Have you ever tried to get a parking place in SF?

What is your source?

What makes a nanny more special than a parent or someone who chooses not to have children. NO, I don't think they deserve special parking spaces. They're perfectly abled people who choose to take care of children. I survived without a special parking space when I raised my children. That I gave birth too. And didn't pay someone else to raise.... My sister managed with her children too, she had 13 of them.

Oh, and Calgary has the most expensive parking in the country. And finding a spot isn't easy here either. Suck it up. Unless you have a valid handicapped parking plate/tag, drive around like the rest of us.

I'm all for helping someone out who needs it but there's too many special privileges expected these days. What's different about these nannys and someone who works downtown in a metro area and has to search for parking? That was a few months I didn't enjoy and I just got to the point I'd go in early just to get a parking spot. They don't need something special and I'll go one step further. I'm getting a little tired of seeing people hop out of their cars in the "handicapped" spots and hustle in and out of these stores. I have far more disability than a lot of them. Time to crack down on some of them.

My brother lived in San Francisco for many years, and a niece lives there now, and has for about 7 years. In all the trips we've made into SF for visits, we've never had to drive around for 10 minutes before finding a parking spot. And has been pointed out, above, just because someone is a nanny doesn't mean he or she is entitled to special privileges. If anyone agrees that they should be, they should also agree that real estate appraisers deserve special parking privileges, too.

"One claimed she had to drive around for 10 minutes leaving a 10 month and a 2 year old alone. (That is too hard to believe)."

I agree that that's too hard to believe. If it were to be believed, we'd have to believe that the parent(s) left for work before the nanny arrived, not knowing whether or not the nanny would even show up at all. The nanny could be ill, or have been involved in an accident, or had a family emergency, etc., etc.

Home health care workers already have these permits in San Francisco. The permit would not be an extra permit but the household would be able to trade one their 4 already allotted household permits for a nanny permit.

It is not about just finding a parking spot. In many SF neighborhoods people are only allowed to park their car in one spot for a limited time unless they have a residential permit.

All these people are asking is to be able to transfer one of their residential permits to their nanny so that the nanny doesn't have to leave the house to re-park her car one or more times per day.

It is not just a question of finding parking in the morning. You must move your car from time to time. Sometimes blocks away.

DD lived in San Francisco for four years. Parking roulette had to played throughout the day when she didn't win the on campus lottery.

Wildchild - that explanation makes more sense. I didn't realize that households had parking permits. We were there for a week in October and I wondered about the parking.

Thanks for explaning it, wildchild.

No, not all nannies live in. My daughter is a nanny and works for a family two hours a day, 7 am to 9am Monday to Friday. She takes care of the family's 5 and 7 year olds,not infants. She gets them up, feeds them breakfast and makes them a bag lunch for school, then puts them on their school busses. The parents get home in the afternoon and get the kids off the bus.

Things are probably different here in Canada but I can tell you we are all sick of these "proper (preppy)" parking spot allocations! NO ONE has issues with disability or vetrans parking at all..no one...but when you start with pregnant women etc. that is just ridiculous!! Since when did pregnancy and having a family become a disablility?

same here.. my dds nannies don't live in...in fact, dd1's brings her 2 little ones...dd2's is a college student...

My parents lived there years ago and had to have a permit. No permit, move your car every two hours or BIG fines, and or even towing.

Here is a link that might be useful: parking permit

I would think each family should be awarded a certain number of permits and could do with them what they want. If they want to give their nanny, maid, or MIL one of the permits instead of their teenagers, so they can visit or work uninterupted, so be it.

I'm not really familiar with all the rules so maybe I'd changed my opinion if I knew more.. but I would think resisdents should 'generally' be entitiled to parking near their home for themselves and their visitors, without having to move their car every 2 hours.

The way the permits ordinance is written the vehicle's registration and l license number must match the address of the residence.

That's why the homeowner's are asking for a variance. To allow them to give one permit to their nanny certifying her and her vehicle.

If the families were free to give their permits to anyone then that would be simply selling parking spaces. The car is what has the permit, not the person. If a resident has 3 cars with California a registration at that address he gets three permits. If they have only one car registered they only get one. There is a maximum of 4.

The people want to have an exemption for the nanny's car registration to not have to match the address just like the one for the health care workers and a few others.

Here is a link to the official site for parking permits.

Just to clear something up. No one parks free. the permits have to be bought.

Here is a link that might be useful: Parking Permits

If parking is so bad, why doesn't she take the bus to work?

If parking is so bad, why doesn't she take the bus to work?

Because bus service is sketchy and nannies need a car for emergencies,to take children to appointments,and often run family errands.

They aren't just glorified babysitters. This is not the San Francisco of the fifties where buses were clean and ran on time.People who don't live in California just don't get it. We have no decent rail or bus system anywhere. The only people who take the buses where I live (not in San Francisco)are the homeless (often demented), the people who lose their driver's license due to DUIs and people who are at the bottom of the social-economic barrel.

Live out nannies can't afford to live in San Francisco. They have to commute across the bay or up the peninsula. Even if the nanny could take the bus her job is probably not 9 to 5. She could find herself on a dangerous line on the way home that no one in their right mind would ride after dark. Unless the worker works downtown even the train or rapid transit doesn't help. Too many connections to be made and the stations are not in the nicer neighborhoods where nannies are hired.

Working people who pay good money to their nanny don't want their kids on a bus full of freaks.

Another one of many reasons I would NOT live in a big city.

I live in the SF bay area and frequently go to SF. There is no way I'd step foot on any bus and could not imagine taking small children. Ditto what wildchild said!

I second Wildchild! You'd have to know San Fransisco to understand the nuances of the parking situation.

Blessings,
Haley (who lived in SF when she was 20)

Hmmm, I lived and worked in New York City for three years. I had a car part of that time, I either got up 15 minutes early to drive around and find a parking spot or I paid a monthly fee for a private garage. It's just one of the things you do when you have a job in a city with tough parking. Today I parked in a handicapped spot at the post office, and I do have a handicapped hanger. The woman next to me was bringing in 2 large packages, I noticed she was not young and did not have a handicap parking hanger like me. I guess she figured anyone over 50 is allowed to use a handicap spot if they are just staying in it a few minutes.

People who don't live in California just don't get it.

You've never been to Calgary. LOL Our bus system sucks BIG time! A 15 minute car ride to work would take 1 1/2 hours by bus.

When I asked my question, I wasn't thinking about appt's, and picking kids up from school. I withdraw my question......... :o)