Local parking lots for driving lessons? archived

Target/Best Buy

ETA: We had security guards run us off of private office complex lots, especially when we were practicing without a permit.

Best is to get permit and drive a short distance to the same spot day after day. When that is mastered, move on to another further destination.

Columbia High School lots, off Parker near Gleason's, are pretty empty on the weekends, and probably after work as well.

nohero said:

Columbia High School lots, off Parker near Gleason's, are pretty empty on the weekends, and probably after work as well.

Ditto. Teenagers and their parents have been practicing here since I was knee high to a grasshopper.

The Livingston Mall lot has room to roam.

Thread drift -

I grew up near Paramus, NJ. As a result of the Sunday "blue laws" in Bergen County, we had the enormous Garden State Plaza parking lot in which to practice driving, with no cars anywhere.

Thanks, all, for the advice - my teenager is a licensed driver, but we are practicing in a stick-shift car. We need a parking lot so we can repeatedly stall out without hitting anyone... I'm not wild about Columbia H.S. parking lot, which is fairly small. I was trying to avoid shopping lots, as it seems like there would still be cars at the time we want to practice, but maybe way out in the back of Target would work. I'll check that out. I'm hoping not to have to drive all the way to Livingston Mall! But it does usually seem to have empty lots.

We have used the pool lot after hours.

Sympathy! My first car was a stick and I had to learn by driving it home. If you're going after peak commuter hours, you might have luck with the Millburn train station lot.

Don't forget to practice on a hill as well. I have memories of waving people to go around me when I was stopped at a stop sign and heading up hill! Best skill ever.

My son learned to drive my stick shift with me by first watching a you tube video, then we went to Livingston Mall. It's the biggest mall around and depending on hours you can keep away from crowds and get to use different hilly areas which are key to learning after you get the initial gas/clutch not stall out on level ground ratio, which happens pretty quickly if your teenager is coordinated and motivated. So I recommend Livingston Mall for all those reasons.

mim said:

We have used the pool lot after hours.

same

I learned to drive a stick shift on a rental car. I highly recommend this method. (It must have worked, because I still drive a stick now.)

And I agree with wendy--Livingston Mall is ideal for learning, and offers a much bigger open area than the back of Target would.

I agree 100% about starting on a hill is key! We had something like 10 stallouts the other day - and that was on even pavement! So it is a skill that's currently lacking. I honestly don't remember having this much difficulty myself (I learned to drive on a '69 Beetle where the reverse gear popped out unless you put most of your arm weight on the gearshift!). YouTube video sounds like a good idea, too. Most likely I am not explaining some important piece of the process right, as I've been driving stick-shift cars for 30 years now.

A YouTube video is a great idea--he may not really understand the basics of a manual transmission. The first time I tried to learn, a friend was "teaching" me. He was a Texan and had grown up in a car-crazy family, so he basically just gave me the keys and figured I'd know what to do. After the 15th stallout (or thereabouts), I finally looked at him and said, "Don't just sit there, tell me what I should be doing!" I had no idea beyond "let out the clutch as you give the car gas."

eyetry said:

mim said:

We have used the pool lot after hours.

same

I live near the Maplewood pool lot and frequently see people practicing driving. It's mostly empty except weekends and holidays in the summer.

Livingston mall or Columbia high school faculty or senior lots on Parker by rail tracks.

We are near the Maplewood pool, will have to give that a try, especially before it opens full-time for the summer.

go in the far back right corner....close to the rear of the Maplewood Volunteer Ambulance. Not as much going on there I loved taking my kids while the Maplewood Pool was still closed and letting them drive around and around as if they were on a race track. I made them pretend to be in a lane, stop at the stop signs eventually pulling out onto Boyden Ave and signaling the left to get back into the pool parking lot again when they were absolute newbies. I still use it for parking practice since my youngest will be testing very soon

Corey

We had same issue a number of years ago. The parking lot above Trader Joe's is mostly empty evenings & weekends.

I took my kid to the high school in Springfield (take Springfield Avenue to Morris Avenue and then turn right and go to the second traffic light (Mountain Avenue) and turn left and go a half mile or so down and it's on the left.) It is much bigger than the CHS lots and also has a loop around the entire building that you can drive. I'm not sure about weekday evenings, but it worked well on the weekends for us.

I learned stick shift in the Our Lady of Sorrows parking lot. That was more than a few years ago, so I am not sure what it's like now off hours.

Newstead is great for practicing hills. Just make sure to have the emergency lights flashing!

Oh lord, we are DEFINITELY not ready for Newstead! Maybe in a few weeks... I forgot about Jonathan Dayton H.S. in Springfield, sounds like a possibility and not too far away.

Actually, once you are up in the Newstead area, it is pretty flat and pretty good for practicing. I took my older kid up there when she was learning.

Come to San Fransisco. ;-)

I taught myself as an adult. Went out one day to do errands around town in MSO, vowing not to come back until I could drive up, stop & start on a hill without stalling. I echo the recommendations to conquer hills. Once the teen gets over the nervousness of hills & stress of people behind, the rest is cake.

After 2 years in the Bay Area, I am finally able to stop on hills & start with screeching out of first or stalling. Good luck.

If you have a foreign car with the handbrake between the seat, use it to start on hills. Release the handbrake slowly as you engage the clutch. With an American car with a foot operated parking brake, starting on a hill is much harder.

I almost never need the parking brake for that ... maybe in San Francisco, but no place I've encountered around here.

35 years of driving a stick and I STILL panic on Third St in South Orange approaching Ridgewood!

librarylady said:

35 years of driving a stick and I STILL panic on Third St in South Orange approaching Ridgewood!

Yes, that one is pretty steep, and the traffic is often bad. But I don't think I've ever had to use the parking brake there.

Yes, on rare occasions I do exactly what bobk said about starting on hill with a brake. It's good if you're worried about sliding backward, but probably not as necessary as in San Fran! Good in the snow. My dad taught me everything but I am not as gifted a teacher. We were taught how to pop the clutch if the ignition wouldn't start on its own, where to look at night so oncoming cars' lights weren't so bothersome, flashing high beams after 18-wheelers pass you on the highway...