Comments on: The parking permit blues

By: physicsguy

physicsguy — Tue, 05 May 2026 12:03:19 +0000

Gringo, I know that. However, FB and Nassau county in general is a VERY red area. From the displaced Georgia rednecks out in Callahan to retired military in Yulee and FB. I’m surprised those older liberals I see in downtown FB every spring even feel welcome, but I guess that’s the nature of locusts.

As an example, I’m a member of the local EAA chapter at FB airport. We regularly get reports of one of those older white liberals who moved here. He bought a house off the approach end of one of the runways and now constantly complains about air traffic noise. His constant letters to the local paper are met with much derision, thank goodness.

By: TR

TR — Tue, 05 May 2026 09:26:22 +0000

With the increasingly high-tech nature of parking meters and kiosks, it’s amazing (sarcasm) that they’ve never managed to figure out a way to refund you for the parking time you don’t use. Of course, the penalty for overstaying your time is so high, everyone overpays in advance in order to build in some leeway in case they’re delayed. Cities aren’t collecting funds in exchange for parking — they’re collecting funds in exchange for not saddling you with an enormous ticket if you get back to your car three seconds late. And the awareness of this is probably the first sign for many people that the government is perhaps not entirely on their side.

By: James Sisco

James Sisco — Tue, 05 May 2026 06:26:47 +0000

In a Beach town close to where I live the parking rate is $3 per hour. And yes, they use the dreaded parking stations, with software from the 1980’s I think. Free parking is non-existent.
My sister stayed at a Hyatt Regency nearby, the price to valet a car was $38, plus a tip to avoid “the stare”.

By: charles

charles — Tue, 05 May 2026 05:29:10 +0000

When I was a kid, my mother used to go to a neighboring town where they had parking meters. But, we always parked in a department store’s lot. The reason is that it was free parking if you shopped at the dept store. So, mom made sure that she always bought a box of candy there and had them stamp our parking receipt to show we had shopped there. Otherwise you had to pay an hourly rate.

And, one time she forgot to get them to stamp the parking receipt, the man at the candy counter came running after us reminding mom to get it stamped. I guess he knew that’s why most folks were buying a box of candy – to get free parking!

By: Gregory Harper

Gregory Harper — Tue, 05 May 2026 05:18:45 +0000

I can’t even remember the last time I used change to pay for anything. It may have been an old parking meter years ago.

By: Philip Sells

Philip Sells — Tue, 05 May 2026 03:59:20 +0000

Most of downtown Albany is like this now as well, I mean the hourly rates and this kind of thing. On those very rare occasions when I have something to do there, I usually park on the periphery. I can accept a fifteen-minute walk. Depending on which neighborhood I’m walking in, it can be kind of relaxing.

I admit that I was slightly pleased with myself when I figured out the ins and outs of the app provided by the parking authority.

By: AesopFan

AesopFan — Tue, 05 May 2026 03:24:03 +0000

@ neo > “And then there’s the reading of the messages in the machine. If light is bright and there’s a lot of reflection, faggetaboutity”

I have the same problem trying to read anything on my cell phone, and trying to see what I am actually taking a picture of is hopeless.

By: Tom Hund

Tom Hund — Tue, 05 May 2026 02:21:36 +0000

My ex city bought one of these systems with a contract promising the vendor an annual fee, not a share of revenue. I tried using it only once and gave up after watching giggling foreigners attempt to use it in the rain. The local newspaper later reported that the city looses a million dollars per year because not enough people use it. Fabulous lawyering on the cities part This is in Silicon Valley

By: Gringo

Gringo — Tue, 05 May 2026 01:28:32 +0000

physicsguy

. FB has always been a draw for older white liberals to vacation in the spring and unfortunately many have now moved in. I hope it’s not the usual story writ small of the first change coming for Florida.

Bear in mind that Northeastern liberals have been moving to Florida for 70-80 years.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 04 May 2026 23:57:10 +0000

Yeah, physicsguy, a mountaintop development near Chattanooga, TN, we once considered has reportedly been invaded by refugees from California, New York, and Illinois. Locals are hoping they won’t bring their voting habits with them.