Canadian Bureaucrats Don't "Think Different"

owlgorithm writes "Apple's new store in Montreal has three parking meters on the street in front of it. The city is in the middle of a campaign to reduce downtown parking. In Apple's ever-conscientious attempt to improve design, they offered to reimburse the city for the parking meters and their revenue if the city would remove them. Answer: Non — because 'We've never done it before, so we can't.'"

Comments

they should hire a "genius" to feed the meters

[netsavior]

he could also stand there looking all sullen and geek chic.

Re:I don't quite get it..

[Dr Caleb]

So, a corporation is offering to pay money to change the law. Hmmm. I guess it's only a by-law, nothing wrong with that, is there?

More Expensive than they Think.

[Erris]

Now that it's published, they had better hope they never get their way. Bill Gates will pay someone to park some nasty clunker right in front and do various offensive and repulsive things. If you don't believe me, just look at the posts around here.

Re:I don't quite get it..

[Decado]

Would have been much funnier if the city had agreed to remove the parking meters, taken the 35k and put 3 much larger and more obtrusive No Parking signs there instead.

Hrm...

[JacobO]

I'm not sure you should judge Canadians by the actions of the Québécois. They are distinct, after all, and should be laughed at as a separate group.

Re:I don't quite get it..

[morgan_greywolf]

Would have been much funnier if the city had agreed to remove the parking meters, taken the 35k and put 3 much larger and more obtrusive No Parking signs there instead. Or perhaps one of those 3-ft tall walls with the words 'NO PARKING' stencil-sprayed on it in big 18 inch letters... :)

Oh, sorry, this is Canada..91.5 cm wall, 45.5 cm letters.

Re:You know it's a Slow newsday when ...

[Achromatic1978]

Microsoft recently powered on their 100,000th /production/ /server/. Let alone test environments, and desktops.

Posted anonymously.

Re:You know it's a Slow newsday when ...

[Achromatic1978]

Gah. Or not. Oops, oh well. :)

Re:I don't quite get it..

[NoStrings]

Wouldn't that make it a buy-law?

Re:No parking, Metered parking, Free parking

[rubberglove]

Actually, from what I read, there is no clear answer of what would happen to the parking spaces if Apple got its way:
from TFA:

he idea of parking meters, besides revenue, is to keep people from parking on the street all day. The borough could do that simply by making the three-car stretch into a No Parking zone. The city is, after all, trying to reduce the number of parking spots downtown.
That is, the author of the article is making some wild-ass guess about it. The Montreal Gazette is hardly a bastion of responsible journalism. Plus, he's obviously wrong - the city of Montreal never puts up one no-parking sign when 3 or 4 will suffice.

Besides all that, I fail to see how it would make much difference either way, given that the rue Sainte Catherine is already a parking lot most of the time.

Re:Not really a quote

[zakezuke]

Besides, and I am not exaggerating, the $35,000 Apple is promising probably wouldn't even cover the cost of tasking a union city crew to remove the meters, rebuild the sidewalk and put the meters someplace else. I never thought I could make $35,000 in my pickup truck and having a parallel parking malfunction.

Not that I don't doubt your estimates, i'm sure a union city crew may cost $35,000 to remove the meters and repair the sidewalk. But based on observation they can be uprooted with enough force.

Re:Translated Article Text

[multipartmixed]

> Not bad for Babelfish.

Pretty good, exactly. Sounds just like a Quebecker trying to speak english!