Poor planning on someone else’s part can ruin what should have been a fun time. Such was the case last Sunday afternoon when I went to the Jubilee Auditorium to listen to Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe.
Parking at the Jubilee has never been easy. But the addition of a new parking garage has made it even more difficult.
The first indication that things might not go well came when I realized that the drivers of the huge line of cars in front of me were all waiting to make a left-hand turn from 114 Street, and then waiting to turn into the Jubilee. It took me 30 minutes to get to the parking garage gate.
It’s Christmas and the time for peace and goodwill, not the time to be upset by a lineup for a parking space. So I blamed the problem on the fact McLean’s show and the Christmas sale at the Butterdome happened to coincide.
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
McLean’s show started 10 minutes late because of the aforesaid parking problems. Not a big deal. McLean was gracious enough to entertain those of us who were waiting. A few minutes into the show, I decided McLean was well worth the wait for parking.
When the time came to leave, I was glad I had parked my car close to the exit on the third floor.
It’s quite embarrassing to have hundreds of people watch you looking for your car by wandering around like a stranger in a strange land. The buzz I got from the enjoyment of the show wasn’t diminished one bit by having to climb three flights of stairs in the bitter cold.
In a few short minutes, I was in the car and ready to begin my exit. I remained ready to make my exit for the next 40 minutes. The cars just sat there spewing exhaust.
Good thing we don’t have an anti-idling bylaw. No one came to explain what was going on. I thought maybe a car stalled or there was an accident that was clogging things up. But as near as I can tell, it was that two exit lanes merge into one and create a huge jam.
I’m not sure how many of my brain cells died as a result of sucking in carbon monoxide for 40 minutes. But I’m sure I still have more than whoever designed the parking garage.
