Women parking spots
 

While I am not a big fan of seperating everything by gender, I DO appreciate the women's reserved parking spots I see in hotel and park houses in Bavaria and Austria.

When I pull into the garage at night under the hotel, it is nice not to have to drive around and around and find a few open spots in the darkest corners.

Is this common anywhere else? In North America I see 'mother and baby' type parking in some large parking lots for shops. I suppose that of course this could become a little crazy with 'women', 'mother and baby', 'new mother', 'mother with children' spots and all others relegated to the far corners of the lot.....

But again, I DO appreciate the close in spots in a dark garage

As far as I know, this is not done at all in the US. Even though I travel to Germany frequently, I saw women-only spots for the first time last fall (in Bavaria and Swabia) and was so gobsmacked I took pictures! They didn't turn out, of course, since it was a dark garage :-).

they have those at meijer's in michigan, but not meijer's in illinois.

I can't say I'm a big fan of the "stork" parking spots, as a friend in the mall industry calls them.

Never heard of them before and don't generally think of them as a good idea. I don't want special treatment nor do I believe in it for others

The stork parking spots really annoy me, especially because at what point is someone no longer a new mother?

I first noticed the "space reserved for expectant mothers" at the Westfield Century City Mall. At the time, I was on crutches and was looking for a handicapped spot (I had a placard). I could find no handicapped spots anywhere. It isn't that they were occupied; just apparently non-existent. I used the expectant spot as it was right next to the elevator.

My Shop-Rite has the expectant mother parking spot. I think the whole thing is pretty ridiculous. I figure I can just go ahead and park there anyway, because who's to say I'm not an expectant mother, even if I don't look like one? I could be three months pregnant! (Or just really lazy!)

As a guy, I love the stork parking spot. I always park there. it's always empty. It's only a suggestion not the law.

And who's to say you aren't on an emergency pickles and ice cream run? :D

I want to know if new fathers, especially when they have the children with them, can park there... Aren't we being sexist by saying, "new and expectant mothers?"

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ . It annoys the heck out of me. They take up at least 8 spaces at my local supermarket.

I agree - hence my comment about having all these 'special' spots, and averaged men being relegated to the far corners of the lot!

there are a LOT of 'new mother', 'expectant mother', 'mother with children' spots in one nearby parking lot. Young single female parking is quite far from the door (not that I mind the walk - it just irks me that at least three rows have more than 1/2 the stalls taken up with mother spots - and accessible spots are only 3 or 4 in total :td: )

Going back to my original question - the 'women' spots are the one which I DO appreciate - they are often in dark and scary garages. The one in Munich under Hertie by the train station is where I appreciate it most. That's one garage which creeps me out, and I like the well lit spots on the entry levels.

HMMMM! Is this what we call 'SELECTIVE EQUALITY'? What total B.S.!

Why should women be afforded more security than men? We're just as likely to be assaulted/robbed, etc. as women are.

Women who want their quality with qualifications such as this are just too much.

No Way.

Whoo - my brain just kicked into gear on this thread. You've hit on the solution here - if the garage is "dark and scary", the answer is *not* to create a few not-scary spaces for a part of the population assumed to be more chicken than the rest, the answer is to make the entire garage not dark and scary.