Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

January 16

Trader Joe's parking situation leads to headaches, boots

By David Hench dhench@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

(Continued from page 1)

On a recent Saturday morning, some Trader Joe's shoppers sat in their cars for minutes, waiting for parking spaces to free up. With no parking attendant in sight, others took their chances with prohibited spots.

George Sprague of Bath said he didn't know that he risked getting booted when he parked at West Marine before dashing into Trader Joe's for a can of coffee.

"I knew I would be in and out," he said.

Diana Simonds of North Yarmouth said she decided to take no chances, even though that meant circling the lot for awhile.

The quest for precious parking spots causes some hazards, the neighboring businesses say.

"They drive through this place like a race course," Elsaesser said.

The property includes a Walgreens drugstore, Eastern Mountain Sports and MRG Rock Climbing Center, and Salon Centric.

"There's increased traffic, and this sort of frenetic energy out there -- a small space with a lot of people driving through it," said Chuck Curry, who works at the rocking climbing gym. "It's not that they're bad drivers; it's just a lot of cars looking for a parking space. It can get a little crazy."

He said the gym has many members who come to climb but take a pass if the lot is full. "I think it just keeps a lot of people away," he said.

Curry says the parking attendant hired by the management company gets a lot of abuse from people whose cars get the boot.

"People really take the stick to him," he said. "He's really nice to people, but he still gets the short end of the stick."

 

-- Staff Writers Leslie Bridgers and Beth Quimby contributed to this report.

 

Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

dhench@pressherald.com

 

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