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Old 02-11-2015, 08:26 PM
 
37 posts, read 58,753 times
Reputation: 47

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Quote:
Originally Posted by seain dublin View Post
Where are you shopping that you need to do this? Plenty of places to shop in LA that don't involve any of this.
I don't mean to imply that every single store in LA has a crowded parking garage, but quite a few of them do, most notably certain big-box stores (Target, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Trader Joe's). Often they're clustered in these mini-malls, like the one on Santa Monica Blvd & La Brea where Target and Best Buy are found, or the Beverly Connection.

And no, this is not an argument that LA sucks and should be wiped out by a tsunami. But stores should at least try to make their parking garages more user-friendly where possible, or accept that they will lose customers to their competitors.
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Old 02-11-2015, 09:47 PM
 
Location: La La Land
1,616 posts, read 2,478,145 times
Reputation: 2838
Quote:
Originally Posted by rs913 View Post
I don't mean to imply that every single store in LA has a crowded parking garage, but quite a few of them do, most notably certain big-box stores (Target, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Trader Joe's). Often they're clustered in these mini-malls, like the one on Santa Monica Blvd & La Brea where Target and Best Buy are found, or the Beverly Connection.

And no, this is not an argument that LA sucks and should be wiped out by a tsunami. But stores should at least try to make their parking garages more user-friendly where possible, or accept that they will lose customers to their competitors.

I guess it really is all about your perspective. We found that mini mall at SM and La Brea to be so convenient. We would never step into a Target here but there it was so easy, especially the way the elevators go right to the store.
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Old 02-11-2015, 09:54 PM
 
Location: Kaliforneea
2,518 posts, read 2,037,079 times
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have you considered shopping at off-peak times? Fresh n Easy is open till midnight.

if you dont like crowds, the suburbs are calling your name.
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Old 02-12-2015, 01:03 PM
 
925 posts, read 1,327,020 times
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I don't see the problem being LA specific, its like almost any other garages in the city. You grab a ticket, go in and find parking, validate/pay your ticket, drive out, insert ticket to exit.

I suppose you can ride a walk, bike, uber, bus to the store.
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Old 02-12-2015, 01:24 PM
 
Location: West Hollywood, CA
1,238 posts, read 1,820,365 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by quixotic59 View Post
I guess it really is all about your perspective. We found that mini mall at SM and La Brea to be so convenient. We would never step into a Target here but there it was so easy, especially the way the elevators go right to the store.
I agree, I rarely run into parking issues at SM and LaBrea. It is pretty convenient.
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Old 02-12-2015, 02:32 PM
 
46 posts, read 80,164 times
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Usually I can find parking pretty easy at most stores I went to when living in LA. I don't mind parking far away either. Beverley Hills is the absolute worst though. I wanted to check out the shopping district and went into this huge garage. I think it had almost 10 underground levels. The sign indicated there were 100 spaces left so I felt confident. Big mistake! It turns out this garage was shared with a valet service, and residential apartment building. So 100 of those "available" spaces were chained off or had cones that read "reserved." I drove around that garage for about 20 minutes before I realized I was going into circles. So I decided to just pack it in, and go to the local whole foods for a snack before heading back home. BIGGER mistake. I entered the whole foods garage and 10 soccer mom range rovers were in front of me waiting for spaces, this whole foods employed three guys to direct traffic. The garage was tiny too, maybe only 50 spaces total. I sat in my car trapped for another 20 minutes, before speeding away promising never to go back to Beverley Hills. It was the most spirit crushing experience of my life driving in California.
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Old 02-12-2015, 11:39 PM
 
Location: Southern California
4,453 posts, read 6,767,067 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rs913 View Post

ORANGE COUNTY: Drive to store. Park in spacious parking lot. Go in. Buy stuff. Come out.

LA: Drive to store. Search for entrance to parking garage. Line up at entrance. Wait for everyone else to get ticket. Get your ticket. Inch through garage looking for parking. Stop and wait every time someone in front of you finds a space, while current occupant clears out. Repeat once you find a space. Search for entrance to store. Go in. Buy stuff. Validate ticket. Come out. Search for ticket machine. Search for car. Exit garage, waiting in line one more time to put your ticket in and open the gate.

Anyone else think this is aggravating? (silence) It's just me? OK then....
What you describe is the exception not the norm of LA County.
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Old 02-12-2015, 11:47 PM
 
671 posts, read 1,184,328 times
Reputation: 529
Quote:
Originally Posted by rs913 View Post
Don't get me wrong, I still like it here for the most part, but the parking-garage situation is one of this town's hidden everyday hassles.

Let's consider what visiting a typical grocery store looks like in 3 different places.

NYC: Walk (or bus/subway) to store. Go in. Buy stuff. Come out.

ORANGE COUNTY: Drive to store. Park in spacious parking lot. Go in. Buy stuff. Come out.

LA: Drive to store. Search for entrance to parking garage. Line up at entrance. Wait for everyone else to get ticket. Get your ticket. Inch through garage looking for parking. Stop and wait every time someone in front of you finds a space, while current occupant clears out. Repeat once you find a space. Search for entrance to store. Go in. Buy stuff. Validate ticket. Come out. Search for ticket machine. Search for car. Exit garage, waiting in line one more time to put your ticket in and open the gate.

Anyone else think this is aggravating? (silence) It's just me? OK then....
Funny! +1. In fact, one of my brother's pet peeves and why he will NEVER live on the Westside of LA is the "parking hassle." Other parts of the city have better parking situations, but not necessarily the best, while surrounding cities or very close suburbs have GREAT parking. I do advocate public transit, but automobiles and parking here are a fact of life. In fact, everyone I know who OTHERWISE thinks the Westside is OK, always finds the parking situation a big deal breaker for ever living there.

Yes, I have memories of the hassle it was to park at my aunt's closest supermarket and deal with the stupid ticket system and difficulty finding parking and racing the validation clock, which was much to short a period granted.

Meanwhile, after suffering the literal pains of having our shoes/feet stepped on by taking MTA bus to The Grove, we finally wised up and took the car and drove to the Grove which had plentiful parking AND, this is the thing that won us over, only a $1 charge back then for 4 hours validation. EXCELLENT! We really preferred the bus, but the huge hassle of SRO overcrowding on the ride back was the deal breaker, so we reluctantly contributed to air pollution and traffic congestion. This is why some people still chose their cars over transit.

Further, heaven forbid you should NEED to drive to park your car at a Metro stop because it aint easy. There are reasons why a bus to the Metro station is NOT always efficient nor safe, but many willing to drive to the station and take transit. Almost impossible for most of the length of Metro Red and Purple subway, very tough for the Green Line, somewhat challenging for the Gold Line, glimmer of hope along for Expo at the one garage, too difficult for Blue. Did I forget any lines? I'll add that Orange Line bus service presents near impossibility for many those to their closest station. These are the "choice" riders that MTA is supposed to be attempting to appeal for ridership resulting in desired maximum ridership.

Last edited by HarryKerryJr; 02-13-2015 at 12:00 AM..
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