Slightly Off Center

Load-in and load out at Saturday Market is always a challenge. Vendors jockeying for a parking spot, complicated by non-vendor vehicles left at the curb. About four years back, Market went to the city and got permission to post these on all the meters on our side of Park Street.

So from 5 am to opening at 10, and from 3 pm to 5, the street is ours. Vendors get priority, we can reverse-angle park to get double the vans to load out, and if we're really pissed off, we can get someone towed.

Opening weekend, we did: a big shiny new white pick-up with hardtop box that decided it would be a good idea to park overnight in the spot reserved for musicians to load in to the stage--so double-reserved for loading space. I will admit there were a few quiet cheers when they hauled him away.

It can be a bit intimidating, though. People pulling up to park between 9 and 10 to go to Farmers Market will sometimes roll down the window, read the sign, and pull out again, even if we're largely done setting up. Makes me feel a little guilty, and I'll go explain the reasoning and give them permission to stay if there's no vendors trying to use the space.

Other times, well... They don't have a clue. The grey car on the left was parked in front of my booth at 7:30 am when I arrived on the 13th, and stayed there, blocking both Mel and Danny's set-up as well. The owner finally arrive at quarter of 10 to drive away, moments before being ticketed and towed. Danny said something rude and snarky; I more calmly explained the loading zone policy and asked her not to do that again.

The yellow VW this Saturday was another Thing entirely. (You see what I did there?) They'd arrived around 2 pm, shopped around Market, chatted with admiring vendors and public... and then left it there until quarter 'til 5. Again blocking Danny and Mel, though I was still packing pots when the owner came back. I gave him my loading zone sad-but-stern lecture. Danny threatened to raffle it off if it happened again.