Free Republic

Practical or patronizing? South Korea is spending mega-money on creating larger car parking spaces for women. Capital city Seoul is introducing "lady-friendly" spots reserved exclusively for female drivers, the Korea Times reports. Wider and longer than regular spots, they will be closer to elevators and marked out with pink mini-skirted logos. It's not yet known, however, if men will be fined if busted for using them. Korea Times reports the initiative is part of a nearly $700 million push to make the metropolis more female-friendly over four years. Other projects include installing 7,000 new women-only toilets, and the resurfacing of...

**SNIP** Reporting the figure, WDIV-TV says some of the overdue fines are more than 10 years old and can't be collected. Some individuals owe the city more than $10,000. The city is trying to get payments for some of what's owed. James Canty of Detroit's parking division says the city is putting holds on driver's licenses when they come up for renewal, taking motorists who owe money to court and reporting them to credit agencies.

**SNIP** That's down from the 301 vehicles towed on the first day last year and up from the 215 towed on Dec. 1 in 2011, according to Molly Poppe, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Streets and Sanitation.

A Chicago woman has settled with the city of Chicago after she was left with more than $100,000 in parking fines when her ex-boyfriend abandoned her car in an inaccessible airport parking lot for nearly three years. Jennifer Fitzgerald initially owed the city of Chicago a whopping $105,000 after a 1999 Chevy Monte Carlo – a used car that was bought for $600 and registered in her name – was parked at O’Hare Airport for three years starting in November 2009. It was parked there by Fitzgerald’s ex, According to DNA Info Chicago the city agreed to drop $100,000 in...

A Florida woman is still recovering from the insult at finding a valet ticket that described her as fat. Sharyn Peoples used a valet when she was in Boca Raton in early December to park at a local mall while she appeared at a play but when she picked up her car she found the ticket identifying the driver with the words 'play,' 'red dress' and 'fat.' 'I was mortified,' she told WTVJ. 'In handwriting it said 'play, red dress, and fat' on it.' Peoples said she found the description insulting and shocking and she contacted LAZ Parking of Florida,...

We need more parking in Palo Alto. But residents also want less traffic. This challenge has been with us for a decade. And to solve it, urban planners have tilted toward the less-is-better "new urbanism" philosophy, claiming that if cities provide less parking, the public will find other ways to go shopping, i.e., using public transit. And voila -- fewer cars! Except the problem isn't solved, and there certainly isn't enough public transit to get us from our homes to the stores.

Not that anyone in California would be allowed by law to pollute the environment with such a behemoth of a vehicle, but one garage near AT&T Park in San Francisco was charging "Full Size" SUVs and trucks $130 to park for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night. Hummers get no breaks, you know? But, if you drive a "compact SUV" or a "Minivan," it'll cost you only a cool hundred. It's 90 bucks for a car the size of a Prius or a '69 Dodge Dart. No word on what it'd cost to stunt park your Bullitt...

PORTLAND -- Residents of some Portland neighborhoods are asking, “Where’s the parking?” when it comes to new high density apartment buildings. There are nearly 20 apartment buildings planned, being built, or already constructed in the past 18 months that do not include parking for tenants. The developments are on the city’s north and east sides. Some neighborhood groups are balking at the buildings, saying parking is already at a premium.

A 46-year-old woman was arrested Saturday afternoon on suspicion of elder abuse after leaving a 101-year-old man in a car in front of the Walmart on West Shaw Avenue in Clovis, police said. Clovis police received a call just after 3 p.m. from someone concerned about an elderly man sitting in a vehicle in front of the store. When officers arrived, they found the 101-year-old man who appeared to be in distress from the heat. The man was at the store with a woman he called his granddaughter, but police determined the woman was his caretaker. The woman did not...

'Irate Man' Moves Car Using Forklift A man who was blocked in his parking spot at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre took it upon himself over the weekend to move one of the vehicles behind him, police said. By Carrie Frillman A 49-year-old man whose car was blocked in at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre took matters into his own hands over the weekend after security guards told him he would have to wait until the end of a concert to get out of the lot. The man, who had not yet been formally charged as of Tuesday, was reportedly...

Raleigh going after unpaid parking ticketsUpdated: 6:41 p.m. Wednesday Raleigh, N.C. — Hundreds of area residents are getting mail from Raleigh officials this week, but it's not holiday greetings. The city sent 4,000 letters Monday to people who have unpaid parking citations, and officials said more mailings are planned. The move is part of a new collection method approved last spring by the City Council. Effective Dec. 15, the city can intercept the state income tax refund of anyone with more than $50 in unpaid parking citations that are more than six months delinquent in order to pay off the...

... Veesart is an enforcement supervisor for the California Coastal Commission, one of a handful who have the sometimes impossible job of making sure people can find their way to public beaches. In beach towns like Malibu, where wealthy homeowners have gone to lengths to block visitors from the majestic shoreline with security guards and locked gates, the toughest thing about spending a day on the sand can be finding a parking spot. And at times, it's the bogus "No Parking" sign that stands in the way. The warnings are so prevalent and often so convincing that parking next to...

Houston, Tx --(Ammoland.com)- If you work for a Texas company and recently received information from your employer regarding your right to have a firearm in your vehicle while parked in your employer’s parking lot, I’d like to know. I’d also like to see the document. Most companies have moved toward complying with Final Version of SB 321, which became law on Sept.1st. This law protects the jobs of Texans wanting to have a firearm in their vehicle. It allows all firearms and ammunition and most industry employees are protected, with or without a concealed handgun license. The exceptions, which are...

Helen and Bob Alkon paid $1.3 million for their condominium in downtown Boston two years ago. And while some apartments in the building have slipped in value since then, one of the Alkons' investments has paid off: The parking spot they purchased for $100,000 today sells for $125,000. "I'm glad I bought when I did," says Ms. Alkon, a retired office manager. In some downtowns across the country, a scarcity of parking has driven demand into the stratosphere—even in places where home prices are declining. In some buildings, parking costs are nearly on par, on a per-square-foot basis, with the...

Three Gothenburg police officers who parked illegally during a coffee break have managed to beat their fines after appealing their case all the way to the Swedish Supreme Court. The case stems from an incident which took place in July 2009 when the officers stopped off to grab a cup of coffee. Finding no available street parking, they left their squad cars in a no-stop zone. When they returned from their coffee break, they found they had been ticketed for parking violations and each of them were subsequently fined 1,000 kronor ($157). The officers claimed that they had been trained...

New types of restricted slots are popping up in local parking lots, but not everyone's a fan. When confronted with politically correct parking, Alyson Yaman was fed up. "It's pretentious," Yaman said after lugging her 18-month-old daughter past several empty parking spaces reserved for "fuel efficient" cars and "car pools." What, for example, does "fuel efficient" mean?

DARBY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) — Big snow storms and limited parking is a combination that can lead to a whole lot of neighborhood feuds. Now, in Darby Township, if you feel you have the right to reserve your parking spot, you could face a fine for hundreds of dollars. You can’t lay claim to a parking spot on a public street in Darby Township. If you do, you could hear from police. “The law prohibits doing that,” said Darby Township Police Chief Robert Thompson. Putting in the work to dig out your car after a snow storm and then reserving...

BALTIMORE -- City police said Sunday that a man has been charged with first-degree murder after an off-duty detective was killed over an apparent dispute about a parking space. Baltimore homicide detectives filed first-degree murder charges against Sian James, 25, in the slaying of Detective Brian Stevenson, who would have celebrated his 38th birthday Sunday. Stevenson was out celebrating with a friend at about 10 p.m. Saturday in the 2800 block of Hudston Street in Canton when he became involved in an argument over a parking spot, authorities said. "As the dispute escalated, a suspect pulled a rock or large...

Can someone define what a "Pennsylvania scooper woodchuck" is?A South Florida meter maid gave a couple of parking violators more than their two quarters worth over the weekend, and now he is out of a job. On Friday, Barry Shore went on a tirade that would make a certain former Jet Blue flight attendant blush after a woman forgot to pay to park at a meter in Delray Beach. The woman's husband, Bill Evans, eventually confronted 68-year-old Shore and that's when he got a real ear full from the volunteer parking enforcement official. "Take that and shove it up your...

A group of Somali natives has had its petition denied to open a new mosque in Mayfield, Kentucky because of concerns about parking. The building was already being used by a Muslim group for prayer, but they applied for a conditional use permit to use the building as a mosque. Neighboring businesses argued that the surrounding area wouldn't be able to handle the extra parking needed for the mosque. The city board of adjustment voted on the petition after reviewing it Tuesday at city hall.