I hate it when petty and mundane details (what we often call "little things") dictate the quality of life, but sometimes the "little things" crowd out the bigger things to an extent that they can no longer be ignored. When that happens to me, then I feel that I have no alternative but to write a blog post about a topic I'd love nothing more than to ignore.

I speak of a "little thing" called parking. In particular, Philadelphia Airport parking. It's a horrible, out-of-control situation. And while it is a "little thing," it's one of those little things which might make regular travelers think twice about living in or visiting Philadelphia.

I only live about 40 minutes from the airport, so last Thursday (April 16) I left home two and a half hours before flight time. I figured I'd park, take the bus to the terminal, and all would be well. All fine and good, except when I got there, the long-term parking lot had a sign saying "lot full," and a sullen guard was standing there making drivers leave. There was a ton of traffic, but I slowly circled back around the airport. I soon discovered to my horror that the only parking lot which had any spaces left was the short term parking lot -- at $38.00 per day! (Long-term is $9.00 per day.) Not wanting to pay more for parking than I had paid for my airfare, I decided to get back on I-95 and drive to one of the competing private lots. Easier said than done. I-95 South was a parking lot itself, but after a twenty minute drive, I found myself on Essington Avenue, home to several of the gargantuan private lots.

Every single one of the private lots was full. Worse, no one working at them had any idea where I might park, simply telling me that there wasn't any parking anywhere!

As time was rapidly being eaten away, this was turning into a nightmare. I tried at least three private lots, and all had the same story. Driving back to the airport, it began to be clear to me that if I didn't want to shell out $38.00 a day I would miss my plane. There was not enough time to drive home and call a cab, and even if I paid their extortionate rates I'd still miss my plane.

It occurred to me that I might be able to throw myself on the mercy of the guard at the long-term lot. Or maybe offer him a bribe, or yell at him. Or anything. So I drove back. To my utter amazement, someone drove out of the lot, and the "lot full" sign was switched off. I drove in, parked, and then got on the bus. As the bus left the lot, the "lot full" sign was on again. (And, as it turned out, my plane was three hours late, but I had no way of knowing.)

OK, a one-time fluke I could forget. But yesterday, my plane landed at 3:10 p.m., and when I walked with my bags over to the "courtesy" bus stop, I had no reason to anticipate yet another parking problem -- a lack of buses to the parking lot!

These buses are supposed to run every ten minutes, but instead of seeing them, for more than twenty minutes I was treated to a steady stream of prompt and courteous buses -- all operated by the private (non-Philadelphia Airport) parking lots. Not only do they stop, but they actually load passengers' bags! And the drivers are polite! One of them asked helpfully whether "we" (yes, a crowd had gathered) were waiting for the long-term lot bus, and warned us that they "might not stop."

This ominous remark proved true when finally, the much-awaited bus appeared. But it was full! And the crowd was yelling for it to stop, but the asshole driver kept on going, right past us, full steam ahead. By now it was after four, and I was considering getting a cab to get to the lot. But it occurred to me to walk back to another terminal, so that I could get on the bus before it filled to capacity, I walked back -- two terminals worth, and by then another bus appeared, which did stop. It was completely full by the time it reached my original baggage claim area, but it did stop, allowing the poor passengers to cram themselves on. When the bus reached the lot, I once again saw the familiar "lot full" sign on the gate.

When I finally reached my car, I was one minute into another full day, so instead of $72.00 I had to pay a full $81.00.

As I drove out, the "lot full" sign was still there. (There were lines of cars leaving, and spaces were available, but tell that to their computers...)

This is of course a little thing.

A little thing amounting to little more than the quality of life around here.

Sure, next time I travel I can take a cab. Or drive to BWI. But if I owned a company considering locating in Philadelphia, this would be one of those little things that might make me think seriously about whether Philadelphia was a desirable place to live.

(The fact that Philadelphia has the worst public transportation system in any city I've seen doesn't help much either.)

I should be glad to be back, but I already miss California again. Nothing beats the Bay Area's choice of airports, all of which have freely accessible parking, freeway systems which work, and BART -- a modern public transportation which works.

Philadelphia Airport parking is a nightmarish government boondoggle. Avoid it if you can.

(If I could only figure out how . . .)