It’s time of year when parking lots turn into battle zones
QI don’t recall seeing it discussed, but have you ever tackled the issue of parking lot spots’ diminishing widths? Take two average cars, worse if one or two are SUVs or pickups, and there’s simply no way to exit or enter without dinging the door of the other guy. Need to load or unload groceries or other purchases? Forget about it!
Consumers should band together and stop this nonsense. Let’s add more (18 inches?) to the width and make it standard statewide, measuring with purchased items, groceries, a shopping cart and a couple of kids. Problem solved. — John Noble
AThis can be a huge hassle during the Christmas shopping season, but widening spaces is unlikely to happen since it would reduce the number of parking spots. In areas like here where land costs are so high, it makes parking lots very expensive to expand.
Yet the width of vehicles has been increasing for the last 25 years. Parking spots now range from 7.5 to 9 feet wide, while a midsize car is nearly 6 feet wide and a large SUV can be 6.5 feet across. That doesn’t leave much room to park, without risking dinging doors.
QThere is a dangerous situation on Highway 237 west of Highway 101. Big trucks are pulled over along the shoulder. Lots of them. I counted at least 10 and there was a second row closer to the fence. Several trucks were pulling into traffic and there was almost an accident.
These trucks should not be allowed to do this. Help! — Stacy Brobst, Milpitas
AI agree, but the truckers have a reason for doing this. They sometimes wait on the shoulder of Bay Area freeways during commute times, then travel from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and after 7 p.m. to avoid stop-and-go conditions to reduce time and cost for their operations.
QI frequently see cars pulled over by an officer along the left side of the highway along the center barrier adjacent to the fast lane on Interstate 280 between Highway 17 and Cupertino. Where I learned to drive (a long time ago), this was not the correct procedure. The driver was to carefully make his way to the shoulder on the right side of the road. Is the law different now? — Jim Cuseo, San Jose
AThe recommended move is to pull to the right shoulder or exit at an off-ramp. But a driver my opt for the center divider if traffic in other lanes to the right are jammed.