It started as a once in a while thing mainly reserved for the first two rows in the main lot where traffic is the worst. I’ve noticed it increasing and it is spreading like a virus. It is now impacting my commute adding precious minutes to it.

People are backing into their spots into Jersey Ave.

I honestly can’t see the reason for this unless you are in the first two rows in the main lot and are trying to avoid the traffic. It’s everywhere now though. In the back where the track is, in the standard rows, I’ve even seen it in the secondary lot. WTF People?

So here is my morning- I wait in traffic to get into the main lot. I turn down either the third or forth isle and get stuck waiting some more. Some idiot is backing in. Usually this is a 3 try process. They almost NEVER get it on the first try. I get to sit there as I watch the familiar in and out of the parking challenged. I wait for my first chance to floor it and sneak around the car until I get about 15 feet and another idiot is backing in.

My favorite people are the ones against the back row because GOD KNOWS how much traffic is there to warrant a back in. (I’m being sarcastic if you couldn’t grasp that)

Even better? The person that passes their desired spot then decides to reverse a bit before backing in. Then *I* have to reverse to let them through. This gets even more exciting when there is also someone behind me. Usually, I just don’t move and wait for them to get frustrated and go find another spot.

Am I missing something? Do you get bonus minutes on the commute home backing in?

I just got a letter stating that my parking pass at Princeton Junction will be going up $15 per month to $55. I don’t mind because it’s still a good deal, but I was just curious about what parking costs at other stations. What are the rest of you paying? How is availability? I know that at PJT the daily lots are full by 6:30am and then they sell a limited # of “day passes” that allow parking in permit areas. There are also a couple of private lots in the area that seem to fill up pretty quickly.

The biggest scam today has to be handicapped permits for parking. What do you have to do to get one of those? Break a fingernail? Every day I see people zoom into one of the reserved handicapped spaces at the train station, and with few exceptions, the drivers seem OK to me. So either they have a problem that is not related to walking, in which case they should leave the reserved parking to people who need a shorter walk, or more likely, the pass is for a non-commuter in the family. After I parked my car in “Oshkosh” this morning I watched a fancy car pull in to a handicapped spot and a husband and wife both practically leaped out of their car and made a dash to the station. So either they had a mental handicap or they got better and shouldn’t have the permit anymore. Just think about it: you can get to the station after all the other spaces are gone and just cruise right in to a nice cozy spot that you’re probably not entitled to. What a scam. And I don’t begrudge the people who really do need those spots (my mother included). But there should be some rules about what conditions give you a right to use those spaces. In some cases, it probably works to their health detriment: people who could probably use the exercise get to minimize it as much as possible.

Oh, yeah. After I saw the “handicapped” couple, I found a seat on the train, only to be told that a handicapped guy in a motorized cart needed that space. So I stood from Princeton J to Newark.

I sent this to the New Brunswick Parking Authority before. You might want to pass this along to anyone that parks there. Not good.

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I was writing to inform you that you might want to look into the “Security guard on-site 5:00am - 1:00am M-F” at the Jersey Avenue parking lot. Today, while the Security guard was parked in his normal spot across the street at 7:35, watching nothing, there was a man walking around the lot near the main tracks going through cars during rush hour in broad daylight. I was calling the police when he broke into a red SUV. The alarm must have brought too much attention to him and he ran across the tracks and into the brush. The ticket person had to come out from doing their job to go see what was going on. I’m assuming someone else told them.

I think it’s appalling that people who park in that lot are paying money to have their cars sitting there for anyone to break into. I’m sure he will be back since he wasn’t caught. Hopefully no damage is done then and he can be caught. In the meantime, can you make sure the security guard is actually patrolling the lot?

Open letter to the arse-biscuit driving a white or cream-colored SUV, truck or other high profile vehicle who banged my PT Cruiser in the Princeton Junction parking lot tonight:

May you develop an untreatable puslike drip from your nether regions.

May your 12-year-old daughter announce she’s pregnant.

May your son announce he’s becoming a hare krishna.

May your spouse leave you for your brother.

And may KARMA bite you royally in the ass for being an self-absorbed idiot driver and not leaving a note after you swiped my car pulling out of your parking spot. Judging by where the “skid marks” are, you obviously aren’t driving a normal sized car.

Better hope there was no paint transfer, you twat. For if there is and I find you, I assure you I will show your property as much respect as you showed mine.

Ok, we’ve moaned about everything else. Let’s bitch for a moment about the too-small size of individual parking lot spots, at least at my station. Like the Alexander Road Bridge going over the tracks just south (?) of the Princeton Junction train station, the width was obviously determined in the golden days before SUVs became suburbanites’ vehicle of choice.

The spots in the PJ daily lots are rather a tight fit to begin with, even if you drive a regular sized car like me. Well, somebody with an Expedition parked next to me last Friday. Going home, I literally had to get in on the passenger side and scoot over as the driver’s side door could only open three inches before dinging the miniMack truck next to me.

I’m not one for keying someone’s car, but I admit the thought crossed my mind that day…