opinions // 16

Not a walk in a park(ing lot)

» The problem with hoarding parking spaces

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
M opinions
@theotherpress.ca

| | nless you have paid to

reserve a spot to park your
vehicle, you have no right to
block a space on a public road

with a lawn chair, a traffic cone, :
: And unless it’s a government-

: issued sign, it doesn’t have any
: authority.

or an empty milk jug.
While some residential
street parking requires a visible

permit, many others don’t. This :
: parking in residential areas do
: not exist in this city. It doesn’t
work. Drivers tend to have little : matter what sign or obstruction
: you have, you cannot claim a

: space that doesn’t belong to

: you.
spaces are a limited commodity, :

: legal, and if you see someone
: who has placed objects on the
: road to assert their territory,

: throw them in the trash,
home fitness centres. With each : because that is littering. With

: that being said, drivers should
: also know that according to

: Vancouver's city bylaws, a

: vehicle may only be parked in

: front of a stranger’s house for a
: maximum of 72 hours, unless

: signage states otherwise.

can cause unpredictability for
those who drive to and from

patience to seek out an empty
spot; so instead, they will just
mark one as their own. Parking

especially in neighbourhoods
where homes don't have
driveways, and garages are used
as multi-purpose storages and

family having an average of two
cars, the streets can become
crowded, causing people to
wrongfully reserve public
property.

While homeowners
will argue that the property
immediately in front of their
house belongs to them, that is
untrue. The area belongs to the
city and that means anyone in

the city can use it. Although the :
: people who have equal rights

: as you. The same way you don’t
: have a reserved spot on the

: bus or SkyTrain when you get

: on board, you cannot havea

: reserved parking space on a

: public street.

“No Parking” sign people buy
from dollar stores is forthright,
it often ushers a tone of
entitlement, instead of asking
for others to be considerate.
Perhaps—in Canadian
fashion—there should be
“Please, I had a long day at
work and would like to just
get home with as little effort
as possible” signs available at

Private or reserved
street parking in
residential areas do
not exist in this city.

Dollarama. Alas, there are not.

Private or reserved street

Street parking is completely

IT understand that having

someone else parked in front of
: your house feels like a violation
: of your privacy, but it isn’t.

You live in a community with

Driving is all about sharing

the road, but just as important,
: it should also be about sharing
: parking spots. So what? Walk a
: little for once.

theotherpress.ca

 

 

What's in a name?

» A bad name lasts a lifetime

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
M opinions
@theotherpress.ca

Ls a birth defect, poor

name choices can be

an everlasting nuisance to

a person's life. Although, I

don't know the formula for

perfect naming, I do know that

certain words have a particular

connotation that may evoke

emotions that you wouldn't

necessarily want to have

associated with a person.
When I was growing up,

I didn’t like the name Elliot.

I thought it had too many

: syllables, too many variations,

: which would lead to incorrect

: spelling, and of course, it

: rhymes with idiot, if the person
: could even pronounce it

: properly. Elliot isan uncommon :
: name, but it grew on me, and
: now, I can’t imagine my life with :
: any other name. All in all, I’m

: sure glad my parents didn’t give
: mea name that was the first

: noun they heard when arriving :
: in Canada ora direct translation :
: of a name from another culture
: or language. Elliot fits me; it fits
: my environment.

Naming isa big

: responsibility, and parents
: should not mess around with
: itand try to be original or

: clever. Allow your children to be :
: unique by giving thema blank :
: canvas to work with, rather than :
: imposing a name that they'll

: have to explain every time they

introduce themselves at a party.

: Believe me, the story of why

your kid is named after your

: favourite patio furniture will
: not be enjoyable to tell when
: they're at a job interview.

There is nothing wrong
with reusing names that have

: been around for generations.

: Some of my best friends are

: people with the same names as
: each other. I’m talking about

: the Ryans, the Stephanies,

: the Michaels, and the Erics

: out there who actually havea

personality that doesn’t play

: into having a particular name.

Your Instagram user name

: can be witty, but your real

: name—the one you have on

: your birth certificate—should
: not. And if it is, you should

: really ask your hipster parents
: why they decided it was a

: good idea. You deserve an

: explanation.

Liberal naming, such as

: hyphenated surnames, are

: cool and all, and have come

: to the fore in this generation.

: I’m meeting more and more

: people with two last names and
: a couple of middle names in

: addition to their first name. As

: someone with only a first and a

: last name, I’ma bit befuddled

: as to why so many names are

: needed to represent a person.

: Can it be that having more is

: better? I don’t think so. I think

: all that having extra names does
: is add to the confusion: a small

: identity crisis.

I’m happy with my name,

: and I’m sure many people

: who have “bad” names are

: happy as well. But we've all

: met someone or overheard a

: conversation where we leave

: saying to ourselves: “What an

: unfortunate name. His parents

: must have hated him.” For those
: thinking of having kids in the

: future, please heed the name.