WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. March 23, 2006: A longtime contributor to WPCNR on city issues, considers the implications of valet parking spreading through the city:
John,
I find it ironic that Tom Roach proposes to advance more valet parking around our fair town. He is a defense attorney, and gets paid by liability insurance companies defending their clients. The "traffic studies" appear to belie the actual traffic situations: accidents just waiting to happen.
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I am a "plaintiff's attorney" - stuff like this is a gold mine for us, as there will be accidents resulting in personal injuires from forces being set in motion by these "safe" and "approved" valet companies and their runner "kids."
The same ones I see running to park and get these consumer/patron cars, screeching around the corners and roaring in the Galleria/ City Center garages to park them/get them fast, (gotta get them tips!); the valet signs sticking out into lanes of oncoming traffic, barely missing the mirrors and front quarter panels of moving vehicles, the parkers/stopping car's doors opening into moving lanes of vehicular traffic, the backups, the anger arising in the drivers, arousal of feelings of "what the hell is going on in the minds of our supposed leaders? - are they truly mad?"
The road rage to happen from a "bad" Friday or Sat nite downtown (someone being stuck in the lane of parkers for City center and being late for a movie), the arrogant and crass give-away of part of our streets to commerical concerns and we, the City's citizens, can NOT use these same portions of OUR streets when we have to or want to, all because of a lack of downtown parking, only getting worse now!!), etc., ad nauseum.
Tom should know better than to advance such a "cause" without a full impact analysis and inclusion into a master plan statement. This is a set up for a liability finding against the City, should someone be seriously injured through this foolish valet parking scheme.
Again, no one thinks in a forward manner - go slow people, go slow - city lawyers should soon be getting lots of claims to defend.
Just some thoughts.
Daniel R. Seidel
Attorney - White Plains
