Encinitas’ great auto glut
North County Times – Escondido,CA,USA
After a close examination of the number of parking lots tucked in all over
the property belonging to Scripps Encinitas, just west of I-5 on Santa Fe
Drive …

After a close examination of the number of parking lots tucked in all over the property belonging to Scripps Encinitas, just west of I-5 on Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas, it is very clear what is going on at that hospital and medical center: They are encouraging large families of cars.

Whether ob-gyn doctors and nurses are actually participating in the births, even if that participation is limited to midwifery, is uncertain.

It would seem so, however, given the numbers of autos jamming the lots end to end, shoulder to shoulder, head to toe — and other physiological arrangements too numerous to go into. They have to come from somewhere — talk about birthrates — and the stork deal Observer doesn’t buy.

There is no perp nearer than the Scripps buildings themselves; it doesn’t take a genius to add up two and two.

These cars make noise like babies, they fight for space like babies, they emit regrettable odors like babies. So maybe ob-gyn has something to do with it. Observer cannot be certain.

The asphalt of this grand Scripps expanse is jammed. All lots are chock-full, even those to be found only with the assistance of guides waving Coleman lamps. Every lot, every space.

On the narrow roadways between the parked cars, more lurk, some acting very strangely in their pathetic search for haven.

One species of driver chooses to sit quietly, waiting for a car to leave, then pouncing.

Another uses the strategy of parking behind the car sitting quietly. Then, as the departing motorist slips out, this second car roars around the sitting car and swoops down on the space.

This is rude, to be sure, but manners or the distribution thereof do not explain or excuse everything in life, not even the manners once skillfully dispensed in such storied academies as Mrs. Selby’s Children.

Perhaps driver number two was frightfully ill and the blatant theft of the space arose as an emergency. Some of these lots are 1.7 (estimated) miles from doctors’ offices at Scripps, and an emergency can become an emergency emergency.

In any event, the parking is a mess. In the interest of (1) full disclosure and (2) accuracy, the parking was so chaotic as described above on Monday, between 10:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. That’s when Observer was there on business.

(Oh, nothing serious, thank you for asking, but age is not the kindest of care-givers, and one has to check the hard drive from time to time, get the old mother board examined.)

Maybe on other days it’s better. Scripps has valet service, if you can believe it, but even the polite young persons who take the cars off your hands look desperate sometimes. A few did on Monday, for sure. Where to park?

As noted, we have no idea if Scripps and its ob-gyn crew were present at the creation of these masses of steel and recall. If they were, have they no understanding of the perils of overpopulation? Short of that, perhaps a fast tutorial on emissions standards would help.

On the general topic of How Hard It Is To Park Anywhere In Encinitas, a newspaper reported Tuesday that the city is going to consider downtown parking.

In spite of Encinitas’ best efforts at beautification and widening (those two don’t always go together) of its main drag, the parking sucks. Downtown is attractive as it can be, but it’s not easy to drive there because half the evening can be lost in the search for legal spaces.

Now, as reported by Adam Kaye in this very journal, the city may pick off a parcel or two here and there and install some serious parking lots. Then let the good times roll. (Gustatory tip: Vigilucci’s, on the east side of the street, is very tasty. And it has tablecloths.)

Encinitas takes in a lot of territory, and facile little descriptions for the place don’t work. It’s left, it’s right, it’s hip, it’s square, it’s surf, it’s burbs, it’s beach, it’s mall. It seems to have wide-open arms.

Here’s an idea for the city fathers, just in case they’re running short. On this parking problem, if the downtown deals don’t work out:

Give a call to Scripps Encinitas. It’s got valet service.