Wednesday 7 May 2008

The Best Parking Place in Town?

A couple of weeks ago, AHS and I went to MAS building on Jalan Sultan Ismail. Was I glad AHS was with me as the parking place was deserted. I forgave the building for its age. Visitor parking was almost unavailable, the roof was rather low and the whole place very, very quiet. We even missed the exit (it is rather hidden) and had to make another round, adding to the carbon monoxide in there.

What prompted me to write about car parks is because they may seem inconsequential, but they are the most important entity to many like me. If I were to go anywhere, it's one of the first considerations I needed to weigh: easy parking? (availability/ safety/ payment system/ accessibility). I have lately developed a mild phobia of parking spaces. I have gotten 'lost' in Mid-valley, especially when alone. The last time I was there, I made sure I stayed in the car for awhile to take in my surrounding, took extra notice of the shops around the escalator of my entrance. To me, at least, all their entrances from the basement seem the same. I had, at one point asked for the assistance of the security guard to locate my mean machine.

I wonder what has made me such a scaredy cat about basement parking lots. Could it be from the time when I was a teenager and went with my brothers and sisters to Kompleks Teruntum? My sister drove us in my mother's 1.2 red Honda Civic. As we alighted from the car, we saw two men running, one chasing the other, the guy at the back holding a pistol. Could it be the many gory stories of people getting robbed or raped in car parks? The Canny Ong episode scared me to bits. I stopped going to BSC (I think many others did so) for a long while. The next time I went, the basement was better lit.

Once, I had to make a trip to visit my ENT doctor at a hospital. Visitors have to drive to basement level 3, passing all the spaces for doctors and staff. The whole place was entirely quiet, gloomy and the aisles rather narrow. I sudddenly felt utmost fear. Heart pumping, my shoulders stiffened, my eyes darted from left to right. I had to go round and round for a parking space which I finally got. Getting to the almost hidden lift was a nightmare. The fact that the lift was very slow didn't help either. My blood pressure must have increased then. After the visit, the fear came back again, for the exit trip. I swore I would get a taxi next time -but I've had not so rosy experiences with taxi drivers before. Well, I simply have to be healthy.

I like Ikea's parking best. It is well-lit, well-ventilated, has a high ceiling and very, very open. One can't help but feel safe. The layout is not confusing -- really user friendly. A friend mentioned Sunway Pyramid's parking is pretty user friendly as well. I haven't been in about 3 years, living at the opposite end of town, now. It seems they have lights (green ones would light up) to indicate availability of parking spaces. I've only been to KLCC parking a couple of times, both times with others. Nowadays, whenever I go to KLCC, I'd take the train -- very convenient.

2 comments:

Lee said...

Hi Jooli, long time da ta' drop by. How you doin'?
Canada being a big country and as well there are laws governing the number of allocatedspaces to be reserved for car parks, would you believe...there's a mall near my place...and everytime we pop in, I park at the same spot. Yes, same parking spot.
How? Because the crpark is huge, goes around themall, and orang orang semua mals, nak park dekat entrance, and where I park only 60 feet away too.
Tiga malls, I always get to park at same spot.
When friends from Malaysia visit, first they get a shock see my Lincoln Car which is 18 feet long, and next see me park anywhere no problems.
Their exclaimation? Toronto parking paradise.
Oh ya, people here dare not double park or block exits or block others cars...they get towed away very fast, $350 fine, no stories accept.
Also the cops here don't listen to stories, ha ha.
You have a nice weekend, Jooli, Lee.

jooli said...

Thanks for dropping by. Been busy, but been lurking your blog too,
Enjoy your weekend too!

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