Parked avenue

If you ask me, all parking in the world should be free. Do away with parking meters and parking garages. First come, first serve.

Unfortunately, some people would just park somewhere and never leave. They would think they had a right tokeep their vehicle there permanently, so I guess that wouldn’t work.

In Macon, they did away with parking meters several years ago. Now, they have meter maids who come around every few hours and mark your tires with chalk. They give you a couple of hours, then come back. If you’re still there, they write you a ticket.

We used to get by with moving around every so often, but they still have their ways of sniffing out offenders.

I’m not sure what they should charge you to park on a downtown street. I’m not sure what meters are supposed to collect, adjusting for inflation, of course.

I just know the meters at Atlantic Station in Atlanta must be for the folks who drive fancy cars and don't even blink at high prices. These meters were even digital.

I was in Atlanta on Monday and was trying to help a friend get parked. He is an older gentleman, and I didn’t want him to have to use the underground parking. I was trying to save him some steps. He is 78 years old, and his knee doesn’t work the way it used to work. He could probably qualify for a handicapped spot if he wanted.

Well, he found a prime space right in front of the restaurant where he needed to be. It was just 12 steps from the front door. There was a two-hour limit on the meters, but I figured we could go back later and add more money if we needed some extra time.

I pulled some change out of my pocket and started putting it in the slot. That was when I realized I was barely moving the needle.

A nickel netted only 1.5 minutes on the meter. A quarter brought a whole 7.5 minutes. I used every nickel, dime and quarter I had and I bought something like 23 minutes.

I knew that wouldn’t work, so we ended up parking underground.

Granted, this is a swanky new development. It’s not the kind of place where you’ll find a Family Dollar store or a Joe’s Bait & Tackle.

But you practically have to take out a loan for parking.

Oh, well, I just felt like complaining about something.