So I got to work at the stadium later than I should have. I got out of the house late; that's not unusual, but it's still something I have to get better at. But it would not have mattered if I had gotten out on time or even early.
Last year, and years prior, whenever I worked a Saturday at the stadium or, before the stadium, the Metrodome, I was able to park, oh, four or five blocks away. The meter system in the city was such that meters close to the stadia were enforced seven days a week, but once you cross one of those streets (I always remember it as getting past The Armory) the meters are only enforced Monday through Friday. (Well, once U. S. Bank Stadium went up, there began event hours, so if an event being held there that was big enough, it would revert to being enforced on weekends.)
That changed on Tax Day. I noticed it at the time, but I couldn't tell how it would affect me -- well, until now. A lot of parking spaces reverted to seven-days-a-week enforcement, and that includes just about all of downtown Minneapolis. You would have to go to the lofts north of Washington Ave. in the North Loop to find five-day-a-week meters, which, thank Buddha, still have not changed. Yet.
So as I was parking at a spot I usually go to when I work set days for Vikings Games, I took a cursory look at the parking stand to make sure nothing changed. And I saw "Daily," and everything changed. And then I thought, "When in the hell did the city change the ..." and then I remembered what they did in the spring, and I realized how this would affect me. This is another example of what I mean when I say I hate myself for not being able to put two and two together.
I could have paid for parking. But then I would have to feed the meter again -- two hours, I think. Hell with that. So I drove all the way to the other side of downtown, found a spot, then paid 50 cents to use the light rail to get to the stadium. I was late by half an hour, but then I got hung up at the security gate, so I reported to work 45 minutes after I should have. When I'm that late and another factor conspired to make me late, I'm not going to pin it on just one thing, and I sure won't blame myself for it.
At least I know now, and I don't think I'll get any blowback for being late to work. But now I'm thinking that this curtails anything I want to do at the stadium from now on. For example, the University of Minnesota baseball team will be playing there several times in the spring. I thought I would just drive up to a meter, get a good walk in, and watch baseball to my heart's content. But now that I might have to pay for parking? Nah, I really don't want to. Do I do what I did this morning -- park on the other side of downtown and use the LRT? Or do I just not go at all?
And, my goodness, what happens if Minneapolis decides to make all meters enforced seven days a week? I'll be really screwed then.
Last year, and years prior, whenever I worked a Saturday at the stadium or, before the stadium, the Metrodome, I was able to park, oh, four or five blocks away. The meter system in the city was such that meters close to the stadia were enforced seven days a week, but once you cross one of those streets (I always remember it as getting past The Armory) the meters are only enforced Monday through Friday. (Well, once U. S. Bank Stadium went up, there began event hours, so if an event being held there that was big enough, it would revert to being enforced on weekends.)
That changed on Tax Day. I noticed it at the time, but I couldn't tell how it would affect me -- well, until now. A lot of parking spaces reverted to seven-days-a-week enforcement, and that includes just about all of downtown Minneapolis. You would have to go to the lofts north of Washington Ave. in the North Loop to find five-day-a-week meters, which, thank Buddha, still have not changed. Yet.
So as I was parking at a spot I usually go to when I work set days for Vikings Games, I took a cursory look at the parking stand to make sure nothing changed. And I saw "Daily," and everything changed. And then I thought, "When in the hell did the city change the ..." and then I remembered what they did in the spring, and I realized how this would affect me. This is another example of what I mean when I say I hate myself for not being able to put two and two together.
I could have paid for parking. But then I would have to feed the meter again -- two hours, I think. Hell with that. So I drove all the way to the other side of downtown, found a spot, then paid 50 cents to use the light rail to get to the stadium. I was late by half an hour, but then I got hung up at the security gate, so I reported to work 45 minutes after I should have. When I'm that late and another factor conspired to make me late, I'm not going to pin it on just one thing, and I sure won't blame myself for it.
At least I know now, and I don't think I'll get any blowback for being late to work. But now I'm thinking that this curtails anything I want to do at the stadium from now on. For example, the University of Minnesota baseball team will be playing there several times in the spring. I thought I would just drive up to a meter, get a good walk in, and watch baseball to my heart's content. But now that I might have to pay for parking? Nah, I really don't want to. Do I do what I did this morning -- park on the other side of downtown and use the LRT? Or do I just not go at all?
And, my goodness, what happens if Minneapolis decides to make all meters enforced seven days a week? I'll be really screwed then.
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