NU12 Idea #6 Revised: Elevator Parking Space at Home by Mariko Franca

[Hi Prof Jorge! I am sending another NU12 #6 because my original entry entitled "What pisses me at the mall" is not posted in the blog. I hope this one passes. Thank you!]

By Mariko Franca

          One thing I do not like as a driver in our village is the cars "illegally" parked outside the houses.  It is OK if the car owner is a visitor but there are homeowners who actually use the street as their permanent parking area.  There is one particular street I pass by regularly where almost all the homeowners have at least one car parked outside of their homes.  You can just imagine that a street with a width good for only two cars is occupied on both sides.  It annoys me as a driver because it is a busy street and so if there is an incoming vehicle, I need to either look for a niche among the parked cars where I can fit or drive back on reverse so that the other vehicle can pass through.

          There are probably some homeowners who did not foresee the possibility that they will have many cars someday so when they had their house built, they made their parking space fit for only one car.  However, there might also be some who just didn't want their parking space to occupy much of the land area so they really intended to use the street as their own space.  Whatever the reason is, I think that it is not right because it is a public space.

          Since I cannot tell my neighbors to stop buying cars or buy another land so they have a proper parking space, what I suggest is an elevator car parking space.  I see those public parking buildings in foreign films which has elevator car park machines.  This enables at least two vehicles to occupy the same vertical space.  It is also similar to the one you see in gasoline stations with car care areas where the car is placed in a lift and is mechanically raised so that the mechanic can see the underside of the vehicle.  Homeowners can install the lift in their house so they can maximize the vertical space in their parking space especially for those who only have a small land area.  They can make the car elevator go up or it can go underground if their parking space has a roof.

          Some advantages I see in having an elevator parking space are:

1.  stop being a nuisance to your neighbors and other people who pass thru the street;

2.  added security for the car because it will not be inside the gate;

3.  added care for the car because the possibility of it getting hit or scratched by the vehicles passing thru is lessened; and

4.  maximize the land area for the house instead of eating it up for use as a parking space. 4