | May 21, 2008 10:30 PM
55

This is the kind of duncery you're guilty of ol' AZT Face - "how DARE you (harrumph)bump into me while at a public event" (bitch, don't EVEN bring up your sister because you did this shit months before with an innocent).

Posted by Jerry | May 21, 2008 10:43 PM
56

They're both douchbags (regardless of gender).

Apparently #1 hasn't grasped the simple notion that pretty much anyone can park anywhere on a public street any time they want, unless it's zoned or metered. Now if someone parked in his/her driveway, then they'd have a right to complain. Or burn the car into slag. Otherwise, fuck off.

The fact that #2 actually took the time to write the sniveling response and post it makes me want to crush his/her car with a large earth mover.

Posted by Reverse Polarity | May 21, 2008 10:56 PM
57

$5 says someone will be keying/tirepuncturing any and all cars they don't recognize parked outside their house as a result of this posting.

Posted by piss off | May 21, 2008 11:05 PM
58

and i got the same note in east queen anne! my writer had more horrible handwriting but was considerate enough to stick the paper in a ziploc so it would be legible for me! capitol hill does not have an asshole monopoly.

Posted by pretentious | May 21, 2008 11:40 PM
59

I love how the handwriting gets more and more frenzied by the end of the note. The person who wrote it is mentally unbalanced and should be identified and contained before s/he can kill again.

Posted by Kerry | May 22, 2008 12:28 AM
60

I feel the response was restrained. I probably would've wrote something like, "parking spots are public property, so eat me." And I don't own a car.

Posted by Mr Me | May 22, 2008 12:33 AM
61

Everyone is more than welcome to come and park on my block (27th Avenue SW) in West Seattle. If you can find my block. And if it's convenient for any of you. Which it probably isn't, so I'll continue to wash my car on my quiet street right out front.

Hence why I chose to live in W Seattle. Capitol Hill living is a bit passe for this homo. (And Erica, before you get your knickers in a bunch, it's 4 minutes to work as well.)

Posted by Dave Coffman | May 22, 2008 1:07 AM
62

Thank goodness I have off-street parking.

My rule of thumb when parking in NYC (particularly the boroughs) is to never park in a spot that has glass next to it. I figure that's a spot that the "owner" vandalized the car that parked there without their permission.

Posted by MrEdCT | May 22, 2008 4:57 AM
63

I love reading the Slog because I get a sense of how the other coast lives. I tell you, I have lived off and on in Boston for 20 some years, and never once seen or heard of a letter like that attached to a parking space. But we've got more and more zones where you have to have a sticker for a particular neighborhood, which is clanny, inconvenient and also helpful, depending on the day and driver. I don't agree with the politics of it, since it's public space.

But I also live part-time in Montreal and you know what happens when it snows? The government pays workers to get out there and shovel every last inch of snow. They put notices on the blocks they're going to shovel 24 hours before they do it, so that all car owners can move their cars to other blocks (or get them towed), and then they do the job so efficiently that it's a sight to see. They also have men and women in these mini-tractors that tackle the sidewalks. All of the snow is gone. And then there's no fighting over parking spaces, and no keying of people's cars in frustration.

I grew up in Illinois, when Jane Byrne was saddled with a humongous snow storm and no place to put the snow that Chicago did manage to pick up. Fights over parking spaces abounded.

Montreal also has zones for residents to park on their blocks but also spaces reserved on each street for those who are not residents of the street. It seems as if in this case anyway, the parking case, that the Seattle and Boston etc could take note.

Posted by sheila | May 22, 2008 5:33 AM
64

I'm sure when the Islamomeanieheads return to their Zodiacs after rampaging through the Seattle waterfront and kickin some Seattleite ass, there will be a note stuck to one of their rafts:

Dear Rafter(s):

Please don't park your rafts on this beach, as it is a boat-free public city beach zone and your rafts create both an aesthetic issue as well as a safety one for people playing throwing tennis balls for their Golden Labradors to retrieve.

It's kind of impolite and disrespectful to those of us who find the beach a transformative experience of the endless cycles of life renewal.

Would you like it if I parked my honey toned Kevlar-Carbon composite expedition canoe in front of your beach park in Syria or wherever you've come from?

Resident of Gaia

Posted by Bob | May 22, 2008 6:03 AM
65

Only one solution for it.

A good, old-fashioned drive-by.

Posted by NapoleonXIV | May 22, 2008 6:25 AM
66

This needs to be submitted to passive-aggresive notes.

Posted by Darcy | May 22, 2008 7:12 AM
67

@45: Wow, my brain totally skimmed over your comment there. I guess great minds and slightly undercaffeinated minds think alike.

Posted by Darcy | May 22, 2008 7:14 AM
68

@49: To whomsoever you are, it's time to boldly get over it, prescriptivist.

Posted by DaiBando | May 22, 2008 7:20 AM
69

Why don't you Residents of 16th St Apts paint your bloody curbs RED?

Posted by E | May 22, 2008 7:29 AM
70

Yeeesh. As soon as someone challenges sloggers God given right to park anywhere its legal (as if the law were suddenly the supreme arbiter of justifiability of action) the fur starts flying. I don't know your neighborhood but I have lived in a few crowded parking areas. The parker of note should be grateful that they received a warning. Face it. It is impossible to protect your car if you park it all day on the street. In crowded working class areas I have lived in, if you parked in the wrong spot, the first warning was a flat tire. The second warning was two flat tires. As for the politeness factor, few self entitled drivers listen to polite notes.

I can only imagine that the strong reaction is due to a misplaced cathexis in cars and the freedom to park them anywhere.

Posted by LMSW | May 22, 2008 7:33 AM
71
I can only imagine that the strong reaction is due to a misplaced cathexis in cars and the freedom to park them anywhere.

Yeah, the Slog is widely known for its strong pro-car stance.

Posted by tsm | May 22, 2008 8:12 AM
72

I am going to quote Kramer:

"If you don't want to deal with people, why don't you pack up and move to the EASTSIDE!"

Posted by Original Monique | May 22, 2008 8:39 AM
73

This is a huge pet peave of mine. It's a public street. Nobody owns the spots. If someone hasn't left their car parked for multiple days, what could possibly be the big deal.

In this neighborhood around 16th E(where I have lived for 14 years), you also have people in some of these houses who have filled in driveways to make more lawn around their house (or filled their garage with crap, so there is no room in it for a car).

Then they feel entitled to the spot in front their house and get pissed if someone else is using it.

Of course, this isn't just a Capitol Hill problem. It's rampant throughout the whole city. I've had parallel experiences in Beacon Hill and Haller Lake.

Posted by j-lon | May 22, 2008 8:45 AM
74

OMG.

Only in Seattle would you get a two-page letter on your windshield after parking legally on the street.

People of this beautiful city: sometimes I really, really hate you.

Posted by violet_dagrinder | May 22, 2008 8:45 AM
75

@42:

GRAND idea. I, too, would like the address.

Posted by violet_dagrinder | May 22, 2008 8:47 AM
76

Umm.... If the resident douchebag really has a problem with people parking on his/her block, perhaps he/she should go about getting a residential parking permit zone created.

But his/her time would probably be better spent with a shrink.

Posted by raphael | May 22, 2008 9:05 AM
77

Here in Chicago we just make it illegal for you to park in our neighborhood without a permit.

Jerks still put lawn chairs in the spots that they shovel out in the winter.

Posted by Iheartbeer | May 22, 2008 9:19 AM
78

When I had a car, this would happen to me all the time in north Queen Anne near SPU. There was a grumpy old lady who'd come out and remind me that my car can be towed after 72 hours of being there. I rarely left my car in the same spot anyway. I was pissed at first, but when the second sign came, I decided to wallow in it. I'd purposely park there all the time. I collected about a dozen cardboard signs from her, and now have them permanently saved somewhere as a momento.

Posted by mackro mackro | May 22, 2008 9:26 AM
79

I've never understood why people in Seattle think that they own to the centerline of the street.

I got a note years ago when I was parked near 17th and John. It was all about what an asshole I must be since I had taken up two spaces. Apparently the writer hadn't paused to consider that, just maybe, the arrangement of cars on the street had changed since I had parked there?

Posted by Kevin in Wallingford | May 22, 2008 9:28 AM
80

What cross street was it at? I will be leaving my car there!

Posted by kyle [TCBITR] | May 22, 2008 9:38 AM
81

I'm in Georgetown and while we don't really have a problem with day parkers, we get the campers or the abandoned cars. What's equally bad, though, is the fucks who just park in front of your house with their engine running while they eat lunch.

hmm.. makes me want to build a paint launcher of some kind... or go all Axel Foley on their ass and ram a banana up their tailpipe. does that sound gay?

sincerely,
diggum

Posted by diggum | May 22, 2008 9:38 AM
82

Hey, anybody ever hear of the site passive aggressive notes? I thought someone would have mentioned it by now.

As for this note... ugh. I hate people. The writer of the first note shoulda not bothered in the first place, the writer of the second note should have ignored the first note. Parking is first come, first serve.

Posted by Jason Josephes | May 22, 2008 9:50 AM
83

@79 - that happened to me once in a parking garage. I had to park at a weird angle because of the positioning of the other cars, and then when I came back, those cars were gone and I had a note on my car that said "LEARN HOW TO PARK, ASSHOLE."

Man, I thought that was hilarious. People like that (and the writer of the note in this post) are going to die at 42 of a heart attack if they don't relax once in awhile.

Posted by Julie | May 22, 2008 9:51 AM
84

They have the option of getting their street zoned with restrictions during weekdays BUT they will have to purchase a pass to park their own cars. I bet they already thought about that.

Same problem happens at my house in the CD. Our whole street fills up. One time one of the commuter's cars would not start and rather than asking for help she said to me as I got out of my car: "HELLO...SIR. I just wanted to let you know that my car broke down and I will be waiting out here by my car for a jump start so if you hear me scream please call 911 because this neighborhood is extremely dangerous."

I told her that the neighborhood is not bad at all (near Providence Hospital) to which she asserted loudly: "Don't tell me it's not dangerous...I have been parking here for 20 years! I know how bad this neighborhood is."

To this I thought: Great, she's been parking in front of my house to go to work for 20 years and she's stupid racist. So I went inside my house and left her to wait...

Posted by Bill W | May 22, 2008 9:55 AM
85

(At the risk of bringing facts into the issue).

I cycled past the sign on the pole this morning at 9:30 AM. It's on 16th, just N. of Aloha and so just outside the Residential Parking Zone.

There were ~ 10 empty parking spaces on that block and many more round the corner.

One might note that the sign was outside an obvious NEW house on a street of old houses. Make of that what you will.

Posted by Andrew Taylor | May 22, 2008 9:58 AM
86

After reading the comments I'm trying to figure out what the value judgment is -- which person has more right to park on the street and which person deserves to have to pay for parking?

Neither, methinks.

Posted by K | May 22, 2008 10:13 AM
87

Bill, I would have told her "I'd love to call 911 for you, but I'm out on parole, and I can't risk getting mixed up in something like that. Besides, the cops won't even come into this neighborhood, so I'm afraid you're on your own."

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | May 22, 2008 10:35 AM
88

More proof that cars turn everyone into assholes. If you own a car, insurance, gas and parking are part of the bill. You want the "convenience" of a car, pay for it. ALL OF IT!

If you own a car and a house, but no driveway/garage, either move to a place you can park, or deal with the bitch of parking in the city. If you live cheap, you get these kinds of results.

And if you really have a problem with someone parking in "your" space, either sign your name to the letter or just slash the fucking tires already. Either way, if you pick a fight, you better be prepared to get your ass kicked.

Posted by Sir Vic | May 22, 2008 10:42 AM
89

I had a bitchy neighbor in QA who was pissed about some new condos built on our block and apparently left notes on cars he didn't recognized demanding that these "apartment trash" move their cars. I found out he was doing this when he left one of these gems on the windshield of my brother's rental car when my brother was visiting. I took the note over to my neighbor and innocently asked him if he knew where the note came from, and he mumbled some embarrassed excuse. What a jerk. So glad I moved!

Posted by kk | May 22, 2008 10:43 AM
90

it's a public street, and the last time i checked, a free country. the entitled and passive aggressive resident of 16th needs to chill out.

Posted by richard yu | May 22, 2008 10:49 AM
91

Sounds as if someone's ox is being gored. Doesn't someone we know live on 16th St? On the other hand, those who leave their unwanted sofas outside on the devil strips should face summary execution - not to mention computer detritus - take it to the dump!

Posted by CURB FEELER | May 22, 2008 10:58 AM
92

Thanks 85! Was wondering which cross-street it was... I live on 17th, and usually get a spot right out front of my place, but once in a while have to park a block or two away... Next time there's no spots in front of my place, or have to move my car after 72 hours, I know EXACTLY where I'm going to go - and hope I get a nasty note, too!

Posted by Camikazi Cat | May 22, 2008 11:32 AM
93

@61: Washing your car on the street is horrible for the environment, what with all that soap and car chemicals running down into the storm drains. Please do us all a favor and take it to the car wash.

Posted by bigyaz | May 22, 2008 12:34 PM
94

The writer of the first note is probably bored with their own life and needs to create some drama. Glad I don't live nearby.

Posted by ingrid | May 22, 2008 12:35 PM
95

If the person was parking on 16th Ave E for 8 hours then they were parked illegally. Why does that upset so many people?

This is zone 4 parking. The maximum time allowed is 2 hours without a permit. It is either the reminder note (although the tone wasn't good) or reporting it to the city and having it towed.

Posted by None | May 22, 2008 12:46 PM
96

I regularly leave notes on the cars that park in front of the fire hydrant in front of my house on Capitol Hill.

Does this make me an ass? Or is the person parking in front of the fire hydrant an ass for blocking it?

Posted by Mike | May 22, 2008 12:50 PM
97

No/permit-only parking zone? If so, call the police. If so, shut the hell up.

Posted by Jim | May 22, 2008 1:36 PM
98

Ha ha ha, you people know nothing of parking! Let me TELL you about parking!

(Actually, I haven't had a car in 12+ years, and when I lived on Summit and Howell, parking was sometimes just as brutal as any experience I've had here. But I Digress...)

These street parking battles are always funny. You weren't the person living on your block, and you won't be the last. It's first come, first serve, each and every day. Deal with it.

Posted by Dougsf | May 22, 2008 1:42 PM
99

Ooops, forgot the word "first". Whatever.

Posted by Dougsf | May 22, 2008 1:46 PM
100

Nothing bugs uptight people more than someone being uptight. Am I #100?

Posted by ROAG | May 22, 2008 2:51 PM
101

I parked legally on the street in Georgetown one evening to go to work stage managing for about 4 hours. Unbeknownst to me, I had partially blocked someone's entrance to his or her little driveway (which was completely hidden behind a closed ivy-covered fence the height of the house.) When I returned, my car had a brick sitting on the windshield. No note, just the brick. And a lovely brick-long scratch across the windshield!

I really would have preferred a note.

Posted by oops | May 22, 2008 2:58 PM
102

I like the response and think it entirely appropriate. People have become more and more entitled as time has passed and part of the reason, in my opinion, is because so many of us think we have to "turn the other cheek" and "let them stew in their own juices". Screw that! I'm not saying to get into physical altercations or "burn it down" or anything like that, but there's no reason not to remind certain people that other humans exist in the world and they deserve to be treated/spoken to as such.

Posted by za | May 22, 2008 2:59 PM
103

What is the difference between all of the people making disparaging comments on a blog about a person they do not know and a situation they don't have all of the information about and the person leaving an anonymous note on someone's car window?

The answer is nothing.

Posted by Anonymous | May 22, 2008 3:41 PM
104

People from outside our neighborhood parking in it! Bicycles chained to railings!

Downtown, it's the new suburb.

(Not saying that as a Seattlite, just national trends, staring with Ghouliani in NYC, etc etc.)

Posted by CP | May 22, 2008 4:12 PM
105

Oh,and speaking of urban suburbs with sanctimonious people who wag fingers and annoy the shit out of folks:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/fashion/18slope.html

Posted by CP | May 22, 2008 4:15 PM
106

I totally agree with #65.

Posted by ST | May 22, 2008 4:24 PM
107

WOW! Reading these comments is the most fun I've had all week. Fortunately I don't live on EAST 16th or I'd have to publicly martyr myself out of complete humiliation over my friends, neighbors and transient parkers. YOU GO STRANGER READERS.

Posted by John | May 22, 2008 4:26 PM
108

The section of street parking outside of my building can fit 4 cars comfortably, 5 if we all have small cars. When people park funky so we can only fit two or three it ticks me off.
However I've often thought about leaving notes when we do get 4 or 5 in. Some thing to the effect of "You did a great parking job! See how many people in our building can conveniently park now!" Maybe the positive reinforcement would help my neighbors to park more thoughtfully.

Posted by monogirl | May 22, 2008 4:29 PM
109

@108 - I'm taking your suggestion!

Posted by cnine | May 22, 2008 4:46 PM
110

I once got lectured by a guy in the neighborhood east of U-Village, in the same manner as this note. Went on and on bitching about how parked up the neighborhood gets (god forbid you should have to walk more than a half block to your house) BUT the tricky thing in that situation was that almost all of the parking spaces there were within 5 feet of a driveway and that can get you a ticket, if such a spoiled homeowner has time to call it in (and this guy definitely had time, multiple cars, and a nice house). So, though all my coworkers planned to park there in retaliation we didn't just because of the 5 foot rule which has nailed a lot of people.

Posted by anna | May 22, 2008 8:24 PM
111

I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but for fuck's sake...

In Chicago, I often had to park BLOCKS away from home because all anyone had was street parking. And in winter, on a snow-plow day, even farther away. Plus had to shovel several feet of plowed-in snow to get back out again. And you know what? EVERYONE did it.

The lawn-chairs-to-protect-precious-spots thing didn't go down in my neighborhood, but I definitely saw it other places.

What a silly, silly note.

Oh, and thanks to everyone who mentioned passiveaggressivenotes.com! I have a new love!

Posted by L | May 22, 2008 9:26 PM
112

I live in Spain. Park where you like, but if you take up too much space, be prepared for the car that wants to park in front of you or behind you, to just nudge you into a better position. Over here that is what fenders are for!

Posted by Maria | May 23, 2008 2:36 AM
113

I sure you all will hate me, but reading this reminds me again how much I love living in Texas, owning a car or three, having a garage, having a parking lot at work, burning gas on my commute, etc.

Posted by Oveta | May 23, 2008 8:22 AM
114

Some people (note #1) are just crabby freaks who should move to the sticks. I think that note is from MY neighbors, Larry and John. They, too, leave angry notes on otherwise-legally parked cars. Even if they belong to US, next door. I guess they just don't like the look of the cars. And these dudes both have my # so they could just call. All this in a city of 18 thousand. I have saved all the notes in a file at my home, an act which I recognize is also passive aggressive. Anyway, what I am saying is that I understand where the author of note #2 is coming from.

Posted by Dani | May 23, 2008 11:09 AM
115

This is a whole new form of road rage. I'm a 53 y.o. female who was born in Seattle, grew up on Queen Anne and live on QA (rent) once again. {I did live in TX for four years - lots of parking there for those who find the parking here unbearable}. Queen Anne Ave is now boutiques, strollers and golden retrievers with their bandanas fresh from the dry cleaner. For those who are angry at Seattle residents, I fully agree - this is not the same city or neighborhood I grew up in but I still love the city. People who leave their high falutin' anonymous notes are chicken shit. Anonymity was important to the KKK also - I wonder if the writer of the first note trotted out to the car in a hoodie and sunglasses, adrenaline racing in case they were "caught". Ooh, maybe they even wore gloves to avoid finger prints. Oh this is silly ~ the nanny was probably made to do this task. How hard is it to write a polite note, leave your name and even......drumroll......leave your phone number to discuss the situation? Or, and I realize this is bordering on anarchy, just get on with your day and quit worrying about the small stuff? Jeezum crow, don't we have bigger issues to wad our knickers?

Posted by QA Middle Aged Broad | May 23, 2008 5:37 PM
116

If it were me, I would have burned that place to the fucking ground. Asshole cocksucking busybody fucktard!

Team that other guy!

Posted by tom | May 23, 2008 6:20 PM
117

OK, I'm torn and wanted to see what everyone else thinks. My natural reaction like many others to receiving note 1 would be to make a point of parking there always. If my office moves across town I'm still parking there and walking to the bus stop.

But, as has been mentioned, when you park there for work your car is exposed for 10-12 hours. The note should be a clue that someone is watching, and you have to wonder at what point your car will be keyed or your tires slashed.

On the other hand my gut tells me that someone who would write the first note is a passive-agressive loser who wouldn't actually do anything more than anonymously write notes.

So the question is, after receiving note 1 am I more safe, or less safe parking my car there?

btw ... #82 it was mentioned at least twice before your comment.

Posted by Brian | May 24, 2008 7:07 AM
118

Living in one of the boros of NYC I have delt with "alternate side of the street" parking, "day commuter" parking, "sure you can park your car in front of my house for the winter while you're on vacation" parking, etc. It seems that although annoying, we all have to understand that the streets are not private property. We all pay taxes and we are all entitled to park on the streets of our city (as long as we are legally parked), anytime, anywhere. Understandably, it is annoying to people when they cannot park in front of their own home, but I'm sure they have parked in front of the homes of others when they are out and about also. Not every destination has a parking lot. If a person does not wish to go with the flow of living in the city, they should move out to a place where these problems do not exist. Shame on the person who left that note. Shame, shame, shame.

Posted by Pilar | May 25, 2008 9:10 AM
119

People who are against cars, and say "cars are evil" should unzip right now and let all of us who are complicit suck 'em. Cause they are so righteously holy. Maybe they should walk to work with their pants around their ankles.

Posted by Hellbound Alleee | May 25, 2008 6:07 PM
120

Where we are, cars can't be parked for more than 24 hours on the street or the homeowner of that particular section can have it towed (but they don't tell you this rule). Friend of mine came home from work Friday evening and had to park three houses down because some party next door had taken all the spots. He stayed in all weekend and Monday morning went to go to work and found his car gone.

Submitted a police report for a stolen vehicle and eight days later was informed his car had been towed for illegally parking. $300 just to tow the car and $50 per day after.

I've had my own car marked for tow by the residents next door because it was one foot over into their property line. And marked for tow as abandoned in front of my own house because I hadn't used it in a month (the weather was nice and I could walk everywhere).

Now I live where there's a private lot, paid by residents that can only be parked in by residents and only two permits per family. Except no one but us seem to pay any damn attention and the neighbors park their five cars in the lot and invite all their friends over so we get to pay for someone else to park in a private lot even though the streets are completely empty.

Parking sucks everywhere and there's going to be advantages to the residents or advantages to transient parkers, but not both. Notes don't work, homeowner's association/apartment managers don't give a rat's ass, and doing the right thing certainly doesn't work. So time to get something with a large, metal bumper covered in rusty nails.

Posted by LJHill | May 26, 2008 7:08 PM

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