Conference 7.286::digital

    Sounds like the Mill security should be informed.   There are all
    kinds of liability issues, that I'd rather not speculate about here.
    You can use your imagination.

    The lot is ususally locked at night and on week-ends...I'm sure
    this was an exception.
    

>    Sounds like the Mill security should be informed. 

    There is a guard house that is manned 24 hours a day facing the
    lot. It can't be a hundred yards away. The guard must see the comings
    and goings after hours.
    
>    The lot is ususally locked at night and on week-ends...I'm sure
>    this was an exception.
    
    Sure, maybe on Saturday and Sunday the lot is locked up. But on
    a Tuesday night at 9PM? Never.

The lot is locked at one end, however, the end closest to the buildings
remains open on weekdays(even though the sign states that it closes). Until
last June, I lived on Front Street and the noise at 1:00 a.m. from the
customers leaving the bar room was terrible on Thursday and Friday nights.
I wrote a note to the manager of Digital security about the noise and requested
that they shut the parking lot at 8:00 to stop the bar room parking, but I
never received a response.

Kathy
    

        RE: .0 -- Unless you can point to a written policy statement
        that says that Digital welcomes people to park in the Mill
        lot while visiting a local bar, you probably shouldn't speculate
        that "Digital permits it".  Even though there's a guard station
        nearby, that doesn't mean that it's being condoned.
        
        I'd strongly recommend that you take this issue up with the
        manager of Mill security, who I strongly suspect doesn't read
        this conference.  You might want to stress the potential legal
        liability issues.  I'm confident that if K.O. knew about this,
        it wouldn't continue for long.
        
        Tom

    Re: several
    
    That area has been used after hours by bar patrons for more than 25
    years that I know of, even before DEC owned it, paved it, and fenced
    it. The possibility of closing it off is of fairly recent vintage. K.O.
    has worked in ML12 close to that parking lot since 1957. I have
    difficulty believing he hasn't known about it for years and years. 
    
    You might want to stress town relations and safety when you talk to
    security about it. I'm sure that parking and entering a car in a
    parking lot is safer than doing so on the street.
    
    Also, forcing the cars to park on the street will not reduce the bar
    patronage and therefore will not reduce the noise. In fact, forcing the
    cars out of the parking lot will result in them parking closer to homes
    and therefore carrying the noise closer to those homes. Consider what
    problem you are trying to solve and whether your proposal will in fact
    solve it before rocking the boat.
    
    I'm not saying parking in that lot is a good idea; I am suggesting
    that alternatives might not be an improvement.

    re .0
    
    so what harm do you perceive was being done by having these non-digits
    park in dec's parking lot at a time when the space clearly wasn't
    needed by dec?
    
    or is this just a case of "well, it's OURS so THEY shouldn't be
    allowed to use it"?
    

        re .7
        
        Given that the people parking there after hours are going to a
        bar, digital stands to get a bad reputation for the drunken
        drivers leaving it's car park at night. (Which may even have us
        end up in a law suit....)
        
        q
        

    re .7,.8:

    Especially since Digital has deep pockets, and American law has some
    quirks that allow suits against parties only casually related to an
    incident.  The dead-cow-on-Route-2 story springs to mind.

    Re: .8
    
    After thirty years of bar patrons parking in that lot, even before DEC
    owned it, I wouldn't worry about DEC receiving a bad reputation! That
    idea is just ridiculous, valuing differences or not.
    
    It is fairly clear that several of the notes in this topic are merely
    looking for rationalizations for something they don't like. If you
    want to go worry about something, consider that DEC owns 5/6 of
    Ft. Meadow Reservoir in Marlboro. The legal issues involved with
    that must be tremendous.
    
    1. The dam holding up the reservoir is earth fill and was built more
    than 100 years ago. The Marlboro town beach is actually located right
    on top of it! 
    
    2. People regularly drink and drive (boats) on the reservoir. 
    
    3. There is "mixed boating" on the reservoir--sailboats, motorboats,
    and lots of other activity.
    
    4. People walk out on the ice in the winter time. I have never seen
    a warning sign.
    
    5. etc. etc. etc.
    
    I strongly suspect that DEC has far bigger recognized legal liabilities
    than that parking lot. 

>    so what harm do you perceive was being done by having these non-digits
>    park in dec's parking lot at a time when the space clearly wasn't
>    needed by dec?

    I'm sure that most of the people that visit this bar are decent,
    hard-working people. (In fact, I've been there several times myself).
    However, in light of the recent occurrences of vandalism to cars in
    Digital lots (including the MLO lots), I question the ability of
    Digital to provide adequate security for employees' cars in this
    situation. No one at work late at night should have to worry about
    someone from the bar having too much to drink and then either 
    advertently or inadvertently damaging their car. 

    Damage to cars in DEC parking lots goes back decades, even in lots far
    from taverns. Digital has never provided "adequate security" in DEC
    parking lots. 
    
    I think a totally unnecessary fuss is being made over the use of that
    parking lot.

>    Damage to cars in DEC parking lots goes back decades, even in lots far
>    from taverns. Digital has never provided "adequate security" in DEC
>    parking lots. 
>    
>    I think a totally unnecessary fuss is being made over the use of that
>    parking lot.
    
    You don't really think that this is all right just because it's been 
    going on for so long, do you? 
    
    If you were saying that it was all right for a bar to use the corporate
    headquarters main parking lot for overflow parking because we're nice
    guys, I guess I could understand that. But, you are admitting a serious
    security problem in DEC lots and then saying it's okay because the
    problem has existed for 30 years.

    I just don't get it.

    Gee, you're not getting a kickback on every happily-parked bar patron,
    are you? ;)

    Re: .13
    
    Gee, I didn't think of that interpretation of my words.
    
    What I meant was that malicious damage has been going on in DEC parking
    lots for decades, even those far from bars.
    
    There is no indication that the bar patrons are causing any problem at
    all, much less malicious damage, in the Main Street lot. Let's worry
    about something that is more important. 

>>    so what harm do you perceive was being done by having these non-digits
>>    park in dec's parking lot...
    
>        I'm sure that most of the people that visit this bar are decent,
>    hard-working people. 
    
    Thank you.
        
    How do you know these cars don't belong to DEC employees?  After
    the Maynard Softball League's season begins there's usually a
    couple teams in there after the games.  
    Where do you think they park?  Where do you want them to park?
    
>    < Note 777.11 by THRUST::MIANO "Caution! I drive like you do." >

>        No one at work late at night should have to worry about
>    someone from the bar having too much to drink and then either 
>    advertently or inadvertently damaging their car. 

    You said you've been there a couple times yourself, so where did
    you park?  And how much did you drink?
    Given your personal name, I hope it wasn't too much!   
    
    

    May I humbly suggest that the thermal excitation in this topic is
    increasing at a rate incommensurate with its significance. 

    Yes, chill out, folks.