Tips & Tricks for Parking Downtown
Parking. It’s a word that brings chills to any commuter’s spine. Is that a tow zone? Will I fit? Can I even find an open spot?
If you are a Full Service Shopper on the Instacart platform, you may experience this. Especially in major cities, we understand that Shoppers must navigate not only shopping and delivering, but also parking.
Here’s some tips on how to make parking less of the headache.
- Call the experts
A lot of downtown areas are hotspots for tow zones and limited parking spaces. No one knows this better than the people who live there. When I found myself unable to park near a customer’s home, I would give them a quick, friendly call and ask if they knew any good spaces for parking. Front desk staff of high rise buildings are also a great resource. On one occasion, I even had a doorman write me a temporary 24 hour parking pass for the building.
2. Talk to your fellow Shoppers
Because each city is different, some of the best advice you can get is from experienced Full Service Shoppers in your area. Strike up conversations with other Shoppers when you bump into them in stores. They probably have some great tips on where free parking is, which streets are hard to park on, and what times of day you will need to be extra vigilant on your search.
3. Resist Temptation
Look. There it is. An empty space. You only need, what, ten minutes to deliver? It’s a small order. You can do it. Don’t! You may get away with it a few times but the day that you rush back out to find a ticket on your car (or worse, your car being towed), you’ll realize that the risk wasn’t worth the time saved. Same goes for handicap reserved parking. Trust me, walking a short while to and from the customer’s address is a lot less expensive than those tickets.
4. Technology to the rescue
When I was really in a bind, I’ve used an app like SpotHero or ParkWhiz to find the closest, cheapest paid parking.
5. Invest in the right equipment
Walking a block or two for a delivery becomes much more manageable when the order is on wheels! Look for a wagon (or other load bearing device) that you could use in your daily life. My wife and I use the portable wagon that she purchased for Instacart weekly.
Thanks, good luck, and happy spot hunting to you!
Alex,
Shift Lead, Chicago
