Public shaming of bad parking a hit on Facebook

A Facebook page dedicated to posting images of inconsiderate parking in Regina has gone viral in that city, gaining thousands of followers in a matter of days.

Cody Maurer and Jordan Emmons launched ReginaParkingShaming for a lark, thinking friends would enjoy posting pictures of those everyday annoyances that people encounter when parking.

Now, however, over 3,000 frustrated drivers have joined the site and are sharing their experiences with the rude and thoughtless.

"We started the page just as a bit of a joke," Maurer told CBC News on Thursday. "To get friends to submit a couple pictures here and there. And it just exploded. It went viral."

The pair have already attracted enough examples of bad parking to create a most-hated list:

• Taking up two or more spaces.
• Using handicap space without a permit.
• Parking facing the wrong way on a street.
• Parking sideways in a lot for straight ahead parking.
• Straddling two parking meters.
• Parking in a fire lane.
• Using a no-parking zone to go into a coffee shop.
• Parking too close to adjacent vehicle.

Emmons thinks the Facebook page gives people a way to vent.

"It's purging a little bit of aggression, a little frustration," Emmons said. "It just shows you there are a ton of people that are sick of bad parkers."

The pair are quick to concede that their Facebook postings don't do much to directly correct bad parking habits, but they hope it can be influential.

Maurer said people who leave comments on the page have said they are trying to be better parkers, so they don't end up on the site.

"In my opinion that'd be pretty embarrassing," he said. "I don't want to end up on the site. I drive a very recognizable truck and if it makes it on the page, a lot of people will see it and instantly know that it's mine."