IN EXCESS

Beneath the Century City Plaza lies the Parking Garage From Hell. It isthe only parking available within a 10-mile radius (unless you park, unethically, at the mall). So to go to the movies at the cineplex, you must brave a twisting, ever-descending rampright out of Dante, find a spot that doesn’t look like someone was just murdered there, then choose between an elevator that never comes and a staggering number of escalators.

And it gets worse. Recently, a friend tried to get out of the garage. After 30 minutes creeping toward daylight, he finally figured out what was taking so long. Two and a half hours on a weekday cost $13.25. “People just didn’t have it,” he says. “All these cars were pulled over, and the drivers were searching the seats for loose change.” Did they all get out? “ I got out, that’s for sure. Maybe the attendants started taking checks. But for all I know, those people are still there.”