Skid Marks
Parking issues
By: Botchi SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer
As a car guy, you might or might not have realized it yet, but parking has somehow heavily influenced, if not dictated completely, where you hang out and spend your time for leisure with family, friends and significant others.
If parking space is unfenced, unenclosed, unlit and unguarded, a car enthusiast will typically be wary of parking there and hanging out in that area, be it a mall, a park or anything similar. We understand the safety aspect better, because we care about our cars and all the time and effort we’ve put in to our vehicles. But this awareness of safety has, I would like to believe, also made us sensitive to our own personal safety, as well as the safety of our loved ones.
Another concern is ample parking space. If we go to a place where parking is poor, chances are we’ll be put off, or risk parking far out from where we originally intended to go. Aside from the aforementioned safety concerns, nobody wants walking under the intense heat of the sun, or rain during the wet season, or alone at night, again safety being the main concern.
Next, we look for parking that has a logical layout with multiple entry and exit points. In practice, a gigantic parking complex sounds good for urban planning and development. But in reality, this is not a good idea because cars stall rush hour entry and exit, especially typified by malls on a weekend after the last full movie show, or even during payday lunch hours when everyone is scampering from the malls to get back to the office in time. With a single entry or exit point, plus some motorists not having exact change, losing their parking tickets or not having money at all to pay for parking, the result is complete chaos.
Last concern that comes to mind is clearance on the ramps. A poorly designed ramp will scrape your car’s underbelly, the front and rear bumpers or the exhaust system whenever you clear the ramp, especially the apex of the ramp. This problem gets worse when your car is lowered, or if you drive a performance-oriented car.
I noticed this because being in the property industry myself, I have always had a keen eye for how cars and real estate must interact seamlessly. A car should not be a hindrance to where you want to go, and the place you plan to go (or buy into) must be car-friendly and not make you need to compromise your car’s safety and integrity or make you sell it altogether. I’ve also been looking at buying my own place to move to and parking has played a huge role in deciding where I plan to buy: does the ramp offer ample clearance for my car, do I have enough parking slots available per unit and are the parking slots big/wide/tall enough?
So, where is the best place for car enthusiasts to hang out with safe, ample parking and clearance that allows even the lowest of cars to clear the ramps? Ortigas Home Depot along J. Vargas is a haven for car enthusiasts with its wide expanse, good lighting, ample security and car-friendly management. For a more upscale venue, Bonifacio Global City offers the best of everything: guarded parking, well-lit and multiple parking areas to avoid crowding and ease of entry and exit. I love parking in BGC because the parking is ample and strategically placed so you walk only a few meters to where the action is wherever you are. Crucial if you have kids and pregnant wives or toddlers on strollers or all of the above.
The busiest malls in the country are the SM malls and despite being packed in tight with cars queued up for hours upon hours on end, their parking spaces are surprisingly very car-friendly, with very low cars easily clearing the ramps. While entry and exit points are not very good, their payment booths, which on malls like SM Megamall are situated at every floor, means exit is easy and effortless and significantly helps decongest the exit ramps.
The Robinson’s Malls are surprisingly car-friendly too, but the space, particularly the common driveways are tighter, and the ramps are marginally steeper but can still be cleared by most cars, even lowered and performance cars.
The least ideal parking complex? The old parking building in Eastwood City. Not only is the ramp very steep, but the entry and exit points are very narrow making it a real hellish experience for newbies driving anything larger than a compact car. With driveways that are very steep, those driving a manual would be tested on how fast their reflexes are once the vehicle ahead suddenly stops and, unfortunately, there’s another one following behind.
So next time you decide on where to hang out, keep your parking in mind. It makes a world of difference for you, your loved ones and your car.
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