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I reviewed this much parking?
Hm, guess my parking experiences were pretty memorable.
16 Places
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Aaron’s 5-star review: Review a parking garage? F yeah, when it has the best overnight rate in the whole namn deighborhood. Briefly: most structures around union square charge you by the hour and max you out at some obscene rate, even if that means you come in for the night and leave in the morning, when the garage least needs the space. But the Sutter-Stockton garage gives you a rate of $2/ hr from 5pm to 8am and here's the best part: that maxes out at $8. Also, it's kind of cool design wise, for all you architects and civil engineers out there... entrances and exits on multiple levels to multiple streets, and pretty darn amazingly high speed elevators - which they clearly label as such lest you somehow fail to notice the pit of your stomach being left on the previously visited level. -
Aaron’s 5-star review: The market inefficiencies of San Francisco parking continue to amaze. I parked here when every other parking option around there was either temporarily illegal or outrageously expensive (Read: $17 flat rate for even just a few minutes). For some reason this place was valet only even though it didn't look busy. But valet was priced like regular parking, namely $2 per hour. My car was ready instantly and there was no wait for payment. So I paid $2 to valet park in FiDi / Chinatown. Who knew? -
Aaron’s 5-star review: Radisson airport parking saved my thanksgiving trip! I had booked and prepaid at another lot through Fly 'n' Save, but when I called to confirm it the day before, they told me they were full and that I should go someplace else - that had terrible Yelp reviews.... So I gave the Radisson a call and they said they had space and that their shuttle goes every 30 minutes on the hour. Done and done. Everything worked, made my flight, and on the way there I saw that EVERY lot at SJC showed as "full," even the daily ones that are $30 per day. The $8 per day deal at Radisson seemed extra awesome. -
Aaron’s 4-star review: I'm a fan. It's pretty expensive, but the location is killer. Tips! - The daily max is $32 (info current as of Feb 2013), even though the hourly rate would be double that, and even if you go past midnight. This comes in really handy if you've all had to much to drink one night and decide to cab it home. - Use the basement. I don't know why people spend 20 minutes driving around the upper floors looking for spots. Look, if there's an earthquake that takes it down, all the cars will be toast. Enter from Mission street (not Minna) then bear left for the basement. - When exiting, if you need to get onto 4th (which you do if you're headed back to the south bay), use the Minna St exit, NOT the Mission St exit. It will save you the hellish right turn from Mission onto 4th, notorious as one of the worst rights in the city. -
Aaron’s 4-star review: Pretty good! Made a reservation online, so I knew I'd have a spot (outdoor valet in my case since self park was full), got a coupon online for $12 per day (instead of $13) so got out of there for $40.23 for 3 days of parking including $4.23 of "tax" which "includes fuel and airport surcharge." Not sure whose fuel I'm paying for... the shuttle's? Some minor notes, none of which makes it less than a 4 star review: - Their shuttles are pretty frequent. I waited maybe 5 minutes for one from the airport and 0 (zero) minutes for one from the lot. However, in the 5 minutes I waited at the airport, two ParkSFO shuttles came by. (Those ParkSFO guys have legendarily frequent shuttles.) - It is a little bit further off the freeway than other long term parking options. You'll probably spend a few minutes driving on surface roads to get there. Random point! There is another place right across the street "Burlingame parking" or something claiming to offer $9 per day parking. I was tempted by the price to be honest... but after reading Yelp reviews of it I'm glad I skipped it. People say that other shuttle takes 20-45 minutes to come... yikes. -
Aaron’s 4-star review: Parking around here ain't cheap. But If you're gonna park all day, this is one of your least worst options at $18 on a weekday. If you're headed to Alcatraz, departing Pier 33, this is about as close as you're going to get. -
Aaron’s 3-star review: It's with a heavy heart that I update my 5 star review down to 3 (maybe 2.5?) because they do some things so well: - They have very frequent shuttles. I have never waited more than 5 minutes for a shuttle, and the average is literally only about a minute. I just missed one at the United terminal at SFO, and I saw another one within probably 200 yards. This is awesome when you're in a hurry traveling. - They have better base rates than the "official" airport parking by about $5 a day - if you can get it - see below. - They have a more fair pricing structure too: a day has passed when you've been there for 24 hours, not when the calendar has updated at 12:01am. This may seem minor but will save you an entire day's charge if your departing and arriving flights are at similar times. - They have coupons for one or two days off. Here's the two day: http://www.parksfo.com/marchtrack.htm and one day: http://www.parksfo.com/free.asp ... but there's some fine print they don't tell you - see below. So the bad? - The last few times I've traveled, they haven't had the outdoor self-parking ($12.95/day) available... so they compromise and give you a discounted valet rate of $14.95/day, which may seem OK but: - Two times ago, the valet dented the passenger door on my car pretty badly - but somehow they didn't "seem" to have noticed or made a note - I had to call their attention to it when I picked it up. The reason this isn't a one star review is that they agreed to fix it, maintained good communication about it, and did it in a convenient way for me: they just had me leave the car with them (free) the next time I traveled while they took it to a shop. The reason this isn't a four star review is that the repair job was decent but not great - you can tell the door has been worked on. And I like to think none of this would've been needed if they'd had their regular outdoor parking available. - And another bummer: that two day coupon is for 2 days free when you park for 4 - I thought. Sort of. Recently, I parked for a Friday - Monday, and was within 1 hour of the daily maximum for the 4th day. But the cashier said he could only give me one free day instead of two because I had only been there 3 days. I asked him to show me the fine print so I wouldn't make the same mistake next time. He couldn't so I asked to speak with a manager. Then it got interesting. "OK, I'll give you two days free. There is no manager here. They all went home. Only regular employees. I don't want to make them deal with it." Well, I guess that is good? All told, I'm not sure what to do next time. I think the surprises of Park SFO are probably worth it in the cases where their special deals and 24 hour pricing policy help you - like if you are traveling only 48 - 72 hours. Otherwise good old "long term parking" may be a better bet.
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Aaron’s 3-star review: It's priced a good 40% more than the others I've seen advertised. On the other hand, I've never had to wait more than like 2 minutes for the shuttle. -
Aaron’s 3-star review: I'm kind of amazed that you can park this close to Union Square. OK, wait a minute, this IS Union Square. You park underneath it. Anyway, this garage is a great choice for people who cannot walk the two blocks from the Sutter-Stockton garage. Which is a little cheaper during the day and a good 70% cheaper at night. (Here's a handy comparison chart: http://www.unionsquareshop.com/parkingComparison.html) Now, for those of us who haven't lived in cities before, some important reminders (and or causes for outrage; check out the other reviews): - No validation! It's filled with people doing shopping and dining anyway, so in a way there's no point. - No in and out privileges! They make money on fractions of hours and the convenience of leaving when you want. So they reset the clock each time you leave. - Criminals love cars! Hide valuables BEFORE you drive here NOT after you park. To deter sophisticated criminals you have to hide your stuff in the trunk before you park your car, whether it's in this garage or elsewhere. If they see you put stuff in the trunk after you park, they may target you. Having said that, it's better to put stuff in your trunk than leave it exposed. -
Aaron’s 3-star review: Well, it's a mixed bag. Parking Structure 7, located underneath the new Knight Management Center of Stanford's famed GSB, is a pretty great location, and tends not to fill up before other options in its area. It's across from Maples Pavilion, and right next to the sand volleyball courts and tennis courts... and oh yeah it's also right underneath GSB. And covered because it's underground. But... if you park there on a weekday between 6am and 4pm, you have to pay with a machine that steals money. The short version: DO NOT USE CASH WITH THE MACHINE AND IF YOU DO, DO NOT CANCEL YOUR TRANSACTION USING THE PAY PARKING MACHINE NO MATTER WHAT. It won't spit your money back to you, it'll literally print you out a receipt with a phone number to call to get a refund. (What? Now that it took my last $1.25 I'm going to call a number and have a check mailed to me? Fail.) I hope this machine isn't demonstrating a GSB-taught business model. Tricks like that only work if you screw someone who doesn't use Yelp. Boom.
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Aaron’s 2-star review: It's a mixed bag... on one hand they've got some unique and innovative programs to encourage bike commuting and discourage on-campus driving, but on the other hand, they've got some comically bad policies that merit a sarcastacular Yelp review. Now I'm not going to complain about the notorious early 2000s era practice of putting up temporary "no parking" signs and then ticketing cars parked by them.... though I had a couple friends enjoy the benefits of contributing revenue through that. No, I'm going to talk about visitor parking. Stanford has lots of events on campus that a visitor might want to attend. Your choices are only terrible if using conventional thinking. So let's think positive: - You can park at a meter using coins. This is great if you want to walk a mile to your event, because the meters exist hardly anywhere. It's also awesome if you have tons of change because they charge like $2 per hour. And a further benefit is that it prevents you from getting too comfortable in the Stanford bubble - they limit you to two hours in a lot of places. - Park illegally. This is a great option for those of us who love gambling and make a decent wage, but without the benefits of mile-long walks to your destination. Enforcement is thoroughly random: one friend parked in a residential lot without a permit, overnight, for 18 straight months at Mirrielees (or was it Suites?) before he was ticketed. An acquaintance managed to park only two hours at AK (around 9am) before being ticketed, and yours truly took a dozen two-hour whacks at EV's vehicular accommodations before being allowed to donate to further enforcement efforts. A ticket is on the order of $50, which from an expected-value perspective is a good price - unless you are, say an indebted student who then won't be able to afford groceries if you get unlucky. So an additional benefit is that the enforcement keeps Romney's "47%" from getting too comfortable parking their jalopies in such nicely groomed lots. - You can buy a one day "scratcher" permit. Now this option is truly awesome, combining all of the benefits of the above two options. First, it only allows you to park in the few "visitor" spaces, so you can still get lots of exercise. Second, in the long run it allows you to provide even more revenue to P&TS than parking illegally, because these cost an epic $12 per day. An extra benefit: you have to go to the parking office - during business hours only - to buy them, ensuring that you see more of Stanford. While there you'll benefit from several P&TS posters telling you how much they help reduce traffic and its environmental impact. And finally: when there, you'll likely find that in order to visit the parking office you need to - guess what??? - PARK! That's right, you'll have to bring change with you to the parking office so you can park in a visitor spot while buying your $12 day permit. Another awesome opportunity to provide much needed revenue to this enterprise. In short, there are many ways to enjoy your car-based visit to Stanford. Now for the non-sarcastic version: if you're going somewhere Tresidder, park in that lot using a daily permit you can buy at a machine there. If you're visiting elsewhere, just remember that daily parking is $50, and a nice police officer will leave a bill on your windshield. But most days (which are unannounced) such parking is free. -
Aaron’s 2-star review: It looks like they're done a good job for other customers, but I had a pretty bad experience that was almost a disaster. Knowing it would be busy over Thanksgiving, I booked - and prepaid for - a spot here for my trip over the long weekend. I think you know how this story is going to end. I needed to extend my trip one day, so I called the day before to see if that would be ok and how I should pay for it. I expected either (1) "sure, no problem, it's just the Monday, pay extra when you leave" or (2) "that voids your reservation and you're screwed." But I never even got to tell them I needed to extend. I only said "I've got a reservation for tomorrow...." and the person on the phone interrupted: "actually, don't even bother coming, we are totally full and your prepaid reservation you made three weeks ago doesn't count for shit so email this address for a refund and try this sketchy other place near us." (Yeah, that's a paraphrase.) So I emailed that address, got no response... and got no refund until I called and faxed (yes faxed) my credit card company. Fortunately, I used Yelp to find another business that still (miraculously) had space: Radisson airport parking. Why two stars? At least they answered the phone and told me they screwed me. Had I been screwed on the spot I might have missed my flight. -
Aaron’s 3-star review: *UPDATE October 2014* - apparently they have a massive discount for people who use the fitness center. Which I didn't know about. And that they don't advertise. Go to the gym downstairs, enter via the turnstyle, stamp your ticket using the little stamping device on the counter, exit via the other turnstyle. Plus one star for being like $1 per hour after validation. Now, back to your regularly scheduled review: Yes, I'm reviewing another parking garage... Given that it's only two stars, I know you're expecting some kickass story about how my car was broken into and they did nothing about it. Sorry, this is just a tale of shitty architecture that you get to park your car in: - These spaces are tiny! Whoever designed this place probably studied in Europe. Tiny spaces are fine if you drive a mini or a fiat, but for the 99% of us who don't you're looking at door dings, dirty clothes from rubbing up against your neighbor's car, shoulder sprains, and spilled coffee... - ... all of which might be fine were this place not one of the most expensive garages in the city at $3.50 per hour, even off peak. - In another architecture fail, you have to walk through a maze of hallways and elevators to get back to the garage through a pedestrian entrance. Live a little and jaywalk through the auto entrance to save time. -
Aaron’s 1-star review: Probably three years from now, you're going to read one of those expose articles in the Chronicle about how the parking authority in SF is completely corrupt, having commission-compensated employees writing spurious parking tickets that friendly "judges" then "decide" are legit, and extorting extra money from citizens who have to pay for (yes pay for) a hearing. When my friend got a bogus parking ticket near Pac Bell park - for parking on a regular street with a regular curb with no signage - she decided to just pay it. Well, I decided to fight it to see what would happen because some part of me believes in my government. Well, it took a full year, and every step of the way - an administrative review, a mail hearing, and a de novo hearing - which took a total of 11 months (YES 11 MONTHS :) ) they denied my claim which included copious photographic evidence of why the ticket was given in error. (I was two feet from a red curb zone, not in it.) I felt like I was dealing with a health insurance company. A written denial of my defense stated that my photos appeared to show an area away from where the ticket was given. Yikes, their defense of a bogus ticket is that they don't understand the area in which it was given? I now regret having attempted to follow the law and using courteous language in my appeals. It seems SFMATA's implied message is: 1. PARK ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. They're going to ticket you even if you are parked legally. 2. PARKING ENFORCERS SHOULD BE DISTRACTED. Give them food, hit on them even if they are ugly, do anything to prevent them from participating in their scheme. It's a form of public service. 3. APPEAL, just to delay them. You parked legally, it will slow down the rate at which they extort you for income. 4. WHEN THEY TRY TO EXTORT MORE MONEY, DO NOT APPEAL. Then it actually does cost you more. Remember, they are going to screw you anyway, so you may as well spend your time hitting on the meter maids to prevent them from participating in their organized crime. If you are a reporter or a state / local representative, please message me. I have kept good records of this episode and have names and dates of every person who participated in the fleecing, I mean dear glorious government party members engaging in beautiful wonder of law and order. -
Aaron’s 1-star review: The one star is for my previous experience where I was ticketed for parking legally. For your entertainment, I'm going to paste here my total overkill appeal of a more recent citation here. I don't have a reply yet... let's see what happens! Greetings, I am writing to protest citation number XXXXXXXXX, which is depicted in one of the enclosed photos. - The reason for this request is that the sign on the meter at which I was parked was incorrect, as noted by a traffic officer I interviewed and recorded at the scene. - As shown in an enclosed photo, and agreed by the officer, the sign showed only "Saturday" for metered parking. It did not mention "Sunday," the day on which I was parked at the meter: Sunday, October 13, 2013. - In the interview, the traffic officer at first denied, then admitted, that the sign was incorrect. To further help, I took a photo of her vehicle, which I am also enclosing. Additionally, I made a high quality digital sound recording of the interview, which took place on the street. I am including both a transcript of the interview and a disposable USB flash drive with a copy of the audio file (and photos) for your convenience. If it would help matters, I can also provide a witness, who is also an attorney, who witnessed the citation, the incorrect sign, the taking of photos, the interview, and the recording. - I hope this does not come off as overkill. I had an unfortunate experience in the past where a protest was unfairly denied and I want to help this one go more smoothly. Best Regards, Aaron M... October 24, 2013 Interview Transcript: Aaron M...: So you're saying that all the meters actually are, sorry, that all these signs, are wrong. Officer: They're not wrong, it's just Monday through Friday is a white zone. AM: And then Saturday, they're just O: They're just regular meter. AM: So, when the sign says Saturday it should also say Sunday, is that right? O: Well, Sundays are new, so they haven't just... AM: OK, got it. Do you know when they changed it? O: For Sunday meters? AM: Yeah O: Last year? I mean early this year. January. AM: January. Got it. So maybe they'll update the signs sometime, huh? O: Eventually, hopefully. AM: OK, I hope they do too. Alright, thanks a lot. O: For your knowledge, yeah. AM: OK.
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Aaron’s 4-star review: Pros: + You can actually find a spot here + You can pay by the hour instead of an obscene flat rate (I'm looking at you California Parking) Cons: - They close overnight. (Midnight on a recent weeknight.) No late bar nights for you. - Small spots. Not as bad as the notorious UCSF Parnassus though. - Super pricey (which is why there are any spots here.)
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