Parking Garages: no motorcycle allowed?

[EarsOnWheels_imp]

Went to Baltimore yesterday to visit the USS Constellation near the Inner Harbor. Tried to park at three garages. All had "no motorcycles" displayed. Parked in the third one after I checked with an attendant.

I haven't seen this before. What gives? Anyone else encounter this before?

 

[Chapomis_imp]

Maybe someone's too loud exhaust defenistrated a few cars

 

[Randy B]

Or just sets of all of the car alarms.

 

[emptysea]

Here's an article about garages in Baltimore. Note that it is from 2010, though. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/20...-parking-20100513_1_garages-motorcycles-ramps

 

[Krupator_imp]

Ok that article cites safety as the reason because the gate could come down on someone's head. So how about convertibles? That would be far worse than it hitting a motorcyclists who may even be wearing a helmet. I agree with Randy B about loud bikes probably setting off too many alarms. There may be yet another reason though.

I rode the CB to the hospital last month and at the garage gate it wouldn't give me a ticket! I simply went around the gate because there was room for a bike to pass. When I got inside I asked the guard at the front desk how I would pay for parking without a ticket. She told me that bikes don't weigh enough to set off the sensor that activates the machine (and not to worry about paying). The point of this story was to highlight how easy it was to bypass the electronic ticket booths at the entrance/exit on a bike and park for free. Perhaps too many people in Baltimore were exploiting that.

 

[emptysea]

The article mentions that motorcycles can ride around the gates and I think that's the main issue. The safety issue may be part of it (and convertibles are not motorcycles), but the noise issue and the bad image issue are a little implausible--these are for-profit businesses and they're not going to turn away good money.

 

[Krupator_imp]

Taken directly from the article: "Central Parking Systems facility manager Marguerite Morgan-Berard was quickly out of the office, politely but firmly explaining that motorcycles are not permitted to park in the garage. It was, she said, a matter of safety: The gate could come down on Tompkins' head." They cited safety twice in the article. They don't mention anything about motorcyclist parking without paying.

As in my first reply, I absolutely agree with you 100% about people slipping though without paying. The article however, says that they banned motorcycles in the name of safety. That's why I would make the convertible argument with the owner if this happened in my area. That gate could come down on the driver IF the top was down just as easily as a rider.

I'm just saying if it is a matter of money, don't enforce it under the guise of safety.

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

The article mentions that motorcycles can ride around the gates and I think that's the main issue. The safety issue may be part of it (and convertibles are not motorcycles), but the noise issue and the bad image issue are a little implausible--these are for-profit businesses and they're not going to turn away good money.

Interesting comment; there is a garage I use a few times a year where the sensor does not open the barrier arm for motorcycles. I was forced to ride around it without paying, since the card reader is also triggered by the same magnetic sensor in the pavement.

I think this was just an oversight in the design of the self-paying system as with many traffic lights which still will not trigger with a motorcycle alone on the sensor. So the best solution is just to make the facility motorcycle-free until the problem is resolved.

It's an inconvenience, but then, motorcycling has some of these along with its rewards.:hello:

 

[emptysea]

Actually, they do mention motorcyclists not paying: "Larry Cohen, president of the Middle Atlantic Parking Association, said garage operators have differing philosophies about motorcycles. Some worry about liability issues, and others have concerns about motorcyclists going around gates."

I think that, while it is possible that a bike might not trigger the gate correctly and great a risk to the rider, I feel that the much more likely reason for the ban is that some operators grew tired of motorcyclists thwarting the system. Revenue drives both reasons, though. I imagine that fixing the gates to assure the safety of the rider has a significant cost in some cases as would creating a solution to the "ride-around" problem. My guess is that the garage operators feel that the potential revenue gain is not enough to make it worthwhile to change the status quo. Maybe ABATE will have some luck over time, though.

These things do take time. I am trying to explain to my local city council that there are several places in town where they could take current no-parking areas and re-stripe them to fit 2 or 3 motorcycles. My contacts at the city basically tell me that it's not worth their time to redesign the spaces for the few bikes that come around and they gain no revenue from it. Time, money, and preconceptions are the factors driving these decisions (or lack thereof), but mostly, it's money.

 

[Krupator_imp]

Empty Sea I'm not trying to argue with you, but I do not see that anywhere in the article linked to this thread. Is that from a separate article?

As for talking to the city and them not helping, have you talked to private lots? The city I live in has certain private lots that are very motorcycle friendly. When a bike pulls in they park you in one half of a car space and leave room for another bike. They charge both bikes full price, so they end up making double the money on that space. If only one bike is in it they end up making the same money as if it were a car. I can't hurt to ask them if they would do that.

 

[emptysea]

Krupator, there's a second page to the article, but the link to it is difficult to find as it shows up after some ads.

My city, is really just a suburb. There are no private parking lots. There are, however, numerous little nooks and crannies in the public lots and on the streets in which a motorcycle or two could fit. They just have to have the desire to include those spaces in their CAD program the next time they have to re-stripe the parking spaces. Maybe it's not quite that simple, but it does seem like the folks at city hall do not have any incentive to change what they have been doing all along.

 

[Krupator_imp]

Oh wow I totally missed that. Sorry about that.

It can be as easy as you said if the space is there. A draftsman's time and some paint. Maybe signage too. There are individual state laws about clearances in parking lots to consider though. I designed a one a long time ago in tech school. If the city hall doesn't care about it there's probably a lot of red tape the deal with to try to make anything happen.

 

[Hondahawkrider_imp]

Public garage parking and Baltimore don't get along.. First off there are a lot of illegal bikes running around and owners don't want bikes in for liability issues. Stashing stolen ones, people moving em outta spots for cars to park, or just folks pulling in and hitting a bike and driving away, all bring the cops.

Esp since so many places are now unmanned so the sensors are set heavy to keep people honest.. At many of the unmanned places, if nobody was around and no weight sensor, you could park all day, and run up and generate a 2nd ticket right before you left and pay for the minimum time, even if you parked all day. Attendents use to do this to pocket extra cash, before tickets to cars were tracked 1 to 1

 

[EarsOnWheels_imp]

I've parked at BWI and DCA with no issues. Kennedy Center in DC, Kimmel Center in Philly, Shirlington in VA, UMD, National Harbor, etc

Is it just Baltimore or do other cities have this? I think anyone talking liability or "safety" is just bluffing.

 

[Cormanus]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that the most common cause of rider injury was being snotted by car-park boom gates. It used to be more fun in the old days when they were manually operated and the operator was awarded points depending on the level of injury. The rather less random operations of mechanical boom gates make it harder, although I've also read that smart programmers are working on sensors, and software to support them, that will detect motorcycles and cause the boom to behave differently. Should bring back some of the fun. I've been danged lucky so far.

 

[riceburner_imp]

Saw it Montreal a number of years ago,couldn't find any theft-vandal proof parking anywhere after riding around for an hour or so,went back to the parking garage and parked there anyway.Chained the bikes together so they'd be difficult to tow and went back to the hotel.We did get our parking stubs and paid for it,2 bikes in one spot they made more profit.Left the next day,no problems.Sometimes rules are just made to be broken.If you ask enough people for permission i'm sure you can find somebody who will tell you NO!

 

[kmoney_imp]

Never seen it on Vancouver. A decent number of parking garages here actually offer free MC parking and you usually get to park up where the attendant cab watch your bike. Works pretty nicely.

 

[Rebel73_imp]

I recently had a gathering with my club buddies and the parking lot across the street insisted on charging for each bike ($20 each!) even though we could fit several in a single space. Greed.

 

[the Ferret]

$20 to park a motorcycle? I won't pay $10 to park my car.

 

[kmoney_imp]

I recently had a gathering with my club buddies and the parking lot across the street insisted on charging for each bike ($20 each!) even though we could fit several in a single space. Greed.

What a scam. I guess that's one way to ensure no one ever goes back there.