Dibs on dug out parking

I'm courious on what other sometimes drivers, most of the time cyclists think about this:

 

Ive dug out 2 spaces so far and that didnt bother me. What bothers me is the guy who didn't dig out his van for a week but when he finnaly did he marked his spot. Dibs only count the day or two after the storm, any longer and your a lazy ass

Views: 1240

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Becca on February 11, 2011 at 6:17am

Everyone here seems to think that dibs shouldn't count after the first few days.  But there are still people who haven't dug out their cars.  I spent 4 hours digging out my car, both before and after the plows came through and ruined all my work.  I've put time and energy into that spot, so why should someone else be able to take it?  I have sore muscles and blisters to prove it.  No, nobody "owns" the spot, but you're still taking advantage of someone else's labor without payment if you steal a cleared spot.  Hopefully the coming "heat wave" will melt some of the larger piles and remove this issue entirely.

 

On top of this, the small step stool I was using to mark off my spot got stolen.  It even had a sign on it that said, "Please don't take this spot.  It tooks hours to clear.  Karma will get you."  I hope that bastard slips off my step ladder and breaks something.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on February 11, 2011 at 6:22am

I found some bits of plastic and wood hanging out of the cracks in the bumper of my car the other day.  

 

Maybe it was a step stool?  

Permalink Reply by S on February 11, 2011 at 7:01am


Becca said:

Everyone here seems to think that dibs shouldn't count after the first few days.  But there are still people who haven't dug out their cars.  I spent 4 hours digging out my car, both before and after the plows came through and ruined all my work.  I've put time and energy into that spot, so why should someone else be able to take it?  I have sore muscles and blisters to prove it.  No, nobody "owns" the spot, but you're still taking advantage of someone else's labor without payment if you steal a cleared spot.  Hopefully the coming "heat wave" will melt some of the larger piles and remove this issue entirely.

 

On top of this, the small step stool I was using to mark off my spot got stolen.  It even had a sign on it that said, "Please don't take this spot.  It tooks hours to clear.  Karma will get you."  I hope that bastard slips off my step ladder and breaks something.


I think the objection most people have and this is something that I agree with is that the spot is public property and isn't anyone's to claim. The city doesn't owe you a parking space, if you choose to clear out a spot for your car, that's great but after a day or two, it's a bit obnoxious to continue to claim a spot. Frankly, if everyone did the dibs thing, it'd be impossible to drive anywhere since all the unmetered spots on the street would be claimed. I've shoveled out a spot for my car and I wouldn't be too put out if someone ended up using it.

Permalink Reply by Davo on February 11, 2011 at 7:50am
IMO The cars that have yet to be dug out are the problem. These people need to be found and shamed untill they dig out their own cars. It would have been easy the first couple of days after the storm but near imposible now that the mounds have turned to ice. These are the cars that should be keyed instead of someone taking a 'dibbed' spot a full week after.

Becca said:

Everyone here seems to think that dibs shouldn't count after the first few days.  But there are still people who haven't dug out their cars.  I spent 4 hours digging out my car, both before and after the plows came through and ruined all my work.  I've put time and energy into that spot, so why should someone else be able to take it?  I have sore muscles and blisters to prove it.  No, nobody "owns" the spot, but you're still taking advantage of someone else's labor without payment if you steal a cleared spot.  Hopefully the coming "heat wave" will melt some of the larger piles and remove this issue entirely.

 

On top of this, the small step stool I was using to mark off my spot got stolen.  It even had a sign on it that said, "Please don't take this spot.  It tooks hours to clear.  Karma will get you."  I hope that bastard slips off my step ladder and breaks something.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on February 11, 2011 at 8:00am

So you are saying people should drive MORE?  

 

Seriously, I think people should be commended for leaving their cars sit for days or even weeks at a time.  But this is pretty much why I have to spend $150/month on a garage because the two motorcycles and one car I own won't be safe if I left them all out on the street in the summer -much less in the winter.   Often they will sleep peacefully for weeks or months at a time without being awakened and asked burn the gas in their tanks and to spew CO2 into the atmosphere.  In the summer the car can go for 2-3 months at a time without being disturbed in its slumber.  I ride the motorcycle for all longer trips (to Madison  and back -mostly to check on my folks or to work since this town is dead in the construction industry).  But in the winter I have to use the car since it's just too stupid to try and ride on the highway in the winter with ice/snow on it.

Davo said:

IMO The cars that have yet to be dug out are the problem. These people need to be found and shamed untill they dig out their own cars. It would have been easy the first couple of days after the storm but near imposible now that the mounds have turned to ice. These are the cars that should be keyed instead of someone taking a 'dibbed' spot a full week after.


Permalink Reply by Becca on February 11, 2011 at 8:29am

Adriana, I agree that everyone has a responsibility to help their neighborhood through weather conditions like we were hit with last week.  And if you have a neighbor who isn't able to clear their own sidewalk/car, it's a great and selfless gesture to do it for them.

 

Most of the people active on this site are Chicagoans who ride bikes, so you can assume this is a group that doesn't shun exercise.  I don't appreciate how you belittled the work I did to clean out my own car by saying, "So your back hurts and your arms are sore..."  My point is that cleaning out a space requires time standing outside in below-freezing temperatures, effort to lift hundreds of pounds of snow, and pain, even for people who are in shape. 

 

Some people lost money because they had to dig their car out instead of going in for a shift at work.  It's not an easy thing to dig out a spot, and having someone take your spot could set you back to square one where you have to dig one out all over again.  That's why I think dibs is a good way to ensure you keep the fruits of your hard work until the snow recedes.

Adriana said:

So your back hurts and your arms are sore, but people pay gym memberships to get exercise for the sake of exercise. So why not make use of all that stored energy for biking, cleaning your house, shoveling out snow and do so while you are able.

Permalink Reply by Chris B on February 11, 2011 at 8:40am

I think the main question is: what do we want? Do we want to maximize dug-out spaces? or is there something else that we want (like, to support an ethical position?) Perhaps all the other considerations, "it's public" or "digging creates added value" don't really matter as much as which has the practical effect of removing the snow.

 

If we want to maximize dug out spaces, then you just need to try to count will more spaces be dug out if you use dibs, or will more spaces get dug out without dibs? (Perhaps with a time limit as some suggest, since once the snow is gone from most of the street there is no reason for dibs)


Permalink Reply by Barclor on February 11, 2011 at 10:25am

I think marking your spot is BS. Like others have said, if you put in the time to clear yours and I put in the time to clear mine, then we both have spots to park in even if I end up taking your spot.

 

Last weekend I was walking my dog and a van pulled up behind my car, the guy got out and punched my drivers side window while I was standing there....he didn't know it was my car. After he punched it (failing his attempt to break it), I asked him what the hell his problem was and he went off that I 'stole' his spot. I parked 2 feet from the bucket and board he used to mark his spot...just as if it was another car. There was nothing I could do to change his mind that I 'stole' his spot. He claimed that I went around stealing other peoples work....The spot I dug out was currently being marked by someone else and the spot he marked, someone else shoveled out (I have proof in the pictures i took of the blizzard the morning after and his van is no where to be seen). He went on and threatened to make my life a living hell cause he knew where I lived. And during this whole event, his van was nicely parked behind his marked spot with enough space to fit another car behind it. I did NOTHING wrong, he lied about everything and there's nothing I can do to change his anger towards me.

 

I moved my car. Suck it up and find a parking spot like you do the rest of the year. No calling 'dibs'.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on February 11, 2011 at 10:49am

LOL

 

This is a pair of kliens:

 

As an electrician I've pretty much got one in my pocket at any given time.  It takes about .03 seconds to cut/pull off a valve stem on a car tire with one of these.

 

If anyone who claims they are going to "make my life a living hell" after I know what their van looks like /license number thinks I'm going to be scared of them they have something else coming.  I drive a POS car and I know how to fix it myself.

 

Game ON!

 

LOL

 

Kurt Barclay said:

I think marking your spot is BS. Like others have said, if you put in the time to clear yours and I put in the time to clear mine, then we both have spots to park in even if I end up taking your spot.

 

Last weekend I was walking my dog and a van pulled up behind my car, the guy got out and punched my drivers side window while I was standing there....he didn't know it was my car. After he punched it (failing his attempt to break it), I asked him what the hell his problem was and he went off that I 'stole' his spot. I parked 2 feet from the bucket and board he used to mark his spot...just as if it was another car. There was nothing I could do to change his mind that I 'stole' his spot. He claimed that I went around stealing other peoples work....The spot I dug out was currently being marked by someone else and the spot he marked, someone else shoveled out (I have proof in the pictures i took of the blizzard the morning after and his van is no where to be seen). He went on and threatened to make my life a living hell cause he knew where I lived. And during this whole event, his van was nicely parked behind his marked spot with enough space to fit another car behind it. I did NOTHING wrong, he lied about everything and there's nothing I can do to change his anger towards me.

 

I moved my car. Suck it up and find a parking spot like you do the rest of the year. No calling 'dibs'.

Permalink Reply by Becca on February 11, 2011 at 10:51am

Kurt, this system would work great if everyone did that.  But there are plenty of people, as your example shows, who are total scumbags and will take a spot someone cleared even though they haven't cleared one themselves.  I'm really sorry someone put their stuff in the spot you cleared and claimed it.  My question is this:  If you think the dibs system is BS, why didn't you just move the items someone put there?  By "honoring" that lame person's claim on your spot, you're implicitly agreeing that there's reason behind the system.

 

I think of it as a courtesy thing.  If you clear the spot, you're entitled to it not being stolen by someone who hasn't done any shovelling.  But you can't just trust people to do the right thing, clearly.  It's like if you're standing in line for something and someone cuts you.  Is that fair?  Shouldn't they have to put in the same amount of time as everyone else?

Kurt Barclay said:

I think marking your spot is BS. Like others have said, if you put in the time to clear yours and I put in the time to clear mine, then we both have spots to park in even if I end up taking your spot.

 

The spot I dug out was currently being marked by someone else and the spot he marked, someone else shoveled out.

Permalink Reply by Jason W on February 11, 2011 at 10:58am

Dibs is crap. All those spots taken up by garbage mean even less spots for everyone.

 

The worst is when there is a small amount of snow (around an inch or two) and people don't actually plow anything, and they claim dibs. Like just because there is snow on the ground they think dibs bullshit is enabled. Some neighborhoods are worse than others. My buddy lived in Logan and it was ridiculous there. He would get all pissed off, and just walk around the block throwing the dibs garbage onto the sidewalks. This was a block where there were a ridiculous amount of handicap parking too. Obviously people manipulating the system for their own personal spot.

Permalink Reply by Davo on February 11, 2011 at 11:14am
Im saying that people should dig their cars out within a coulple of days weither or not they intend to drive them. If everyone dug their spots out, there would be no justification to dibs.

James Baum said:

So you are saying people should drive MORE?  

 

Seriously, I think people should be commended for leaving their cars sit for days or even weeks at a time.  But this is pretty much why I have to spend $150/month on a garage because the two motorcycles and one car I own won't be safe if I left them all out on the street in the summer -much less in the winter.   Often they will sleep peacefully for weeks or months at a time without being awakened and asked burn the gas in their tanks and to spew CO2 into the atmosphere.  In the summer the car can go for 2-3 months at a time without being disturbed in its slumber.  I ride the motorcycle for all longer trips (to Madison  and back -mostly to check on my folks or to work since this town is dead in the construction industry).  But in the winter I have to use the car since it's just too stupid to try and ride on the highway in the winter with ice/snow on it.

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service