What’s up with the signs on city parking lots? One of them says you can park there for free after 5 p.m. weekdays. But on the same sign, it says “Free Parking 6 p.m. to 7 a.m.” So which is it? Or are some city lots in the Central Time Zone where you lose an hour. Sign me, Running Late
You could interpret this in one of two ways.
For the pessimist, the conflicting signs could be a warning that you are about to enter “The Durango Twilight Zone,” a dimension of time and space.
Optimists, on the other hand, could see this as the city’s version of an after-workday “Happy Hour,” despite the fact that there are no half-price appetizers or drink specials.
As you know, Action Line is a hardened cynic who sees his municipal parking lot as half-empty.
But isn’t seeing a parking lot as half empty more optimistic than seeing it half full?
Either way, the big green sign – the one that says parking is free after 5 o’clock weekdays – is the correct version.
The round sign with the blue “P” symbol is in error.
That comes straight from the top: Amber Blake, the city’s go-to gal for anything with wheels or shoes.
Amber oversees Durango Transit, parking lots, multimodal operations and sustainability policy.
“We’re aware of that discrepancy, and we’re getting new signs,” she said.
Because the signs are put out to bid, “it’s going to take a bit longer.”
Regardless, 5 p.m. is the correct threshold for free parking.
However, please note that this applies only to parking lots. If you park in a metered space, the magic hour is 6 p.m.
And a word to the wise, don’t think that the parking-ticket writers knock off work at 5 p.m. They make the rounds right up until 6 p.m.
At which time, Happy Hour ends at most downtown establishments. So Durango really is “The Twilight Zone.”
Lots of cars get tickets for parking on or straddling a parking-space line. When will oversized pickups get tickets for being 2 feet longer than the parking space? I have seen parking attendants walk right past a monster truck to get to a Prius that had half a front wheel on the white line. Seriously. – Sue
These are the sure signs of summer’s arrival: bikes racing the train to Silverton, rafts going down the swollen Animas River, and questions about parking appearing in Action Line’s email.
During lunch, Action Line walked and talked with one of the city’s ticket-giver-outers. They’re nice folks just doing their job.
“I always ticket oversize vehicles,” the person said, “especially the ones sticking out on the side streets.”
The attendant added that “we can’t be everywhere” and asked that the public help curb the curbside scourge by reporting incidents to the parking department.
But what we are missing is the context of the Prius-truck incident. Here you have a monster truck, a vehicle seen by many as a silly, sanctimonious waste, parking next to a Prius, a vehicle seen by many as a silly, sanctimonious waste.
And both of them can’t manage to park correctly.
Only in Durango!
H H H
The Mea Culpa Mail has a wry suggestion from loyal readers Jenny and John from Oxford.
“My wife had a great idea for the panhandlers. Durango has a top-notch dog park. How about a panhandler’s park? We could split it up – a vegetarian section, a vegan section and a paleo section. How about a credit-card-only donation section? Spitting and non-spitting sections?”
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you knew that a business honcho recently offered $640,000 to buy a primo parking space in Hong Kong.
