These Two Portland, Maine, Parking Lots Are a Nightmare

You don't know how good you've got it until it's gone. That phrase can be applied to a lot of things but is rarely used when discussing parking.  But if you've spent any time attempting to navigate a pair of horrible parkings in Portland, Maine, over the past few years, you've come to realize you didn't know how good you had it elsewhere.

The first of the two nightmare lots in Portland belongs to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's opened at their Marginal Way location more than a decade ago, but as the chain's popularity has grown in the city, so has the wildness of its parking lot.

More people than ever visit the store, and thus more cars than ever are looking for places to park. If you've been there during peak hours, you know that part of the game of shopping at Trader Joe's is being able to beat someone else into a parking spot.

According to Buzzfeed, Trader Joe's parking lots across the country are notorious for being small, with cramped spots and heated competition. Trader Joe's designs their parking lots based on square footage of their actual store. The larger the store, the larger the lot.

The second nightmare lot is a hop, skip and jump away at the small plaza that houses Chipotle as well as a pharmacy and cell phone dealer. Similar to Trader Joe's, the spaces in this condensed lot are narrow leading to many people parking over lines or taking up more than one space.

Making matters worse, Chipotle is a grab-and-go spot, meaning most of the people showing up are already in a rush, leading to agitated driving and flagrant frustration.

Parking remains at a premium in Portland. So premium, that the spaces keep getting smaller and people that use them keep getting angrier.