Parking woes again
 

So I'm just about to take a booking and have checked out the town (market town in East Yorkshire) only to find all double yellows or max 30 minutes parking apart from two car parks about 5 minute walk away but max stay 2 hours.

Bearing in mind I'm going to be on site 3-4 hours I emailed and said she needs to provide for me a parking space at the minster (I'm sure there must be some spaces available for church workers) she says sorry but there are none?

Now bearing in mind after 2 hours the bride will be about to arrive, it will be impossible to take 10-15 minutes out of shooting to move to another car park and get back again how would you handle it? I could say 'well I'll use one of the car parks but you'll have to stand the £60 fine' - I don't think that would go down well. Plus I need my car reasonably to hand as I keep spare kit in there.

There is another market town where I turn down bookings for this same reason but this is a new one to me. I think this might be a deal breaker - without somewhere 'legal' to park for the 3-4 hours I'm going to be there how can I do my job?

Pete

Re: Parking woes again
 

Hi Peter,

5 mins walk isn't too bad; I've had 10 to 15 mins. Do the car parks accept Ringo or some other mobile app payment. I've got around the 2 hour gap by simply booking a new session on my app. Though wonder if some prevent you on this.

Failing that another trick I do is arrange a guest to top up the meter. I've had an usher do this for me once about 15 mins before the Ceremony, and the 2 hours was enough. They are there to help so make use of them. Of course if your car is noted in the first hour you put in and then later for the 2 hours, they might impose a fine or they might turn a blind eye. Only if they check that frequently.

Re: Parking woes again
 

Would it be possible to park up close to unload your gear then move to the car park that's further away?

I've just been scoping out parking for my latest wedding, thankfully there is a pay and display right next to the church.

Re: Parking woes again
 

Problem is it's a maximum 2 hour stay and would then necessitate a move to another car park (also 2 hours max) - It's a busy market town and on a Saturday in July will be swarming with traffic wardens.

Re: Parking woes again
 

Ah right, sorry I missed that bit. How come so long at the church? I'm usually there 2 hours at most (I say that, I've only ever done three weddings!). Do you think you could call the local council and ask for some kind of permit to allow you to stay a little longer? Could be worth a shot. No pun intended!

Re: Parking woes again
 

I've emailed the council so let's see, but normally If I'm not doing bride prep I'm at the church maybe 90 minutes before to get outside shots and set my gear up - then there's the ceremony - 45 minutes and then group shots outside the church and in this instance the tog is going to keep the couple back for portraits. So it would certainly mean 3+ hours.

Pete

Re: Parking woes again
 

Well best of luck! Nice to have some decent time at the church to get exteriors!

Re: Parking woes again
 

I used to come up against this problem all too frequently in town/city centres and often I had to transport quite a lot of heavy equipment to sites. The days of speaking to a friendly traffic warden have long gone and one thing is certain, no-one on the council these days gives a stuff what problems parking restrictions causes workers.

The best solution I found overall was to put everything on wheels and trundle it to site from a long stay car park somewhere, making as many journeys as necessary. Yes, it is a pain, but it's the only way I could find to not have to pay parking fines. The alternative of trying to remember to move the vehicle every couple of hours is not really an option, you WILL get busy and forget, I promise you!

Best of luck.
Dave

Re: Parking woes again
 

That's a bummer Pete!

We seldom have parking issues but once I did have a wedding in the city centre and there was a huge charity event on the same day. Luckily my wife offered to drop me off and pick me up when I was done. Maybe you need to find a "hire a driver" service? Let some uni student be your driver for the 3 hours using your car? He/she could drop you off at the Church and then twiddle his/her thumbs until you give a call on your mobile/cell saying "I'm done, come and pick me up now!" Maybe your better half might be happy to do it? You could always slip a bit extra into packages for troublesome places saying "due to non existent long term parking I need to pay for a driver for 3 hours"

I'm doing a Church wedding on the 30th and it was nice to know that the bride organised a barrier space that would allow both the limo and our vehicle enough space to remain parked free until the group shots are done ...This is a Church in a coastal town and it's right in the centre so Saturday morning at 1:00pm finding a parking is almost impossible but our allocated area is a mere 10 paces from the Church door.

Re: Parking woes again
 

parking is one of those things that make me want to move away from the city. surviving it really takes just a lot of pre-planning. google street view is one of my favorite tools to see if there are street restrictions. more often than not i build in a parking/travel fee to cover it.

if you anticipate having to park far, and have more than a backpack of gear, one of these can be super handy http://www.amazon.com/Cosco-Shifter-...ing+hand+truck

Re: Parking woes again
 

Here in the USA, they might send a "meter maid" around with a piece of chalk on the end of a long stick.
She will mark the outside rear tire with a chalk-mark. When she returns 2 hours later, if the tire is still marked, you will get a ticket. The "2 hour" limit is not to collect more money, it is to encourage turning-over the parking space to another driver.
In your case, the guest would need to physically move your car from one space to another.

Re: Parking woes again
 

Perhaps you can pay a colleague or friend to drop you off and pick you up as needed, pay him, and add that to the bill.

Re: Parking woes again
 

Taxi. Factor in the fare when quoting.

Re: Parking woes again
 

Sadly it's a 4 hour round trip - a bit of a big ask

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Nice Idea and in the summer I am doing a city centre wedding where 3 locations are all in the centre - none of which have any parking - indeed the church is even in a no loading zone - the parking wardens are legendary here as well so i'll be leaving the heavy stuff at the rehearsal and using taxis on the day - super inconvenient though and I'm sure will impact on my work a little, despite the best of planning - it's one headache too many at times

Re: Parking woes again
 

Just out of curiosity, what is the name of this town. I've worked in London, various towns and places with limited parking, but never had to turn down or even consider turning down based on parking. I was in Folkestone and parked in a 2 hour limed car park. I just topped up after the service; it was a couple of minutes walk. Traffic wardens were buzzing over the car park more than once I saw, yet I didn't get any comeback to my extending the 2 hour limit by buying a new ticket. Can they remember every car they see; do they just look to see there's a ticket and barely register the car itself. In a car park full of say 40 cars, unless they write down everyone, its going to be hard to pick out 1 in 40 that sticks around for an extra hour or so. I mean if it was there the whole day I'm sure they'd pick up on it.

Re: Parking woes again
 

I should have been more specific. Park up in the long stay parking as near as possible to the venue. Then get a taxi to & from the parking. The taxi driver will even help you with your luggage.

Re: Parking woes again
 

Are you shooting on your own?

When we face this in London we normally drop off the gear while the other shooter parks up. Then after they go get the car to load up.

How does the church handle the folks who want to goto church? Or do they just accept that as a reason why people dont go anymore?

Re: Parking woes again
 

Yes I'll be on my own and their are only 2 car parks - both with a maximum stay of 2 hours and no return within 2 hours - on street parking seems to be limited to 30 minutes - I've emailed the council twice and received an automated 'we will get back to you' - that was last week and still nothing - a phone call I think

The wedding is at Howden Minster in North Yorkshire

Re: Parking woes again
 

Hi Peter,

I was intrigued so had a look. Its a very small town. Street level shows street parking as '4 hours or Resident Permit' and not 30 mins. Have you had information that suggests there's been a change? This parking is available along the road outside the main church on Pinfold St, though subject to residents use. However its possible many will be out, being a Saturday, so freeing spaces. The other option is what looks like a free car park below the Fish Pond Park. Bit further to walk, though a handy path through the park that takes you out near one of the smaller car parks. I suppose you could drop your gear off inside the church then park to make things easier.

There's also a lane that runs down next to the cemetery. No yellow lines but looks narrow, so may not be possible. However perhaps its possible to park down it, if there's some point that doesn't block vehicle access. Plus there's that little courtyard in front of the church. Who knows, maybe there'd be some space there. Right outside and doesn't seem to have any parking restrictions.

Have you considered contacting the Photographer; surely they are in the same situation; they maybe local and know a few secret spots that can be used.

Re: Parking woes again
 

Cheers Steve - your street view must be better than mine - can't make that '4 hours' out - it was the bride who thought it was 30 minutes

Like the Idea regarding the photographer - I'll contact them

Pete

Re: Parking woes again
 

I do quite a few weddings in downtown New York city. When I book the contract I demand an extra 200 US dollars to cover taxi service to get to the church/ceremony location. The morning of the event I park my car at the venue and hop on a taxi to get around eventually getting to the venue. I keep all the taxi receipts and tally up the total and present them to the bride as proof. If they total less, I refund the difference, if more she pays. Many times just to get around was in the order of 300+ dollars.This is discussed and agreed upon by the client. The reason I started doing this years ago was when my car and equipment was towed to the NYC pound because the meter "ran out" of the maximum 1 hour spot. NYC meter maids are unforgiving especially when they see a New Jersey or foreign plate on the car. If they don't agree on my demands, I simply refuse to book.

Re: Parking woes again
 

Maybe this is a US-centric way of thinking, but I've been reading this thread since the beginning, and I agree with Arthur. I'm fascinated it hasn't come up thus far, and I'm glad he said it.

I do some work for a local theatre that is attached to a huge parking garage. If you go to a show at the theatre, you can park free in the garage. The clearance in the garage is 6'6". My production van is 6'11". The parking lot outside (open air, no clearance requirement) is not free, it's $20. Every time, I park in the $20 lot and bill them the twenty bucks. In the beginning they made a stink of it, but here's the deal - you don't have parking to accommodate me. In my case, height, in your case, hours. Now it's going to cost twenty bucks. This twenty bucks isn't going to bankrupt anybody, and, here's the deal - you're the one that booked a venue that had no parking. I would find a solution, come up with what it's going to cost, and approach the couple. If you're too deep in this one, then eat the cost, but next time around, include that in the estimate.

Re: Parking woes again
 

I notice that many if not most studios/videographers/photographers don,t even mention the extra fees of getting around to the clients. They don't want to look heap I guess, or that they figure the amount is too small to mention for bothering. Well just figure for a second what a year's travel and parking costs to you and also figure how much the wedding cake portion that is thrown away costs and maybe you can see how readily the couple "throws away" money. I have seen with my own eyes the limo driver getting 200+ dollars in tip money just for driving around a few hours and reading the newspaper in waiting. He didn't even ask for the tip and we are ignoring to ask for needed "getting around" money that would otherwise come out of our own pockets. In my case I estimate easily over $4000 dollars per year between parking/tolls/gas. Yes, NY and NJ is that expensive. Better out their wallets than mine.