This is really a rant, that isn’t connected to what I usually write about (at least not too closely connected), so if that isn’t what your in the mood for, just skip this post. Tomorrow, I’m writing about the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), so I’ll be back on track.

The Bakery Square complex is starting to come to life, especially now that the hotel and the Urban Active gym are both open. I was impressed with Bakery Square from my first visit, where I saw they had special “Hybrid Vehicle Only” parking spaces. This was last December, and the garage wasn’t open yet. But there, in the flat lot, there were several clearly marked. Now that the garage is open, there are many more. I was delighted! It seemed like an unexpected perk for driving a hybrid.

My Prius, that I bought just a few months ago, is my 2nd hybrid actually. I loved my Ford Escape Hybrid, but I wanted a smaller carbon footprint, and decided that I didn’t really need all of that car. and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. I’m getting just under 50MPG- way over what I received with the Escape Hybrid, and WAY WAY over what I got with my previous car.

Specialized parking courtesies aren’t anything new. Several shopping areas have “expecting mothers” spaces. It’s a type of marketing- make yourself accessible to the type of customers you are looking for, and looking to come back. If the truth be told, I’ve always been a bit resentful of those “expected mothers” spots. Oh, I get it. A woman who is carrying around a new life, as well as a lot of extra weight is already under enough strain. Why not get her a bit closer to the door of the grocery store. Still this was a spot I could never get. Seemed exclusionary. Maybe because I’m a rule follower, I never even thought of ignoring the sign and parking in one of those spots.

Well, there is a woman who goes to the gym, who doesn’t see things as I do. On two separate mornings, I’ve arrived to find her in a “hybrid only” spot.  This morning she was just reaching her car after he workout, so I rolled down my window to say, “that’s a hybrid only spot your in.” “I know,” she replied, “but I get the same gas mileage as you.” I wasn’t aware that was what hybrid meant- that you get the same gas mileage – although even that is debatable. So what’s really going on here? Seems to me we live in a culture where so many folks are only concerned about themselves, and make up their own rules to suit their own needs. So for this woman, the sign says “Cars that get good gas mileage,” instead of “hybrid only.”

Now a case could be made that having such spaces is exclusionary. I could probably go along with that, at least to a degree. But that isn’t this woman’s case. She’s just making up her own definition of hybrid, and to the rest of everyone, she says, screw you. But more powerful, I think is the case to be made that owners of private property (the garage) have a right to label spaces and try strategies that they feel will be good for business.

I don’t know what the garage management thinks about this. I’ve decided to start photographing the license plates of any non-hybrid car parked in a “hybrid only” spot, and I can present them to the garage at some point. She isn’t the only one. Just the only person I’ve seen do it on multiple days.

What do you think? Is it common courtesy to follow the signs, or should a parking area be a no rules, just park where you want?