Speaking of parking

I'm getting really tired of not being able to see oncoming traffic as I turn from any side street onto High St. because cars are parked in the bike lane.

I also the other day saw a person on a bicycle nearly nailed because he had to bike into traffic because of some truck parked in the bike lane.

I have no idea how many times this happens to other people, but pulling out of the laundromat onto Water St. is also really a hazard because of on-street parking. In both these instances, if someone on the main street doesn't wave me out, I take my life into my hands.

And while I'm on the topic of turning out of a parking lot/side street, I'm also getting tired of not being able to see people/cars coming along in a parking lot, when I'm backing out of a parking spot, because I can't see through the SUVs parked next to the Jetta.

Last year, I actually hit another vehicle while backing out of a spot in the Green St. lot. An SUV parked next little Jettski (which I admit is unusually low) and I nailed the other vehicle. Fortunately, I was backing up really, really cautiously.

The woman driving the other vehicle admitted she wasn't paying attention because she was looking the other way for an empty spot.

(Of course, there happened to be a handy policeman on his bike in the immediate vicinity.)

It's common these days to designate spots for small cars only. Perhaps it's time to do that in parking lots here. I know it's done to maximize spaces but it also could be safer for those of us in normal-sized cars, for city driving.