Unexpected Consequences Of Snow

15 Feb ’06, 3.54pm EST

Originally uploaded by geoff_fox.

We all know what snow does. It makes kids happy. It slows down traffic. It creates slippery roads. It upsets my wife.

There are other consequences – less expected consequences. I deal with one at the TV station. It has to do with our parking lot.

When the station’s building was built, nearly 25 years ago, we had a smaller news department and only ran one television station here. Obviously, all that’s changed.

I don’t have the exact head count, but parking spaces have never been more in demand. Most afternoons we have double parking – people parked perpendicular to those in the painted spaces.

The photo from my cellphone isn’t the greatest, but each car you see is blocking at least two, sometimes three other cars!

It’s bad on a normal day… but when it snows, it’s much worse. There are a few reasons, but basically, the unplowed snow and the snow piles take up room. It’s as if the walls were closing in. We’ve been so packed in so tight, our trucks can’t get out.

The bad news is, this parking problem makes life difficult for those leaving at 5:00 PM. The good news is, this is the product of having lots of employees – a sign of success.

In most years snow-after-snow-after-snow compounds the problem. This winter hasn’t been too bad.

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