Want to park downtown? Get a bike!

I've clipped the quotes below from one of San Francisco's chatboards, The Wall, supposedly the more conservative board. The discussion was about parking in the city. Thinking about making an appointment downtown or shopping in the new mall on Market Street? These folks think you should forget about it if you thought you could drive. Shop somewhere else, get a bike/scooter, or ride Muni. 

If you complain about either the lack of parking or the cost of parking downtown, you are "a selfish, Republican pig." All of these quotations are from different people. The more "progressive" chatboard is here, though the political differences in the discussions on the two boards aren't easy to detect, depending on the issue being discussed.

By attacking people who are choosing to do their part against the war in Iraq by not owning a car, and who are contributing to YOUR health and well being by reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, you are demonstrating your true nature: that of a selfish, Republican pig.

If you cant figure out how to get to the mall without taking your car, then you dont deserve to shop there. It's an URBAN MALL for ch**st's sake---It sits atop two levels of SUBWAY. Go to stonestown if you want to park and ride.

If one takes public transportation downtown or in any part of San Francisco...limit your purchases to something small, non-breakable, foldable or collapsable (say two bags of merchandise at the max) to ride the (crowded) bus home and to leave room for other people to sit down or not to trip over your things in the aisles. Otherwise, take your car to Daly City, San Mateo, and Alameda County and buy big there.

Discouraging parking and driving is not about making life difficult for those who currently own vehicles...its about not creating incentives...to purchase them. And also making sure that those people who own cars, choose other forms of transportation.

If you really want to get around---get a scooter! If you don't mind a little insecurity with your 'prized possesion'---get a bike. Its gonna be faster to walk than take MUNI just about anywhere east of VN.

I'm sorry if you feel personally insulted that you can't avail yourself of your Divine Right to park in front of wherever you're going. Who do you think you are---Madonna? Sir Paul? Heck, even the rich have given up on that pipe-dream (its why they have chauffers).