So, has anyone ever wondered about that van? … you know … the brown one parked on Hamilton Avenue, just a few feet east of Meridian.

WGx has … and so has Joann Landers, in her Metroblogging SJ column. Last week Joann wondered whether the placement of shopping carts around the van was acceptable to Safeway management:

This clever guy keeps his van safe, as drivers on Hamilton Av. attempt to squeeze past the telephone pole to make the right turn onto Meridian Av., by surrounding it with carts.

I’m surprised the manager of the Safeway Store, directly across the street, approves of the carts doing a side job. What do you think, should I ask?

Joann was giving the benefit of the doubt to the homeowner, suggesting the need for a buffer to protect the van from marauding drivers. In the past, WGx has seen rolling trash carts used for the same purpose, even including a note for anyone willing to slowdown long enough to read it, but the note referred to a bike lane.

Questions? Someone already asked if this was a legal parking space at all. WGx has other questions!

• Is that a bike lane? … If so, who gets the ticket for an illegally parked grocery cart?
• What does the driver do with all of the space on the right (”curb”) side of the car?
• Is the Safeway staff brave enough to cross Hamilton to rescue the carts?
• Since Joann’s pictures show two different cart arrangements, which is the best one?
• Shouldn’t the telephone pole be a strong-enough deterrent to drivers?
• If you live across the street, do you ask for “service out” from Safeway courtesy clerks?