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Breakdown of civility starts
in the parking lot
By Sarah West
September 30, 2005 | The other day
when pulling into a parking stall at Wal-Mart, a shopping
cart was taking up half the stall, forcing us to back
up and park elsewhere.
One Saturday afternoon, we were in pursuit of a parking
spot while driving in the underground parking lot at
the Gateway, a popular and busy shopping mall in Salt
Lake City. However, we were stopped when a car in front
of us was waiting for another car to back out of its
parking space so it could have its spot. We sat in our
car for a few minutes, with additional cars backing
up behind us.
Countless times we have witnessed people in fast food
and grocery store parking lots, opening their car doors
and setting their old drink container on the ground
to make room for their new drink they had just purchased
to go in their cup holder, then driving away.
In some aspects of society, particularly regarding
parking lots, many of us have gotten lazy. Of course
not everyone is guilty of this, but it's a growing problem
in our society that should be addressed, especially
since these things aren't just happening in Cache Valley,
but all over the country. Maybe it's time we Americans
started sweating the small stuff.
Most shopping centers have an adequate amount of parking
stalls. However, we've noticed quite a few of those
stalls are being blocked by shopping carts that people
haven't taken back to their appropriate places. If anyone
complains about not being able to find someone in Wal-Mart,
or any other store for that matter, to answer a question,
remember this. That employee is probably out in the
parking lot gathering up all of the shopping carts that
people have failed to take to the cart holders that
businesses have provided for shopper's convenience.
Instead of having shoppers return carts to the inside
of the stores, there are places near our cars in the
parking lots, where we can return the carts. Regardless
of this, there are still many carts in the parking lots.
How hard is it to take a cart to its storage area? Maybe
10 steps that someone didn't want to take. People seem
to have no problem pushing the cart all around the store,
but once they get into the parking lot, it's a different
story and they seem to have a problem pushing a cart
another 10 or 15 feet to put it away.
Don't you hate it when you're stuck behind a car waiting
for another car to pull out of its parking spot, just
because it's two stalls closer to the store entrance?
Causing other people to wait just so you don't have
to walk as far is not a good reason for backing up traffic
and not letting anyone pass. Now we're not saying there
aren't good reasons for someone doing this, because
there are. For example, those with physical handicaps
or the elderly have plenty of good reasons to getting
a parking spot closer to the entrance. But ask yourself
how many times you've been behind one of these people
backing up traffic in order to get a good spot. Or if
you're the person behind the wheel making people wait
behind you, think of them.
Littering is a crime, but apparently some people don't
care about breaking the law. The public is provided
with many receptacles where trash can be thrown away,
but once again people aren't taking advantage of this
great service. They would rather open up their car door,
especially in parking lots, and set their drink or candy
bar wrapper right outside the door on the ground. It's
disheartening to know that some people would rather
dirty their community with trash than to dirty their
own personal vehicle, which could be cleaned out later.
Take a second to think the next time you're tempted
to leave your shopping cart next to your car, wait for
the closest parking stall, or set your trash outside
of your car. It's a small thing, but it'll make some
people's lives a little easier.
NW
MS |
