Potomac Mills Issues and possible action

You should have told them to buzz off. A rent-a-cop security guard has no business, right, or authority to tell you not to get in a car. They can enforce parking restrictions but that is it.

Remember those guys aren't brain surgeons. They are morons for the most part who can't find another job and work for $8 an hour.

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Originally posted by Kathy R
[My proposal:
1) Boycott the mall. Encourage the boycott by put fliers on the parked commuter cars stating the poor treatment of the riders and drivers.
2) Move the lines at a certain time (ie 8am) to Potomac Circle (the road that surrounds the parking lot) so we can continue to be dropped off and we have a place to be picked up with out the harassment that we have been getting.
3) Signed petitions given to the PWC council, our representatives locally and nationally, to the Mall and environmental advocates.
4) Contact newspapers and tv to publish what is being done.

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You have GOT to be kidding me. A private corporation has donated 950 parking slots for commuter use 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, and you are complaining that they aren't contributing enough when they enforce the rules laid down for use of those parking spaces? Frankly, I'm surprised that all of those spaces didn't go away when the Simon Property Group took over the Mills. You can bet your bottom dollar that their legal department wanted them to do so, due to liability issues. But to their credit, Simon kept the lot open, as a show of good faith as a community parnter, and you show your gratitude for their generosity by trying to stage a BOYCOTT?

Yeah, you go ahead and do that little thing. Put fliers on cars (urging a boycott of the mall they are currently patronizing fer God's sake!), sign petitions, complain to your county supervisors about how mean they are being to you, and ALERT THE MEDIA!!!!! Let's see just how long it takes for those 950 spaces to go to ZERO spaces.

Now I finally understand what my daddy meant when he said my uncle could screw up a free lunch…..


(full disclosure - i have no vested interest in the Potomac Mills slug lines as we only drop off at Horner 5 nights a week, and i have no interest in the Mall except the money i spend there).

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full disclosure - i have no vested interest in the Potomac Mills slug lines as we only drop off at Horner 5 nights a week, and i have no interest in the Mall except the money i spend there).

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Why do you even bother wasting your time posting in here if you have no business there?[:D]

We are trying to save the slug system at Potomac Mills that worked just fine for many years.
You go ahead and pick up and drop off whatever at Horner Rd.

Thank you

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Originally posted by Kathy R

This morning I was getting dropped off at Potomac Mills to catch a ride in the Pentagon line. It was close to 8:30am. I was approached by two security officers, one on a segway and the other on foot. They told me that I could not get in a car that was waiting because they had closed the slug lines because the designated parking was full. I was not trying to park and neither was the other passenger or the driver. The security officers were writing down license plate numbers too. I sure hope the driver will not suffer from this. This is so totally wrong. Is there something that can be done about this? Is there another lot that can be opened perhaps over by Sam's Club or on the back side of the mall for after 8am sluggers? Is there another pickup point in the shopping center? What can be done about this?

My proposal:
1) Boycott the mall. Encourage the boycott by put fliers on the parked commuter cars stating the poor treatment of the riders and drivers.
2) Move the lines at a certain time (ie 8am) to Potomac Circle (the road that surrounds the parking lot) so we can continue to be dropped off and we have a place to be picked up with out the harassment that we have been getting.
3) Signed petitions given to the PWC council, our representatives locally and nationally, to the Mall and environmental advocates.
4) Contact newspapers and tv to publish what is being done.

If anyone is experiencing the same issue please comment and if anyone organizing the slug lines could please contact me regarding this and what progress is being made if any, I would be happy to help resolve this.

You can contact me by email at rrigney728@aol.com or by my cell phone at (571) 230-9554.

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Originally posted by Late rider
Why do you even bother wasting your time posting in here if you have no business there?[:D]

We are trying to save the slug system at Potomac Mills that worked just fine for many years.
You go ahead and pick up and drop off whatever at Horner Rd.

Thank you

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Late Rider, I want to save the slug system too. It's a system I have participated in as both a driver and a rider for 16 years. I make the point that I don't use the Potomac Mills lot to show that I am not personally invested in that one lot. But I AM invested in the system. And calls to boycott the Mall that has granted use of nearly 1,000 parking places is short sighted at best, and counter productive at worst.

There is no agreement with the county for slugs to use those spaces. They are a "donation" from the management company that operates the mall to the community. What do you think you will gain by complaining to the BOCS? The board can't compel Simon Properties to turn over an ever-increasing amount of parking spots to commuters.

Having worked in private industry, I can just about predict what will happen if those here advocating a boycott succeed. The parking lot at Potomac Mills is privately owned. You are threatening their business. If they start to see even the slightest decrease in their business, whether it's from economic downturn or perceived effects from a boycott, they will retaliate by closing the lot to all commuters. And they'll have the perfect excuse to make it seem like it is NOT retaliation. They've already announced expansion plans, right? Where will they be expanding to? Parking lots. It will be the most natural thing in the world for them to close the lot (or drastically slash the amount of spaces allotted to commuters) on the basis that during construction of the expansion, they need all available spaces for mall customers. And no one with a lick of business sense could disagree.

I remember what happened when the owners of the defunct Incredible Universe closed their lot to commuters. Signs went up stating the lot was closed to all parking and towing would commence on Such and Such date. And guess what…towing commenced on Such and Such date. It was private property, and they were within their rights. Simon Properties is within their rights to enforce the guidelines for the commuter parking lot, whether commuters like it or not. I would not be a bit surprised, nor would I blame Simon if they started towing every car that was parked outside the allocated spaces.

I only ask that those who want to place leaflets on cars, advocate a boycott, involve the BOCS, and go to the media, to stop and think. Think past this week, and consider next year. You have a small group who might join a boycott…those who can't fit into "blue lines". No one else will care. The possibility exists to cause great harm to the slug system with very little gain, and the chance to lose much. Perhaps someone could speak to the mall management before rushing headlong into a boycott that might have consequences that you like even less that what is happening now.

Oh and Late Rider? Thanks ever so much for your concern about me wasting my time. That was just so....sweet of you.