The company I work for has two buildings in downtown Kansas City. The primary location has its own underground garage with two levels of parking for those associates who work there. The garage isn’t large enough to accommodate everyone, so some associates are given a leased space in the public garage across the street. The company pays for the parking in the city lot, which is very nice.
The secondary location has an attached garage, which is again, not sufficient to house everyone. When I was transfered to this building last month I was in the overflow lot two blocks down the hill. The so-called “Cliff” lot was once part of a downtown hotel that has long since been torn down. The lot was in marginal shape and was incredibly tight and cramped in the two covered levels. Large cement pillars separate every pair of spaces, and the overheads were low enough to make parking the Jimmy there and exercise in faith.
To add insult to injury, the ceiling leaked when there was snow melt or rain. And the leakage included enough cement to mar the surface of your car, should you park under a drip. Once I discovered the drip problem I started parking on the upper, or exposed, level.
Yesterday I was sent an email from the company informing me that I had been granted a space in the attached lot based on my company tenure. This morning I exchanged my parking placard for an electronic transponder, and now I get to park next to the building. The building lot has three levels, each with their own transponder. I’m allowed to use the upper, or exposed to the sky level, any time day or night. There are some awnings over the spaces so the car won’t be entirely exposed to inclement weather or the sun. I’ve parked outside the majority of my working career, so not being covered isn’t an issue.
I was surprisingly pleased to get the new parking perk. The published waiting list (which obviously isn’t updated) had me as #31 for a space in the building lot. I suppose that means there are 30 other people who are happily adjusting their commute destination today.