I don't know what you're seeing, but I go to Penn Square occasionally and never get that impression at all. I think you are just trying too hard to find reasons to complain.

Others have complained about it, including some of the most positive posters on this board like adaniel. Today was the first time I've seen it with my own eyes.

Others have complained about it, including some of the most positive posters on this board like adaniel. Today was the first time I've seen it with my own eyes.

Whatever. I guess I'm totally blind because I don't see it. I still think you're just looking for reasons to be negative.

Whatever. I guess I'm totally blind because I don't see it. I still think you're just looking for reasons to be negative.I agree with you. I don't really see how PS is trashy. It is actually a very nice mall, while not as nice as Northpark in Dallas, it is still a great mall as far as most malls go.

I agree trucks shouldnt be parking on the grass. But once you're in the mall, all that matters is whether there are stores in which you want to shop.

I agree with you. I don't really see how PS is trashy. It is actually a very nice mall, while not as nice as Northpark in Dallas, it is still a great mall as far as most malls go.

I didn't say PS was a trashy mall. I said the way the people in their huge pickups park on the grass is trashy.

I am totally with bchris in this instance, the people who park on the grass instead of in the empty parking spots are really kind of terrible and make the mall look bad.

I didn't say PS was a trashy mall. I said the way the people in their huge pickups park on the grass is trashy.


I am totally with bchris in this instance, the people who park on the grass instead of in the empty parking spots are really kind of terrible and make the mall look bad.We just got into a debate about this a few pages back. I'm not going to get into it again as I am apparently in the severe minority of my opinion on this issue.

I am totally with bchris in this instance, the people who park on the grass instead of in the empty parking spots are really kind of terrible and make the mall look bad.

Agree.

I'm sure it happens, but I guess I'm just never there at the right time to see anyone parking on the grassy areas.

The last couple Saturday nights around dinner time (my daughter works there) I've seen lots of people parked on the grass (next time I'll take a pic or some video) but was able to park no problem in the parking lot myself. Whether or not this is a good/bad/right/wrong thing to do, it's in the very least lazy, and makes our supposedly classy mall, IMO of course, look a bit redneck.

Tulsa gets West Elm, OKC gets PINK. Perfectly sums up the national retail disparity between the two cities.

I don't care about Pink or West Elm......all I want to know is what is going to go in the old cup cake place in the food court?!!

We just got into a debate about this a few pages back. I'm not going to get into it again as I am apparently in the severe minority of my opinion on this issue.

I just don't understand how anyone could be of the opinion that parking on the grass is acceptable when there are open parking spots available (and there are always spots available in the parking garage). I really curious here, what is your reason for thinking that it is okay? Would you go to a friend's house and park on their lawn if there was room on the street?

I just don't understand how anyone could be of the opinion that parking on the grass is acceptable when there are open parking spots available (and there are always spots available in the parking garage). I really curious here, what is your reason for thinking that it is okay? Would you go to a friend's house and park on their lawn if there was room on the street?

I argued the same thing a few pages back. But I guess the Okie mentality of I have truck, I cant find parking, I drive over curb is quite prevalent. But if someone did it to their front yard they would probably throw a giant fit.

It's actually illegal to park in the front yard of a home. This was a pretty big problem in OKC until maybe a decade or so ago when they began an aggressive crackdown on the practice. It was in the news and the source of a lot of citizen complaints for a while, but eventually everyone got the message. Seems if it is a problem at PSM these days they could be proactive with some signage directing people to open parking, forbidding the lawn-parking practice, and as a last resort, towing. The problem with the last part (enforcement) is that they don't want to stifle commerce.

Personally, I have always felt that PSM should build an additional garage, anyway, which would enable them to expand the square footage of the mall and the store offerings. PSM is one of the few in the U.S. that is bucking the trend away from mall shopping and development (thanks largely to location, I think), and it seems they are uniquely positioned for expansion.

I'm sure they do it because they have a big truck and it's fun to hop the curb and park there. If the mall security would ticket the trucks then they would quit doing it. If anything I feel like you guys should be focusing your disdain on them, not the truck drivers.

When I was in KC over the holidays I drove my dads truck to the Oak Park mall right after a big snow storm. There was a spot in the very front that was open, but it was against the curb and half the spot was covered in snow that had been pushed up against it. I threw the truck in 4x4 and pulled up on the snow and parked there. I come back out and wouldn't you know, they gave me a $25 dollar ticket. I was furious, but apparently the PS mall security needs to be more like the OP mall security. :Smiley124

I'm sure they do it because they have a big truck and it's fun to hop the curb and park there. If the mall security would ticket the trucks then they would quit doing it. If anything I feel like you guys should be focusing your disdain on them, not the truck drivers.

When I was in KC over the holidays I drove my dads truck to the Oak Park mall right after a big snow storm. There was a spot in the very front that was open, but it was against the curb and half the spot was covered in snow that had been pushed up against it. I threw the truck in 4x4 and pulled up on the snow and parked there. I come back out and wouldn't you know, they gave me a $25 dollar ticket. I was furious, but apparently the PS mall security needs to be more like the OP mall security. :Smiley124

I'm disappointed that the mall doesn't address it by issuing citations. I'm annoyed by classless truck drivers that think it's acceptable to park on the lawn. Too much car, too little brain.

I've always wondered about citations issued by private security at places like shopping malls. Are they really enforceable? Do they have any legal clout?

Whatever the answers to my question, I think this parking they allow to go on at Penn Square on the grass is really trashy. They do it when there's room in the garage too. I understand not wanting to rankle a customer, but this really should stop.

Maybe it's because I always park by Penny's, but I've never once noticed anyone parking on grass.

Was there Saturday. There were a dozen cars (actually, mostly pickups) parked on the grass just outside (east) of the garage....BY PENNY's. BTW, there were plenty of spots in the garage, but on the second or third levels. Also plenty north of Macy's. Just lazy parkers.

I wouldn't park on the grass, but if I got a ticket from Penn Square Mall security for ANYTHING it would go directly into the trash can. They have no ability to ticket someone and receive revenue for it. NONE. That would be a total bluff. What they DO have the right to do is to put up signs that say "absolutely no parking on grass - violators will be towed" and then to call a wrecker service as soon as it happens. It's also possible, I suppose, that they could ask OCPD to issue citations based on the same yard ordinance I mentioned previously, as long as it applied. But I would bet the house that OCPD would tell them to put up signs and to tow violators and to deal them out of the situation.

By the way, the other (and more customer-friendly) side of the coin on that is to have good wayfinding that directs people to areas of their lot (including the garage) that typically have open parking even during peak times. Also a parking shuttle wouldn't be a terrible idea. If I were planning it I would run the shuttle ONLY to outlying lots and make it clear through signage, PR and marketing that the best way to park at the mall was in one of the more remote lots where you could be picked up and dropped off at your car and at the mall door of your choosing.

I'm glad I'm not the only one this bothers. Yes, it makes the mall look very redneck. No, this is not a problem at other regional malls outside a few busy weekends during the holidays. And it is never a regular size truck or SUV parked on the grass, its always some lifted monstrosity. I hate to be blunt, but there are too many "country folk" around here who become completely obnoxious at the sight of even a slight crowd. And they think their massive truck allows them to just drive/park anywhere.

At the same time if they really thought it was a problem, the mall could stop it tomorrow with a few aptly placed and strongly worded signs. People would get the idea very quickly. But they obviously don't care. So if we get spring rains prepare for Penn Square to look like a rutted out mess like you'd see at the state fair. Maybe once their grounds have been completely destroyed, maybe Penn Square management would get the point.

http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff342/OKCDrummer77/Mobile%20Uploads/20140210_180314_zpsrmvu7t60.jpg (http://s538.photobucket.com/user/OKCDrummer77/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20140210_180314_zpsrmvu7t60.jpg.html)

This is the area just to the right of the main (NW Expressway) entrance. This area was almost completely full of large trucks before Christmas. Even now, the grass is torn up and the ground is rutted. Looks terrible.

I've said this before. I'll say it again. This is the easiest problem in the world to fix. I look at that bland grassy knoll in that photo and I think "where is the landscaping?" Every decent mall and even most strip malls in the better parts of St. Louis have decorative plantings, shrubbery, trees, planters, short brick walls, etc. By the way, this also extends to the medians and sides of highways and boulevards, particularly at intersections. It's baffling to me that a mall as nice as Penn Square doesn't smarten up its exterior. But you don't see much of this in OKC at large, so maybe it's a case of "no expectations."

That's an excellent point. If those areas had berms and landscaping it wouldn't even be an issue. Swap out "landscaping" for XERISCAPING (http://www.keepoklahomabeautiful.com/native-landscaping-xeriscaping) and the mall's long-term maintenance costs would diminish, perhaps even to the point of eventually paying for the upgrade. Mowing and water ain't free, after all.

That really is a good point.

if trucks parking on grass is the worse thing thats happening to us, then i'd say were doing pretty well.

Better than crappy makes us happy!

Urbanized's 6 words sum up my feelings exactly.

"If losing a football game is the worst thing that happens to us, I'd say we're doing well."

"If not getting (store x) is the worst thing that happens to us, we're doing well."

"If a no-name state legislator utters an offensive remark, and that's the worst thing that happens to us..."

"If we only lose 100 jobs from (company x) and that's the worst thing that happens to us..."

This really is fairly trivial, I agree, Gargantula, but it's a million and one little trivial things that, taken together, form an impression. And subtleties of impression one way or another is how quality of life is formed.

Urbanized's 6 words sum up my feelings exactly.

"If losing a football game is the worst thing that happens to us, I'd say we're doing well."

"If not getting (store x) is the worst thing that happens to us, we're doing well."

"If a no-name state legislator utters an offensive remark, and that's the worst thing that happens to us..."

"If we only lose 100 jobs from (company x) and that's the worst thing that happens to us..."

This really is fairly trivial, I agree, Gargantula, but it's a million and one little trivial things that, taken together, form an impression. And subtleties of impression one way or another is how quality of life is formed.

Completely agree. It's for this reason quality of life in OKC is just a bit lower than it is in most major cities in the US. It's getting better, I want to acknowledge that, but compare places like St. Louis, Kansas City, Charlotte, Louisville, Albuquerque, Omaha, etc, etc, etc to OKC and you will find OKC comes in a bit lower than one would expect in terms of quality of life. While some of the cities are much larger than OKC and of course have more amenities and resources, others are similar sized or smaller. It isn't like those cities have anything huge that OKC doesn't have, but its the million + 1 little things they take pride in that OKC does not that make the difference. I think it's bottom line a cultural thing.

And please don't hear me comparing parking on grass to the loss of jobs. Obviously no comparison. But striving for good outcomes in everything we do, little things and big things, should be our goal.

I think of going to dinner in a clean sweater rather than a dirty sweatshirt. Is that going to make a difference in one' life? Probably not. But someone who goes through life in a dirty sweatshirt is also going to be somebody who thinks nothing of parking on grass. I mean, it's no big deal. That same person is going to throw a cigarette butt on the ground. No big deal. We need to all take a little more pride in everything we do.

I realize this kind of derailed. I'm sorry. Not sure what got me writing on such an admittedly trivial subject.

if trucks parking on grass is the worse thing thats happening to us, then i'd say were doing pretty well.

Some people want the premier retail corridor in OKC to look somewhat attractive. OKC has very few areas that are in the least bit pleasing to the eye, but Penn Square, being the top mall in the metro area and just south of Nichols Hills should be made to look halfway decent.

Of all the complaining about Penn Square Mall and people parking on the grass, has anyone bothered to contact Simon Properties to complain? Mall management? Facebook campaigns started? No? Not one action item? All the talk on here and no action has been taken. And if it has, there has been no mention.

Let's make these things happen, folks. Simply dreaming about your OKC wants on a message board will go no where.

if trucks parking on grass is the worse thing thats happening to us, then i'd say were doing pretty well.

Yeah, because complaining that it's the worst thing is exactly what we were doing.

If they would put up a barrier to those areas, whether it be a barrier of flower beds, shrubs and trees or a two foot high landscaping wall, that would probably put an end to parking on the lawn at Penn Square. I realize it's a solution that costs the mall money to put in place initially, but I think it will save them money and headaches in the long run. Such a barreir could be made to look very nice and add to the aesthetic value of the mall.

Urbanized's 6 words sum up my feelings exactly.

"If losing a football game is the worst thing that happens to us, I'd say we're doing well."

"If not getting (store x) is the worst thing that happens to us, we're doing well."

"If a no-name state legislator utters an offensive remark, and that's the worst thing that happens to us..."

"If we only lose 100 jobs from (company x) and that's the worst thing that happens to us..."

This really is fairly trivial, I agree, Gargantula, but it's a million and one little trivial things that, taken together, form an impression. And subtleties of impression one way or another is how quality of life is formed.

Exactly! Just like your point about St. Louis shopping centers having things that prevent this sort of nonsense by lazy, careless people. Urbanized's post says it all.

And please don't hear me comparing parking on grass to the loss of jobs. Obviously no comparison. But striving for good outcomes in everything we do, little things and big things, should be our goal.

I think of going to dinner in a clean sweater rather than a dirty sweatshirt. Is that going to make a difference in one' life? Probably not. But someone who goes through life in a dirty sweatshirt is also going to be somebody who thinks nothing of parking on grass. I mean, it's no big deal. That same person is going to throw a cigarette butt on the ground. No big deal. We need to all take a little more pride in everything we do.

I realize this kind of derailed. I'm sorry. Not sure what got me writing on such an admittedly trivial subject.

That's the thing though. It's not a trivial subject, at least not in my mind. It's an issue of pride and respect for other things. And that's no small thing. I think a lot in this world could be rectified if people took more pride in things and showed more respect for all things.

Of all the complaining about Penn Square Mall and people parking on the grass, has anyone bothered to contact Simon Properties to complain? Mall management? Facebook campaigns started? No? Not one action item? All the talk on here and no action has been taken. And if it has, there has been no mention.

Let's make these things happen, folks. Simply dreaming about your OKC wants on a message board will go no where.

From what I've seen, Simon Properties is a talk-to-the-hand kind of company. Their main pylon sign at the intersection of NW Expressway and Penn has been broken for a looooong time, and repaired immediately AFTER the Christmas shopping season. Their response to attacks and abductions is to say "no comment" to reporters and ban them from the property.

Yeah, I'm sure if you'd make suggestions about parking they'd get right on it.

We went to Penn Square Mall today around 2:00 PM. There was no place to park anywhere. Nothing but cars driving around waiting for a car to pull out. It was as bad as I've ever seen it at Christmas time and this is March 1. After driving around for 30 minutes, half of that time not even moving because you are stuck behind a long line of cars waiting to pull out into the loop with no one letting you in, we left and went to Quail Springs. And we saw quite a few people jumping the curbs and parking on the grass at Penn. And while Quail seemed quite busy, there was no problem finding a place to park.

We went to Penn Square Mall today around 2:00 PM. There was no place to park anywhere. Nothing but cars driving around waiting for a car to pull out. It was as bad as I've ever seen it at Christmas time and this is March 1. After driving around for 30 minutes, half of that time not even moving because you are stuck behind a long line of cars waiting to pull out into the loop with no one letting you in, we left and went to Quail Springs. And we saw quite a few people jumping the curbs and parking on the grass at Penn. And while Quail seemed quite busy, there was no problem finding a place to park.

Did you try the parking garage? I have never seen it full, even on the last weekend before Christmas.

Yes the parking garage is where we spent the most time waiting in line to pull back out into the loop. We spent quite a bit of money at Quail that the Penn merchants missed out on. It will be a long time before I ever consider going back to that mess.

I happened to be near Penn Square mall today as well. I couldn't believe how crowded it was. I was wondering if some big event was going on there. I really despise going to that mall, and experiencing the traffic mess in that area today did nothing to change that.

I wasn't there today but I find that very difficult to believe. I go there occasionally on weekends and there may not be any close places to park but have never seen it with no place to park even before Christmas. I normally have no problem with parking at all.

Wow... something had to be going on going there. If traffic has increased that much, that would be pretty awesome for the mall if so.

Wow... something had to be going on going there. If traffic has increased that much, that would be pretty awesome for the mall if so.

Calm down, plupan. It hasn't happened. :)

Did you try the parking garage? I have never seen it full, even on the last weekend before Christmas.

We caught a movie there and parked on the 2nd level of the parking garage which had plenty of room. When we left, the line of cars to exit was wrapped down one side of the 2nd floor. Took forever to get out. Get to the bottom and there was a security guard there but she had no clue how to direct traffic. If this mall wants to keep attracting business, they need to get some traffic control officers that know how to direct traffic and would fix a lot of the problem. Needs to be off duty cops as the people were just ignoring the security guard also.

We went to Penn Square Mall today around 2:00 PM. There was no place to park anywhere. Nothing but cars driving around waiting for a car to pull out. It was as bad as I've ever seen it at Christmas time and this is March 1. After driving around for 30 minutes, half of that time not even moving because you are stuck behind a long line of cars waiting to pull out into the loop with no one letting you in, we left and went to Quail Springs. And we saw quite a few people jumping the curbs and parking on the grass at Penn. And while Quail seemed quite busy, there was no problem finding a place to park.

I know Saturdays are always busy on normal weekends, but yesterday they also had the severe weather expo going on in center court. They had all the weather people from the 3 stations signing autographs, the NWS, and Reed Timmer's "Dominator" tornado vehicle.

There was some type of weather course there yesterday. All the local news meteorologists were there as well as many of the anchors.

I was there February 8th, and it took us 45 minutes to get from the entrance by Cheesecake Factory around to the garage. There were lines of cars everywhere and nowhere to park. We eventually gave up and parked by Jamba Juice and walked.

Huh. It is kind of funny that a severe weather expo would gain so much traffic, but then again this is Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Rock Stars = meteorologists and geologists :)



we're a literal bunch it seems.

oops.

I was there February 8th, and it took us 45 minutes to get from the entrance by Cheesecake Factory around to the garage. There were lines of cars everywhere and nowhere to park. We eventually gave up and parked by Jamba Juice and walked.

God bless you for not parking on the grass.

God bless you for not parking on the grass.

When we were there on Saturday, the cars were parking in the grass right in front of the security guard. I'm not sure she didn't tell him it was ok as the driver stopped and talked to the guard before popping the curb.

Just drove by and they have a new sign!

When did that get put up?

The reason the parking on the grass thing baffles me is that there is so much other parking closer to the mall, why would you park further away? We always park north of Macy's and even Saturday we could find a descent spot. But, people were still parking on the grass just south of the Cheesecake Factory and having to walk a longer distance. Is it an ego thing? "I am going to park on the grass because I have a big truck and I can!" or just lack of knowledge where parking is available?

If I get there early enough I usually park in front of Dillard's (former Wards). If not I park over by Macy's, I can always find a spot there.

They could fix the parking on the grass thing with some cheap landscaping. They should plant hedges or bradford pear trees and call it a day. It would make it look much better than it does and also keep the big trucks from tearing up the grass.

Bradford Pears are highly vulnerable to wind & ice. They grow quickly and have nice spring blooms, but they aren't around very long.

They're nice for the week and a half they are blooming and for a week and a half while they turn. Other than that they are a trash tree, shaped like a lollipop. If you like a nice tree three weeks a year that turns to garbage the other 49, and a tree that gets blown over in 20 MPH winds after it matures, go for it.

They're nice for the week and a half they are blooming and for a week and a half while they turn. Other than that they are a trash tree, shaped like a lollipop. If you like a nice tree three weeks a year that turns to garbage the other 49, and a tree that gets blown over in 20 MPH winds after it matures, go for it.You could sneeze towards a Bradford Pear and it would fall over.