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Urban Cache Parking


skraeling

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Urban caching is great due to all the spots a cache can be hid. However, one of the things I have run in to with urban caching is: where the heck do you park?

 

Some urban caches are relatively near stores, churches, etc. that have parking available. A short walk (maybe 1 mile round trip) is not bad and the walking is good for you. Some caches, however, are so deep in neighborhoods that there is no convenient parking. I find these caches to be a bit irksome:

 

1.) nearest parking (in afore mentioned places) is far far away.

2.) Parking near the cache site is not possible due to "no parking" signs.

3.) Parking near the cache site is not advisable due to "neighborhood watch zones".

4.) Parking isnt too far way, but the cache is still in a "watch zone" and you would most likely be noticed since you are not a local to that neighborhood.

 

How do you handle these "deep in a neighborhood with no good parking available" caches?

 

If this is covered in another topic, I apologize. I did do a search and while I found some good stuff, this topic didnt appear to be covered.

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I know what you mean. I just placed a new cache near the University of Minnesota along the Mississippi River and Parking is very scarce. There are a few nearby meters, but it is just so inconvenient sometimes. I was recently on a caching trip with my girlfriend and we came to a cache with no parking nearby. No parking along the road or at the school across the road that was still in session. Nothing else nearby. We eventually decided to switch spots and she drove around while I found the cache and I called her when I was done. It usually works best if you have a caching buddy :D

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There were a bunch of caches in this crazy area called Irvine, where it seemed like every block was a no parking zone, and every parking lot was restricted. I told my wife that the only way we'd be able to get any of these would be if we moved into the area. I never would have guessed we would do just that less than two years later. Most of the caches did have parking within a reasonable distance, after-all, once we got to know the area.

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I was just thinking of putting a day aside to do a lot of NYC's urban caches and I would use public transit to do it. I would park near an outlying station in the morning and buy an all-day pass.

 

As far as "neighborhood watch zones" go, I'm not sure how that would effect parking. Some places have resident permit parking (not NYC). But if it is being mistaken for a criminal that you are worried about, I would just read the logs to see how other cachers have aproached the area. If it is a real problem, I would just ignore the cache.

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...How do you handle these "deep in a neighborhood with no good parking available" caches?...

Most neighborhoods have on street parking. Most of these kinds of caches that I've found are in open or undeveloped areas of some kind where parking wasn't an issue. The worst parking I've seen are on urban caches that I've placed. You have to walk half a mile. Well within your distance.

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Just park where ever you can and walk!! That's what we do anyway. The exercise is good for us. In fact figure out a little route where you can walk around a few blocks.

 

If you have a disability or some other reason that you can't walk too far, perhaps email the cache owner and explain and they may give you some parking co-ordinates or a suggested approach that is more likely to have parking.

 

Annie

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There is always parking available for urban caches. Sometimes you have to walk a bit to the cache though.

You can't always expect parking right next to the cache.

I agree with BS.

 

Parking is an issue with all caches and it is up to us to figure out a good (legal) place to park if we want to log the find. I actually believe that finding parking for urban caches is easier than for many rural ones.

 

With the non-urban, your GPSr may route you to a street that is closest to the cache, but no where near the access point. With urban ones, a GPSr will route you right to the cache. From there, it is as simple as going around the block in expanding circles until a legal parking place is found.

 

As a bonus, there are often multiple urban caches within a mile or so of one another. You can find a parking place in the middle of them and take a short hike to log them all, before returning to the car.

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A bicycle is a great weapon for combating tough urban hides. Throw a bike in the car, park in the closest spot, and ride the bike to the cache. I've noticed that nobody pays attention to a guy circling around a cache site on a bike. Parking the bike near GZ and pretending to be taking care of a mechanical issue with your steed gives you all the time you could possibly need to search while being in plain view. Cheap or junky looking bikes work best for this.

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Urban caching is great due to all the spots a cache can be hid. However, one of the things I have run in to with urban caching is: where the heck do you park?

 

Some urban caches are relatively near stores, churches, etc. that have parking available. A short walk (maybe 1 mile round trip) is not bad and the walking is good for you. Some caches, however, are so deep in neighborhoods that there is no convenient parking. I find these caches to be a bit irksome:

 

1.) nearest parking (in afore mentioned places) is far far away.

2.) Parking near the cache site is not possible due to "no parking" signs.

3.) Parking near the cache site is not advisable due to "neighborhood watch zones".

4.) Parking isnt too far way, but the cache is still in a "watch zone" and you would most likely be noticed since you are not a local to that neighborhood.

 

How do you handle these "deep in a neighborhood with no good parking available" caches?

 

If this is covered in another topic, I apologize. I did do a search and while I found some good stuff, this topic didnt appear to be covered.

 

Hey skraeling! Welcome to the forums.

 

I typically urban cache at night so my thoughts may be different from someone who is urban caching during the day. In a neighborhood, I usually just park along the sidewalk in front of someone's house as close as I can get to the cache. I think the watch zones are there more to detour people from parking who are up to no good. So if you just park there once or twice and go find a cache no one is going to care. If you're teenagers or something and you park there 4 times a week to go do drugs in a park or something then the "neighborhood watch" people catch on. Of all the caches I've found in our area I've never had an issue. Just today, I parked in front of someone's house in Fountain Hills and when I returned to my car they were unloading their car and heading in their front door. I politely said hi and they returned the greeting and that was that. It probably hasn't crossed their mind since. If they saw my car there tomorrow and the next night then they may get curious. That, though, has never happened for me.

 

The one exception I make is when parking to go to caches around South Mountain, Phoenix Mountains Preserve, Camelback Mountain, etc. In those cases, No Parking signs are posted all over the place because they specifically don't want hikers parking by their houses for hours at a time. In that situation, I find the closest unmarked parking spot I can find which is usually no more than .3 miles away and really means nothing compared to the 2 mile hike for the caches, ya know?

 

The only parking issue I've ever run in to was when I was going for "Only the Lonely" late at night and the stores were closed so "Lot Security" were out in full force. No doubt, I found the closest spot without being harassed and searched the cache anyway without breaking any rules.

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3.) Parking near the cache site is not advisable due to "neighborhood watch zones".

4.) Parking isnt too far way, but the cache is still in a "watch zone" and you would most likely be noticed since you are not a local to that neighborhood.

 

How do you handle these "deep in a neighborhood with no good parking available" caches?

 

 

Perhaps you are overly concerned about those watch zones.

 

Years ago those signs meant a volunteer would cruise through the neighborhood at 15 mph with their flashers on and report all suspicious activity on the CB radio to the police dept. on channel 9, or to another volunteer. Do they really still do that? :lol:

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One of my complaints are cache pages with statements like, "There isn't a designated parking spot here, but the road has very little traffic so you should be ok making the grab while parking a edge of road." or "You will pass the cache location and go up a ways to turn around. Then come back down to where the cache is located and you will be able to park along side it, and take in a beautiful view." where there isn't even any shoulder to park on. I figure these as bicycle caches and state so in my logs if I should attempt the find. Some owners have since indicated such on their cache page.

 

Stopping in a lane of traffic isn't safe (or legal) I don't care how "Little" traffic is on that road. Among those type of caches was one I passed up where I later confirmed you must pull over on the side of a freeway (with no pullout) to make the grab. All these caches are along highways/roads with no legal parking for miles so finding nearby parking isn't an option.

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