Traffic/Parking

I guess this has been talked about many times..I thought i would come here for 5 days to get a good feel for the place..I guess the first thing most people see here is the traffic issue and what can be done and is there anything being done to curb it.I rented a motorbike so circumventing the traffic was not to much of an issue...but...The other thing is parking..I like what the UK boys call them "touts"..the guys that seem to think that own all the parking spots and always moving your bike into a differant spot..For some reason it really annoys me..Yeah I got the lousey 5 pesos but its the non deserving way of getting it..Could you imagine them trying to do that to a Hells Angel motorcycle? haha..Like last night I went to Hayahey with my ladyfriend..I parked the motorbike by the water and backed it in with nobody around me..upon leaving here comes the tout looking for a handout for doing nothing ..i just ignored him..Sorry but some small sh*t just annoys me still like people cutting in line..save that for another time.........I will say that Dumaguete does grow on you...

 

I think many of would agree to a lot you say but with out these Guys there would be pandemonium as it is well known as a fact that people just can not park orderly and left to ones own devices. Precious space would be lost. 5 peso is not a lot for orderly Parking.

 

I agree, Jack. Would be chaos for parking w/o these parking attendants. I've been here several years - many of these local parking guys know me and my bike. If they're busy with other bikes, I'll park mine the same way they do and give 5 pesos for those times as well. Oh, and many of them will keep a watchful eye on your bike as well.

 

In some places I love the parking guys, they save me headaches and time along with the much higher chance of my motor getting scratched up. Most people can't park worth a d*mn especially those on motorcycles and as most of us also back in our motorcycle then get off it obviously takes up more space then if we were off first and it was squeezed in nicely and in the end w/o those guys we'd have 30%+ less parking space then we do now. Further many of these idiots can't park their own bike and would end up scratching up my bike constantly. These parking attendants also work as a sort of security as well making sure no one steals your mirrors or license plate which does occasionally happen. They won't obviously fight someone over it but their simply being there watching acts a deterence and those guys know that if they let someone f*ck with the bikes of their customers they won't be getting their 5p this day or the next day.

However what I hate on them is when they go to obvious places they are NOT needed and yet there they are trying to create a pointless racket to make a few easy peso's they think. These cases I park my own motor and refuse to tip and even give them bad looks (yes, bad looks!). But I guess I have my soft spot as well because at Neva's Pizza a couple of years ago a couple of young kids were parking motorcycles when wasn't really needed and my lady talked to them and turned out they did it after school in the evenings just trying to make money for school the next day. What heartless sob can really turn down a few peso's for that... right?

 

Your right that makes sense...It also irks my friend in Davao when we meet at the local Mcdo when he pulls up with his motorbike to park and here comes this tout running to advise him when to stop and then looking for a handout..haha ..We have the same kind of thing in Davao when it comes to cars,it seems like when the drivers put the shifter in R they have no idea how to backup without someone giving directions what to do...haha..

 

I also have a hard time getting used to this.
Rarely need somebody helping me getting out of the parking lot- especially if it's someone who will certainly take no responsibility for any damage that happened when I really relied on him. Had that happen once on a Starbucks parking lot. Raining, dark, narrow way out, guard standing on the wrong side of the car not seeing the critical spot. Luckily I went slowly and the owner of the car I traded some paint with took it easy.

Don't think I'd like somebody to move around my brand new bike if I got one either. Guess I'll try and get one of those brake disk locks with alarm then :D

 

First time I ever saw this:
Traffic enforcer in the orange shirt was giving a ticket to a motorcycle parked on the sidewalk just up the street from Emcor. He actually looked at the serial number on the frame of the motorcycle and wrote it down. Not sure how they will ever enforce the collection of the ticket but its a start.
Lots of traffic enforcers out on the streets this morning. They were directing traffic at some intersections where I have never seen them operating before. I can't say that it helps but its good to see them trying.