FOOL ALERT! NO LEFT TURN INTO PARKING SPACES DOWNTOWN!
Clearly you didn't grow up in Manhattan. Drivers there will break any rule to secure a parking space. They also may exact revenge on anyone who "cheerily" takes a space they're signaling for. More than one driver has had his car keyed or his tires slashed. Being in the right isn't always the best way to proceed. Just saying.
ligeti said:
PS: I’m from the wild west. They have guns out there.
They have guns in Manhattan, too. 
Seems inevitable that in overly-entitled burbs like SOMa this sorta crap would become the new normal. I'm only surprised that more crashes/injuries (caused by this same type of idiocy) don't make local news. We've been observing & documenting it for years on Sloan Street in S.O., but since traffic offenses of this variety fall under the benighted jurisdiction of S.O.'s Parking Authority, in 30 years living in town I never witnessed a citation served there. Of course, I must also admit to having done several "ligetis" myself, also on Sloan Street. Simply following my civic instincts...
-s.
ligeti said:
Downtown Maplewood Ave. Entitled dude thinks he’s going to turn LEFT into a parking space (directly next to a ‘NO LEFT TURN’ sign). He has his stupid blinkers on. I’m coming from the opposite direction and cheerily turn right into the parking space he assumed was his.
Perpetrator: “HEY! That’s my space! I was here before you! I had my blinkers on!”
Ligeti: “So you didn’t see the TWO NO LEFT TURN signs you just passed by? That’s poor attention skills. They’re very specific. You cannot turn left into these parking spaces.”
Perpetrator: “Where are the signs? So what! You’re really OK with taking a space I was waiting for? Really?”
Ligeti: “Yup! All good!” I gave him a Ligeti thumbs up.
Yuppie roared away in his silly, oversized SUV, shrieking with rage. I’m pretty sure he muttered hurtful adjectives at me, but as usual, Ligeti is immune to verbal or physical assaults of any kind. Comments?
I fantasize about doing this.
Sounds like ligeti was in the right place at the right time to do the right thing.
unicorn33 said:
Clearly you didn't grow up in Manhattan. Drivers there will break any rule to secure a parking space. They also may exact revenge on anyone who "cheerily" takes a space they're signaling for. More than one driver has had his car keyed or his tires slashed. Being in the right isn't always the best way to proceed. Just saying.
but this ain't Manhattan. Despite the constant whining by folks about an alleged "parking crisis", the number of times that someone has to do this because there are literally no other open spaces in the village is somewhere near zero. In fact, I see people do this all the time on weekend mornings when there are in fact dozens of empty spaces all over the village. I've seen people make lefts into spaces in front of Kings when there are open spaces the same distance from Kings' door in the Ricalton lot.
Some people just do these things because they feel like it.
I don't even buy the "but I didn't see the sign!" argument. Common sense says that making a left into an angled parking space isn't going to happen smoothly without you having to reverse a few times thereby blocking traffic and potentially causing an accident. We shouldn't even need the signs but some people are just lazy, dumb, inconsiderate or a combination of all three.
Oh, our horribly controversial first world issues. How can we ever survive?
tom said:
ligeti said:I fantasize about doing this.
Downtown Maplewood Ave. Entitled dude thinks he’s going to turn LEFT into a parking space (directly next to a ‘NO LEFT TURN’ sign). He has his stupid blinkers on. I’m coming from the opposite direction and cheerily turn right into the parking space he assumed was his.
Perpetrator: “HEY! That’s my space! I was here before you! I had my blinkers on!”
Ligeti: “So you didn’t see the TWO NO LEFT TURN signs you just passed by? That’s poor attention skills. They’re very specific. You cannot turn left into these parking spaces.”
Perpetrator: “Where are the signs? So what! You’re really OK with taking a space I was waiting for? Really?”
Ligeti: “Yup! All good!” I gave him a Ligeti thumbs up.
Yuppie roared away in his silly, oversized SUV, shrieking with rage. I’m pretty sure he muttered hurtful adjectives at me, but as usual, Ligeti is immune to verbal or physical assaults of any kind. Comments?
Likewise. In fact, if I was leaving, but saw someone on Maplewood Ave. with his signal on to turn left into a space, I would be inclined to park there anyway, just because. 
BG9 said:
Oh, our horribly controversial first world issues. How can we ever survive?
I'm surprised it took this many posts for the obligatory "first world" comment.
Why bother to have traffic or parking laws? Not to mention etiquette or norms. There are people all over the world starving or trying to survive wars.
ml1 said:
BG9 said:I'm surprised it took this many posts for the obligatory "first world" comment.
Oh, our horribly controversial first world issues. How can we ever survive?
Why bother to have traffic or parking laws? Not to mention etiquette or norms. There are people all over the world starving or trying to survive wars.
If you decide to read the posts in "Maplewood Specific", you better expect them to involve "first world issues".
Build a wall down the middle of Maplewood Ave to put a stop to these illegal actions? 
We live in the First.World so we discuss First World issues.
More to the point these are issues that we can actually do something about. Write down the licence plate number. Go over to the Municipal Court and sign a citizen's Complaint. You do not have to be a Cop to issue a ticket. You will have to take the time to do this but it should take for less than an hour.
The Court will mail the ticket to the party registered to the License Plate. That Party, Let's call him/her "The Perp" will have to either pay the ticket or appear in Court. You can choose to appear or not. Even if you do not appear and the case is dismissed the perp will have been inconvenienced.
I wouldn't want my name on a complaint. It's not likely that people who do these kind of things will blame themselves for the inconvenience.
Ligeti is feeling pumped up because the Boys scraped by in the wildcard round.
Truth in advertising laws may soon force a change from Brooklyn West to D-Bag Central. Then again, I've never lived in Brooklyn - this stuff may be normal there, in which case I may just become anti-immigrant. The entitlement/privilege wheel spins hard in The 'wood. My only hope in this story is that the "ligeti thumbs up" involves zero thumbs.
I hold others to my own personal code of conduct:
1. It would never occur to me to turn left into a parking space on Maplewood Ave., causing delay for others and congestion for two blocks of traffic. You cannot turn left into parking spaces angled in the opposite direction without inconveniencing countless other motorists.
2. Even worse — it would never occur to me to berate another driver for LEGALLY pulling into a parking space instead of me ILLEGALLY pulling into the same parking space.
The 30s/40s generation of folks really assume they are special — social media & internet computer addiction make them feel that way. Also, drivers of oversized* SUVs feel a sense of entitlement and self-absorption on roadways. I responsibly drive a sedan.
*which make it virtually impossible to attempt an improper, unlawfulparking maneuver that disturbs others.
ligeti said:
I hold others to my personal code of conduct:
Regardless of whether I agree with your personal code of conduct or not, this phrasing sounds extremely self-centered.
So, you see, it seems you are failing to hold up to *my* personal code of conduct:
1. Be open to the possibility that there is a good explanation for a person's behavior when it doesn't conform to accepted norms or rules.
In this parking scenario, it seems unlikely that there was a good reason for the person to make an illegal left into an an angled parking spot... but there might have been. So, enjoying bragging about taking a stand, and going on about how perfect you are, while simply making assumptions about the other side's POV, fails my personal code of conduct.
But, I'm open to the possibility that there is a good explanation for your excessive self-congratulatory behavior at this time. Feel free to share.
Actually, the rather obvious result of my personal code of conduct is:
1. Consideration for others.
2. Lawful behavior.
The “good explanation for the behavior of (another)” is similarly obvious: he didn’t feel any requirement to legally obtain a parking space like the rest of us. His personal convenience was all that mattered.
sprout said:1. Be open to the possibility that there is a good explanation for a person's behavior when it doesn't conform to accepted norms or rules.
He really, really REALLY needed a scone. STAT!
Just for kicks and giggles.
About a year or so ago, I was seated on the return of the bar at Coda with the lovely bride on a Friday afternoon.
A driver stops in front of the storefront formerly known as Shenanigans to wait for another driver to vacate a space directly in front of Coda. The other driver vacates their space in a moderately efficient manner, and the driver of the first mentioned vehicle (now with other vehicles backed up behind her on Maplewood Av., and at least one side of Baker St.) makes her not-so graceful left turn into the recently vacated space.
By chance, said driver enters Coda with companion and takes a seat at the end of the bar, just at the corner of the return.
They order drinks and upon service, I hoist my glass to commend the driver on her mastery of the art of parking.
Me: Magnificent parking job.
She: Are you serious?
Me: Quite. Most people making the illegal left turn take ten to twelve reverses to park, and I've seen traffic backed up to Durand; you did it with only eight and only backed traffic to the St. James.
During the brief exchange, the lovely bride is almost whispering "don't do this"; whilst the driver's companion is almost whispering "I told you not to make the left".
Companion gets driver to leave the bar and take a table. I get admonished more than once for my conduct, but Chris buys me a beer and says nice show. During the next 30-40 minutes, I hear, more than once, "I know how to drive" from beyond the dividing wall. Can't sat with certainty whether it was the driver in question, but in my head, it works better that I believe it was.
TomR
ligeti said:
Actually, the rather obvious result of my personal code of conduct is:
1. Consideration for others.
2. Lawful behavior.
The “good explanation for the behavior of (another)” is similarly obvious: he didn’t feel any requirement to legally obtain a parking space like the rest of us. His personal convenience was all that mattered.
OK. That's one way to continue your self-congratulatory attitude without examining why you need it so much. Which is fine. I hope it is fulfilling, and that it does lead to consideration for others.
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Downtown Maplewood Ave. Entitled dude thinks he’s going to turn LEFT into a parking space (directly next to a ‘NO LEFT TURN’ sign). He has his stupid blinkers on. I’m coming from the opposite direction and cheerily turn right into the parking space he assumed was his.
Perpetrator: “HEY! That’s my space! I was here before you! I had my blinkers on!”
Ligeti: “So you didn’t see the TWO NO LEFT TURN signs you just passed by? That’s poor attention skills. They’re very specific. You cannot turn left into these parking spaces.”
Perpetrator: “Where are the signs? So what! You’re really OK with taking a space I was waiting for? Really?”
Ligeti: “Yup! All good!” I gave him a Ligeti thumbs up.
Yuppie roared away in his silly, oversized SUV, shrieking with rage. I’m pretty sure he muttered hurtful adjectives at me, but as usual, Ligeti is immune to verbal or physical assaults of any kind. Comments?