Parking perplex

Kim and I tried out the new post office on Main Street yesterday. We had to. The old post office is officially closed now, and Kim needed to get a new set of keys for her company's post office box.

I no sooner pulled into the parking lot than I thought, "Uh, oh. How's this going to work?"

Rant on.

Parking situation is cramped at new post office.

 The parking lot design seems to represent the latest in minimalist parking lot architecture. It features head-in angled parking with spaces for about 12 cars on the right side of the lot and eight cars on the left. The trouble is that there might be five yards (13.3 feet by my measurement) separating the back-up space through the middle of the lot. In other words, customers will be competing for their opportunity to back up with folks parking opposite from them.

This kind of parking-lot forethought requires the complete attention of the driver, who may have just opened a summons to appear in court, or received a heart-rending sympathy card, or an unexpected tax bill, or some other distraction.

So much for having the full attention of the driver. Plus, backing up isn't the easiest of maneuvers to pull off. I'm not sure what has been constructed here is any better than the old post office lot, which required people to back up into moving traffic on West Second Street.

An accompanying issue is that the entrance to the new lot off Main Street requires that you drive down a short ramp and then make a quick left turn toward the parking slots. You know, just in time to meet somebody else who is backing up and who is trying to be careful not to hit the car backing up opposite him.

Can you imagine what this is going to be like at Christmas time? I might have to set up a lawn chair on the sidewalk on Main Street for this fiasco as I sip my hot chocolate.

Driving – and parking – is difficult at best. Why make it more difficult than it needs to be? 

But it's not just the post office.

Odd State Street entrance to First National Bank.

 First National Bank recently completed its new building on the corner of Center and State streets. Its parking lot has eye appeal, but it doesn't seem to be particularly customer friendly. Again, drivers must be extra cautious if they are backing out of some slots that are 90 degrees to each other.

Further complicating the issue is the State Street entrance/exit, which has a triangular island meant to invite entrance for drivers primarily in the northbound lane. But I've seen southbound drivers try to make the awkward turn around the island into the parking lot, sometimes waiting for oncoming traffic to start moving again as the nearby stoplight changes to green. This creates a dangerous bottleneck at the intersection of Center and State. Who designed this? When did aesthetics become more important than function?

Finally, the recent fire on Uptown's Main Street that destroyed two popular establishments – Shoto's Japanese Steakhouse and The Candy Factory – has forced the city to barricade that entire block of Main Street until the demolition of those buildings occurs. Nobody is quite sure when that will happen, but in the meantime, neighboring businesses are suffering from a lack of customers.

What?

It seems some people are complaining that there's no longer convenient places to park uptown because of the barricades and the subsequent rerouting of traffic.

What?

C'mon, people. Lexington's uptown is a walker's paradise. How hard is it to find a parking place and walk two or three blocks to your destination? You have no issue walking the length of the Barbecue Festival. You have no issue walking from store to store during Christmas. Why is walking a few extra steps a problem now? Kim and I live in the historic district and it takes us eight minutes to walk into town. And I'm 75 years old.

Rant over.