Tennis, anyone?

Every February, the tennis center near our house hosts a major championship. This is nice for the city and for the tennis fans. It is not so nice for those of us who live nearby, or have to drive past the facility.

It is a private tennis club. There are at most a few hundred parking spaces. The tournament draws thousands. Which means both sides of the street are parked full, including places that normally would get you ticketed/towed. Like within 50 feet of a sidestreet. On actual corners. In crosswalks. You get the picture. And when the visibility for cars turning onto the street is blocked by parked cars, you get drivers just tossing the dice and pulling into the street...then going 10mph hoping for a spot to park.

Yesterday it was raining, and as I am coming down the street, about 200 feet ahead I see the nose of a car pull forward from a parking lot entrance. The car pulls several feet into my lane, then pulls across my lane (making a left hand turn, toward me), but doesn't pull into the turn lane. Just leaves 3 feet of car in my lane. I honk and apply brakes, since the woman is not even checking my lane, just the lane she is trying to turn into. No response. 50 feet and she hasn't moved, and I am slower, but still maybe 20mph. I force the brakes, knowing what is about to happen, because of the rain. I skid, but still going nice and straight, pretty much going to smash her gas tank. Now that I am slower, I decide maybe I can get some traction to turn a bit, so now I am skidding forward, but the nose of the car will clear her bumper. I miss her by inches, but now my skid is taking me toward the (illegally) parked cars to my right. I manage to straighten out and actually finally stop without hitting anything. Ms. Oblivious is already toodling away in the opposite direction - probably didn't hear the horn, brakes or skid.

This is not the first time I have had to apply brakes and leave marks on the pavement during this event. I deliberately drive slower than the speed limit, and still I get people cutting me off with little or no distance to allow me to stop. Police only patrol the parking areas, to guard against people breaking windows to collect things the idiots leave in plain sight. They don't ticket, they don't direct traffic, although other times of the year they target the street for seat-belt crackdowns, slowing down all cars and pulling over those they want to ticket.