Rant: Valero on Paramount and Arroyo

I filled up with gas at the Valero on Paramount and Arroyo.  Whoever designed that gas station was a moron.

Let me elaborate.  The pumps are "covered" by a roof, as is typical of many gas stations.

Ever wonder what the function of the roof is?  I used to think it was to protect you from the elements while you refueled your car.  But that is clearly not the case.  Instead, the roof is entirely for show--it serves no useful purpose.

For example, imagine you're standing on Paramount, looking at the Valero station.  You see two pumps right under you, and a "nice" roof that appears to cover the two pumps.  But they do not quite do that.

Instead, the roof ends just where the left pump is located, and just where the right pump is located.  and they also end about fifteen feet away from the center of the pumps.  So if the car door is facing the street, the door opens right under the front drip-line.

So when you get out of your car, you'll get dripped on.  When you get back in your car, you'll get dripped on.  And you'll get dripped on by large drops.  Even if it's barely misting, the water collects on the roof, and drops down in nice, large, wet drops, right where your door opens.

Meanwhile, if you're trying to pump gasoline from the pump on the left, you're forced to stand directly under the drip-line of the left side of the roof.  If you're trying to fill your tank from the pump on the right, you're forced to stand directly under the drip-line for the right end of the roof.

In other words, even if they tried, they could not design a shade that made you wetter when it rains than the design they adopted.

This is another example of stupid architecture.  It might look very nice from a distance, but it is entirely non-functional from a human standpoint.