Comments on: Would Chron Find Walking and Chewing Gum “Argh” Hard, Too?

By: marcos

marcos — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 22:42:41 +0000

Matthew, first, the Chron has regularly visited positions much, much lower than this. Once YOUR ox gets gored you begin to notice.

Their editorial stance derives from the position that San Francisco serves many needs. and those of San Franciscans are last on the list, especially progressives and forward thinkers. They represent the boosterist impulse which has held sway to a great extent since the 80s.

Second, Rachel Gordon, as of 3 yr ago, drives a BMW X-5, and writs as she does to keep her job as she's more of a press release transcriber of the posers that be than a critical journalist, unless, of course, it is time to criticize progressives.

-marc

By: riderdriver

riderdriver — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:38:34 +0000

I ride transit far more than I drive, but I occasionally drive, and I've used these machines in other cities, including Oakland. San Francisco's are worse. They took a decent design and made it more difficult. Like those second generation BART ticket machines that required multiple steps on different screens. It's possible to figure out, and not that tough, but why make it more difficult than necessary? I'd rather get the parkers (many of them tourists or bridge and tunnel folks) to pay the city at the metersthan park in private lots. Of course, I'd rather have them take transit, but some people aren't going to.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:18:07 +0000

@Cameron S While I laud your resolve, keep in mind the diction in the article sets the tone of the article - the "spin" if you will For instance - The article could have described the process like this: The drivers remember their stall number and choose whether to pay with credit card... But instead describes the burden as: Drivers have to remember the number assigned to their space and then log in the information on a keypad. Then they have to decide whether to pay with a credit card... It might even have been phrased as: Drivers get to choose their payment option. Still, great to see Chronicle coverage of this "exciting" parking milestone. Hopefully there will be both less congestion and more easy-to-find parking going forward!

By: theo

theo — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:48:53 +0000

Remember, SFgate readers aren't average citizens. They're much more senile and less street smart. SFgate commenters, in particular, are also dumber than the average citizen.

By: SfResident

SfResident — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:05:54 +0000

Somehow I doubt that the "average citizen" drives to the embarcadero very often. And I also doubt that the "average citizen" would really be confused by so simple a machine. The fact that politicians, the business community, and the media imagine the these folk to be "average citizens" is the root of the problem (and what does this make transit riders? "below average" citizens?). While I'm not going to get all that worked up over this, the whole angle of the story lead: "unwitting" drivers being "confused" by a "revolutionary" government "experiment" does nothing but build upon and feed into anti-transit bias. Something that the Chronicle does all too often. Out of all of the angles this story could have taken, the fact that it took this one is rather disappointing. It speaks more to the irrational and sensational fears of drivers than it does to the obligations of the fourth estate.

By: gs

gs — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:59:12 +0000

what is most ironic about this complaining is that the thing most people gripe about parking meters is that they have to carry coins around and that most meters only take quarters. We solve that problem, and all of a sudden people claim they'd rather be forced to carry around pockets full of quarters. you simply can't please people who don't like change, even if it's change they asked for.

By: Jamison Wieser

Jamison Wieser — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:34:15 +0000

People could get confused by all those different kinds of coins because they come in different sizes and have different numbers on them. Also, the machines might steal your soul.

By: Michael P.

Michael P. — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:19:22 +0000

I love that they somehow turn the new ability to pay with a credit card into a negative:

"Then they have to decide whether to pay with a credit card, debit card or coins"

Oh no, you have to make a decision! That could take hours!!!

By: turtles

turtles — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:18:02 +0000

I mean, we all knew car drivers were complete morons,... Tomorrow's Rachel Gordon story: "Car drivers say 'arrgh' to figuring out when to go: Red? Green? ...Yellow?

By: Cameron S

Cameron S — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:04:17 +0000

Hi, Chron green blogger here. I think you're taking this way to seriously. Every day, another story: You have to come up with an engaging angle. And the local paper's job is to look at things like an average citizen does. So it makes sense that the story would focus on how citizens get used to the new machines. But the article does not say they're a disaster, or that driving is the only way to go. The fact that the story was on the home page, I think, indicates that the editors take transit (and the city budget woes) seriously. I'm not paid to defend the paper, and if you read my blog you'll see I'm very, very friendly to transit (and to Streetsblog). But remember, the Chron's mission isn't to advance public transit. It's to tell people what's going on in their city and how it might affect them.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:43:16 +0000

@Sam: this definitely is really progress. I've never heard so much defense for scrounging for quarters.

By: Sam

Sam — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:35:24 +0000

After living with these machines in Berkeley and Oakland, they are a royal pain! The "ticketless" machines in SF may be a bit better, but only as long as it is completely unambiguous what the space number is, and which machine(s) service it. Remember too, that with the location being along the tourist sections, so many users will be faced with a "first time" learning curve. You may chuckle, but I've seen 3-4 people lined up at a kiosk. Waiting for an extra five minutes every so often really shows how "efficient" the old mechanical beasts were. And, they doubled as bike stands. Is this really progress?

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:07:14 +0000

There are many "smart meter" systems out there that make a big difference in terms of collecting money more efficiently and make it easier for people to pay and thus not get a stupid ticket.

It's a bit early to assess how it's all going - I mean, how long have they been up? A few weeks? A month?

The system I like is the one that has cameras built in to detect people blocking a red zone or bus stop, and takes a pic and issues a ticket immediately, and also allows people to pay for their meter (or tickets) at the meter. Cuts out the admin cost and makes it more likely a) people pay and b) people pay tix.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:50:46 +0000

Kind of terrifying to think that people who are flabbergasted by a keypad and a credit card slot are behind the wheel of those cars that whiz past you every day.