Since moving to the City, I have said more than once, it is a good thing there were men who were busy with public transport, while I was asleep at the wheel. By that I mean, growing up in a car-cultural, I had no insight into the mass value of mass transport. And the City has done a terrific job of making mass transit available to everywhere and at affordable prices. But on Wednesday, being out of town, I drove into town, and ‘drove’ is the key word here. Driving in and around the City has never been a problem, as long as you know the rules. ‘Buses are first, again, buses are first! and no right turn on red’. But when you want to stop driving, what do you do with the car? Park it of course. Park it on City streets that run east-west and have alternate days and alternate north-south sides of no-parking-for-3-hours-due-to-street-cleaning. Such a good idea when one is a pedestrian. So it is on a Wednesday, after lunch, I need to find a spot that has either just been swept in the period of 9-12:30 or a Thursday spot that will be begin sweeping at 9 am. After a 2.5 hour drive, I arrive in the West Village at 12:15. At 1:30 I still do not find a spot. The streets, as previously reported, have been redesigned: there are blocks of Citibike-stands and new plantings in cement centerpieces, and of course bike lanes. When one is walking and taking public transportation this is lovely. When looking for a place to ditch the car, safely, it is beyond frustrating! Add to this that every free spot approached has a fire hydrant standing in a 20 foot swath of free space. At 1:45 I pull into the waiting area of a small garage around the corner from where I live and ask him what his 24 hour rates are. I’m figuring Wednesday 2 pm to Thursday 2 pm and then some part of the 24 hour rate, on Friday as I would be leaving Friday a.m. But No. The rates are day rates; $48 for Wednesday, and each day following plus 18% tags and taxes. That sum I couldn’t justify in any manner, so I headed out again to circle some more! One does a lot of ‘self-talking’ while this driving around is taking place. Certainly wouldn’t want anyone to be privy to that. But finally, 2:05 I find a place, no hydrant, room to park properly and cleaning will begin at 9 on Thursday morning. I park and unload. After the rehearsal later that day, late to bed and don’t sleep well and with the looming need to move the car.… it’s early on Thursday and I get up. I find it absolutely futile to lie in bed and think about the fact I am awake. So at 6:45, up and dressed and go move the car out of the parking place. I know I need a better strategy for finding a new parking place. I need a spot on the south side of the street that will not be swept until Friday 9 am. Having no idea how long this will take, I bring a book, some paper work and pen. I get to the car, drive away and go around the block to the street corner where ideally I would like to park. It has to be a south side spot. There are many spaces on the North side of the street, because all cars there have to be removed by 9:00 am. I pull up to the corner at the intersection to wait. I have no idea how this works. Do you wait for the cleaner to come, and then get behind him and park? Does he take more than one pass down the street? If he is finished by 9:30 can you then park there? If a policeman passes and sees a car parked in the don’t-park-here-spot-at-this-time, does he leave a $75 ticket under the window wiper? As the minutes ease by I see more cars being moved and the circling begins. I stay put as I have decided that circling is nothing but a crap shoot. 10 minutes pass. During this time, I watch in my review and side mirrors at the movement, and I look up and across the street. On one of the blinks across the street, I see a white car, about the size of mine, pull out of a place on the south side of the street, and as I am now intimate with every block, I know the fire hydrant is not there! The traffic light is still green, but the walk sign is stop. I have to start my car, it’s a manual, so engage the clutch, cross the intersection without hitting a pedestrian who might be crossing against the light going against me, since it is about to change, get through the light and hope that no one else has spotted it or is sitting in wait, but a half block closer. In the 5 seconds needed to accomplish all of that, I put down the book, start the car, engage the clutch, pull out, get through the light as it is turning yellow, looking at the two crosswalks I will be crossing to see that there are no nannies pushing baby carriages or joggers impatient to wait, and aware of any movement to my right so as not to hit another car that might be sitting on the north side of the street, nearer to the parking place and pull out just as I approach. It all comes together and I pull up to parallel park, the easy part. I know that I emerged from the car with unusual-morning face, because one man walking his dog stopped, looked at me and grinned and another walker just stopped and stared. I believe my face must have reflected what I imagine I would feel should I ever win the lottery. I was now only 20 minutes into my Thursday morning and my car was in a space that was not going to be street swept until 11 am Friday. Wow!
Thursday night was the show and as it was quite a night, hit the bed at 2:45. Later that morning, again unable to sleep, and planning to leave town anyway, I got up and was on the road by 8 am.
Never again!