Bryant/Lytton Parking Garage S/L

This is a review of the Bryant/​Florence (parking) Lot – identified as «S» on the map I helpfully took a picture of. But wait, the Bryant/​Florence Lot is also called the Bryant/​Lytton Garage. You don’t believe me? Well, just look up this address on street view in Google Maps. It’s in big block letters on the outside of the lot – er, garage. But don’t confuse the Bryant/​Florence Lot (S), which is the same thing as the Bryant/​Lytton Garage, with the Bryant/​Lytton Lot (L), which is a completely different parking lot altogether. Oh, and the address of this lot/​garage on Florence Street is 445 Bryant Street, of course.
And that, my friends, is why it’s extremely important for people other than engineers to name things.
It gets worse, really, it does. If you want to park for three hours for free, you need to park in section 1, 2, or 3. Easy enough, right? Well, not really, because the permit parking is in sections A, B, and C. The same parking structure has lettered sections and numbered sections, but there’s no way to know this without driving around. If you’re going down, you’re in the letters, but if you’re going up, you’re in the numbers. Except that I believe the first level has both 1 and A sections. So good luck. And if you do accidentally end up going down, like I did, you won’t even know where you’re going. There are arrows that promise ADDITIONAL PARKING, but it’s always unclear exactly which sections these arrows are taking you to.
One last thing, remember that you may only park for a certain amount of time in each colored parking zone. You can’t move your car to a different space in the same lot or even a different lot in the same zone. No, you have to leave the zone altogether. You’re limited to three hours PER DAY in each zone – but wait, it’s three hours in the Bryant/​Florence Lot (S) (which is also the Bryant/​Lytton Garage), but everywhere else, it seems to be two hours.
I’m not making any of this up, but whoever designed Downtown Palo Alto’s janky parking system clearly was making things up as he went along. And he was probably high. And drunk. Or possibly a fifth-​grade girl. How else would the parking zones end up being colored blue, lime, coral, and purple? What happened to green? And red? Or if you don’t like red, what’s wrong with orange?
The parking lot/​garage/​structure itself is all right, confusion aside.

The parking garage of choice if you want to party like a rockstar. Or if you’re a Unilocaler and need to make several stops for dinner, dessert, coffee, and more.
SAFETY (4 stars): Walkways dedicated for pedestrians. I didn’t feel any danger of being run over trying to enter or exit the garage. Score! This garage also has a nice open architecture that makes it feel less confined and more public — but only at street level and higher. The basement feels a bit stuffy.
SPACES (3 stars): Average size spaces.
PRICE (4 stars):
* Evenings — Free.
* Weekdays — Free for 3 hours on M-​F 8am-​5pm /​$ 15 for a one-​day permit.
HOURS (5 stars): No closing time. Like!
VERDICT: Great parking option in Downtown Palo Alto, especially if you plan to make a night of it.

Well, it’s always hard to find a spot on the streets of DTPA so having these parking garages is smart. This one is located on the LIME ZONE by Bryant Street and Lytton St. behind Joya Restaurant. You can enter and exit on both street. If you are going to Apple Store, this is your spot right here.
— 5 story garage with basement. This one is huge!
— FREE parking for the first 3 hours for Levels 1 – 3 and basement. Like the other garages in PA, you have to move your ride once your 3hrs is up. Believe me, those people are very diligent and will be so happy to write you a ticket.
— Whole day permit available. Ticketing machine is on the first floor by the elevator.
— Spots are definitely not tight so if you have a truck, you will still be fine parking here.
Watch out, I am going to steal the dukedom on this one too! :)

¼ Star
Had to deduct ¼ star because I almost didn’t make it up the stairs today. The smell of Pee was so strong that I almost passed out and fell back down the stairs!