Parking is the new challenge

Davon Gray
Published: April 28, 2008

A day in the life of commuting, specifically slugging, can be hectic and it can be a delicate system that is easily upset.

For those reading this who are fellow sluggers — and I am assuming everyone else knows what a slugger is — you have probably noticed the slug lines have begun to get longer and the spaces for parking are growing fewer. 

My guess is that gas prices shooting upwards towards $4 are the culprit. Prices hit home when you see them on the morning news and realize it is affecting the time you leave your house.

Once upon a time, you could arrive at the Potomac Mills slug line around 8 a.m. and not have to worry about a parking space, and you could get a ride at a reasonable time. 

But on Tuesday of last week, Potomac Mills management restricted the number of parking spaces to a smaller number as originally agreed to with the county. As a result the lot was full at around 7:45 a.m. To make things worse, there was a tow truck and a security guard waiting to enforce the new parking rules.

I asked one of the security personnel who was standing watch to make sure nobody took one of the spaces outside the marker, what was going on. He said the mall was moving spaces back closer to the original arrangement between the county and mall management. 

The result was an exercise in futility as drivers pulled into parking spaces frantically as though it were a pit stop at the Indianapolis 500.

Now I don’t blame Potomac Mills for their decision. 

Although I must admit many commuters do go inside the mall on the way home, thus helping the mall’s bottom line. I have done it myself. 

However, I hope our county government is aware of the problem and is working to find a way to increase the number of spaces.

If there is anything to blame, it would be the gas prices and the trickle down affect they are having on our daily lives.

First the price of food got higher as well as the cost of certain goods. Some job markets are directly being affected by higher prices. And now, slugging has been hit. 

Obviously there is very little anyone in local government can do about gas prices. For that matter, it would seem very few people at the federal level can do anything about gas prices — maybe lower some of the gas taxes, but who knows if that would ever happen. 

But local government can do a considerable amount when it comes to parking for slugs. 

Maybe creating an on ramp to Interstate 95 from the 123 Commuter Parking Lot is an idea.  That way, slugging could become more convenient from that space.  Or maybe it’s time to expand some of the existing lots even further. Now you might say all this would cost a lot of money and you would be right. But I will say this: I would rather pay more on a commuter space than on some of the lesser effective illegal immigration efforts. More parking will have an immediate effect and everyone will notice. That’s just my opinion.

One way or another, we cannot treat sluggers like refugees going from commuter lot to commuter lot trying to find a way to get into work because there aren’t enough parking spaces. Hopefully the county government is working on it.

Slugging is one of those rare opportunities where government didn’t create a costly, over regulated system to handle a transportation need. 

It would be tragic to see the idea of slugging suffer simply because of high gas and fewer places to park.

Davon Gray works in Washington, D.C., and resides in Woodbridge.Contact him at .