Have you been ICEd?

[Tyl]

photos of the Glenwood Springs icing!!! The large orange highway barrels were clearly marked no parking tow away zone and were placed in the center of the spots prior to the ICED vehicles arriving and moving them. I have not called Marriott. I did strongly work with the night manager to come up with the idea of plastic chaining the big barrels together.... also some"check in" signage at the front desk to alert folks about the Tesla Supercharging Stations and even a soft question from the check in clerk, to query if... by chance, the check in customer has mistakenly parked where they should not have!!!!

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[Kipernicus]

Nice moves up that sidewalk! I like the stones creating a bit of a ramp for the right side of the car.

Amazing that they actually moved the big orange cones out of the way.
I kind of figured orange cones were sacrosanct, as evidenced in this movie clip

 

[swegman]

Nice that you took the time to talk to the night manager about the issue. However, I highly doubt the front desk staff (day and night staff) will bother to ask the guests whether they parked in an EV spot A big sign at the check-in desk would probably work better than hoping the staff asks each guest upon check-in.

 

[igotzzoom]

I'm usually the last person to advocate more legislation and regulations, but I think maybe some guidelines for EV parking spaces and enforcement might be needed. This issue is only going to get more heated and intense as more EVs hit the road. Someone suggested painting the asphalt in front of the charging station spaces bright green. You will inevitably still get some DBs that will park there regardless, but if it's clearly painted and marked, it would probably discourage a lot of ICE-ing.

 

[green1]

I'm usually the last person to advocate more legislation and regulations, but I think maybe some guidelines for EV parking spaces and enforcement might be needed. This issue is only going to get more heated and intense as more EVs hit the road. Someone suggested painting the asphalt in front of the charging station spaces bright green. You will inevitably still get some DBs that will park there regardless, but if it's clearly painted and marked, it would probably discourage a lot of ICE-ing.

No need to add more legislation or regulations, if the sign says tow away, TOW THEM AWAY! Those laws and regulations already exist!
Why bother putting a "tow away" sign if you refuse to actually TOW anyone??
As for not knowing which guest it is, I've never checked in to a hotel that didn't ask for my license plate, so that sounds like rubbish to me.

 

[Lloyd]

No need to add more legislation or regulations, if the sign says tow away, TOW THEM AWAY! Those laws and regulations already exist!
Why bother putting a "tow away" sign if you refuse to actually TOW anyone??
As for not knowing which guest it is, I've never checked in to a hotel that didn't ask for my license plate, so that sounds like rubbish to me.

I agree, tow a few and the word will pass that you can't park an ice there!

 

[Cottonwood]

photos of the Glenwood Springs icing!!! The large orange highway barrels were clearly marked no parking tow away zone and were placed in the center of the spots prior to the ICED vehicles arriving and moving them. I have not called Marriott. I did strongly work with the night manager to come up with the idea of plastic chaining the big barrels together.... also some"check in" signage at the front desk to alert folks about the Tesla Supercharging Stations and even a soft question from the check in clerk, to query if... by chance, the check in customer has mistakenly parked where they should not have!!!!

It was not bad there midday today. This picture shows you how large the orange barrels are, and is a good example of why charging spots should not be in prime parking spots. It's just too temping for those in the ICE age.

 

[mknox]

No need to add more legislation or regulations, if the sign says tow away, TOW THEM AWAY! Those laws and regulations already exist!

Indeed. Private property laws would allow it, but I can see how the hotel chain would not want to be pissing off it's own customers. What surprises me about this is that the hotel claims they didn't have owner info on the cars. I dunno about you, but I am always asked for Make/Model/Plate # whenever I check in to a hotel.

 

[Tyl]

We must continue to be good ambassadors for Tesla. I know, I know..... I wanted the cars moved also, however, without being able to reach the guests via phone... and requesting they move their cars.... I was just SOL! I gave it thought that evening and realized the jam the hotel would be in if they had towed the cars.... {lost customers for life.. with more lost customers with word of mouth}Hey, I get it..... !


Soooo the white plastic chain idea came to mid with additional signage in the lobby etc. I think that as one shift of check in personnel changes; part of the pass down should include a fifteen second review of the Tesla Supercharging Pedestal area to check and ensure the area is clear of ICE vehicles (find the owners if able and request they move their vehicles) and that the cones are in place.


Towing signage is a great deterrent, but we (Tesla Owners) cannot be so rude as the ICE owners. We cannot be insistent to force a removal of a ICE vehicle of a paying Hotel Customer! You may think I'm crazy..... But I still believe that most folks have no idea what a Tesla is or why these pedestals are so important to us. In one location I visited someone thought they were a car vacuum for cleaning floor boards etc.


Think "Elonthink" ...... as he speaks...... Be courteous, be informative, be accurate. ...... and whatever we do for now! .... don't be arrogant and hostile or damaging. Don't go there no matter how aggravated you are. Find a workable solution, implement it, and move on.


We we have many more year ahead of us where we must educate everyone who comes in contact with us. We need to set the example ..... ALL THE TIME!

 

[green1]

If you don't think it's worth towing people, don't put up signs saying you will. You can't tell them there will be consequences for their actions, but never follow through.

You have to decide if you think someone violating that sign should get the consequences that they agreed to by parking there, or if you'd rather be stranded without a charge.

This isn't a matter of us being rude. the signage in that case was quite clear, and there is absolutely no excuse for parking there. This isn't arrogance, or hostility, this is pure practicality. You know full well you'd be towed if you parked at a gas pump and then checked in to a hotel for the night, and in those cases the driver can always go to the next gas station down, superchargers are so rare that this is an exponentially worse offence. I can't understand why you'd want to give these people a pass.

You want to educate people? so far you are advocating teaching people that there are no consequences to parking there and that they can feel free to do it. Having to deal with a towed car would be a much better education and would likely stop the person from doing it again.

 

[swegman]

Tyl, its nice what you say, but there are always consequences in life and the people that ICE'd the spots need to learn that. My son is staying at college this summer and sublet an apartment. The building is practically empty because it is a college town (State College PA) and the building is rented by students. He parked his car in the building garage, but failed to show the parking sticker on the dash. Not only did he get a ticket (didn't know the Police patrol private building garages in PA), but then they towed the car. Needless to say, he has learned that he must obey the rules and ALWAYS show the parking sticker. Same goes for the people that ICE'd the cars. All that needs to be done is that the ICE car gets towed out of the EV spot and deposited nearby. The owner will quickly learn to obey the signs. just as you have to obey signs that restrict parking to vehicles that display handicap stickers, etc.

I also find it hard to believe the hotel did not know who the owners of the cars were. The hotels always ask me for the make, model and license number of my car when I check-in. I think the staff just did not want to call the owner at a late hour of the night.

 

[Canuck]

ICE'd at the Blue Moose "charger" in Hope BC...

 

[dsm363]

It's one thing to miss a tiny Tesla sign or not know what that is. It's an entirely different thing to ignore a no parking or you will be towed sign and also move a barrier and chain. That latter person obviously knew what they were doing and chose to risk getting towed and we should grant that wish.

 

[Denarius]

How are handicap parking spaces on private property handled?

 

[RiverBrick]

I am in Glenwood Springs now and am alone. The cones are back in place and no spaces are ICEd.

One of the problems with this site is that the lot fills up at night. Even if the spaces were in a distant corner, there would be a risk of ICIng.

I am going suggest an idea from this thread about posting a reminder in the lobby. I listened to a check-in and they didn't ask for the guest's vehicle info.

 

[swaltner]

How are handicap parking spaces on private property handled?

It might depend, but in Kansas, the police will write parking tickets for illegal parking in handicap spaces, even in privately owned parking lots. In Wichita, they even have a program where regular citizens can go through training and then write tickets for the same. I had called to sign up, but decided against it, since the police department wanted a minimum commitment of time patrolling parking lots per week, not just something you did as you went about your business.

 

[igotzzoom]

This picture shows you how large the orange barrels are, and is a good example of why charging spots should not be in prime parking spots. It's just too temping for those in the ICE age.

I agree. I wouldn't mind a little more of a walk. If the charger spaces were a little further out, they wouldn't be as much of a temptation. I'm sure some disabled individuals that own EVs might disagree, but this seems like a rational strategy to prevent ICE-ing.

 

[snellenr]

It's one thing to miss a tiny Tesla sign or not know what that is. It's an entirely different thing to ignore a no parking or you will be towed sign and also move a barrier and chain. That latter person obviously knew what they were doing and chose to risk getting towed and we should grant that wish.

It'd make things easier if the phone # of the towing company was on the signs for tow zones. That way, everyone wins -- you get to charge, the towing company gets some income, the person whose car is towed gets a useful lesson in the importance of reading signs...

 

[Tyl]

I want to stress that I would have loved to have had the vehicles towed in my Glenwood Springs midnight situation. Here is the question. How would I have gotten that accomplished that midnight without the owner of the property willing to tow them? Phone numbers on the signs wouldn't have done it. The police wouldn't have had them towed without the property owner's permission/authorization. Tesla had no leverage that evening. The Marriott WAS NOT going to have them towed!

If I carried four floor jacks in my Tesla with me.... I think I could have raised a car and pushed moved it out of stall far enough to back in to use the charger!! Yes! I'm being facetious ..... just wanting to read your alls input!

 

[Ugliest1]

It's a bit of a no-win in that situation. Well done to you Tyl that you found a way to get a charge. I believe over time it will get better, but until then it will require a lot of patience for idiots, and even more patience for deliberate idiots.