Boston Parking Garage Rips Off Rook Rack Prior to Celtics Game
On January 17, I had something happen to me that I thought was only a myth: I tried to enter a parking garage entrance that was too low for my vehicle.
The Boston Celtics had a matinee matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans at TD Garden and I had some tickets to check it out with the boys. We hit the normal Boston rush and proceeded to look for parking that wasn't going to cost us an arm and a leg. Ironically, instead of trying to save money by locating cheaper parking, I ended up causing more damage to both my SUV and my wallet.
As we began to approach the tunnel, I noticed that we were blocked in and there was no getting out of line. I needed to act fast before and time was limited. My buddy took over as I began feverishly loosening the nuts and bolts on the kayak racks that were clearly taller than the six-foot-eight clearance. The closer we got, the more I began to panic, until I had to jump back into the car and heard the worst sound ever. It was like metal nails on a chalk board followed by a loud "SNAP!"
"Stop, stop!" a parking attendant yelled and as embarrassing as it was, he was able to help back us out of the tunnel, creating a massive backup of traffic. As soon as we were able to merge back safely within the massive flow of people making their way to the game, we decided to find an outdoor parking lot to further prevent any more damage to the vehicle.
If anything, this is more of a "Hey, don't do this" piece of advice more than anything in hopes that anyone who has kayak racks like myself will learn the easy way rather than what I went through.
I should have never assumed my car was going to make it and now I'm paying the price with a snapped rack. Don't be a buffoon like myself, especially if you plan on attending a sports event or concert. Measure the height of your vehicle beforehand; you'll thank me later.