From the BBC:
People have been posting images of themselves using the hashtag #WePark showing themselves working in car parking spaces in San Francisco. The group pays for the space and creates makeshift offices, using Wi-Fi from free internet zones or by using their mobile phones as hotspots. The movement has since spread further afield to France...Just to clarify - these people are not squatting in the space. They are feeding the meter. My crystal ball says that confrontations are inevitable when somebody driving in a car threatens these people because he/she can't find a vacant parking space near their office or shopping destination. Interesting.
"We live in a very expensive real estate market. It's just so crazy to think the way we use our street is not reflective of that and so those parking spaces are just dirt cheap compared to all of the other real estate in San Francisco...
She said: "It was great. Everybody had access and were sitting there working. It was lovely. Someone brought doughnuts, a vase, flowers and a table cloth. I think it's going to be even more fun and advanced next time. You have 12 people working out of a space instead of a vehicle just sitting there doing nothing all day. It's a great use of space...
"Office spaces are expensive and here in France if your company is less than one year old, no one wants to rent you anything, even with warranties. But that's not the real problem, because working remotely is a perfect alternative. The other real problem is the cities that just don't do anything to reduce the polluting cars' activity."
There's also another problem. "Feeding the meter" may not keep you your parking space. In many towns, the meter limit is there to promote parking _turnover_. In those towns, you can't keep feeding the meter to hog the space all day.
ReplyDeleteLurker111
Seems to me if they're paying for the space (feeding the meter), then they have a right to the space. Clever loophole.
ReplyDeleteApart from the legal issues, i.e. that from Anonymous above and perhaps jaywalking (as they are, while not sitting, at least, walking on the legal road) that's a great idea, especially in fine weather.
ReplyDeleteTo help offset any animosity they could incorporate a parking space directional service !
as anonymous way up on top points out, some towns do have meter time limits. a recent court decision said that the meter police cannot come by and chalk your tires. those workers can sit there for a while, but at least they will be chalk free.
ReplyDeleteI-)
Understood. But if I were in the group and a parking enforcement officer came by, I would say "Paul paid for the first two hours, Linda paid for the next two, and now this is the time I've paid for." If he/she says we have to vacate, we could step onto the sidewalk, then step back.
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