德國小鎮停車位男女有別

德國黑森林地區特里堡小鎮的一個新停車場爲了方便女性停車，特意將寬敞、易停，且照明條件好的停車位劃爲女性專用；而將靠近停車場邊牆和水泥柱、必須倒進去停車的位置劃給男駕駛員。該鎮鎮長解釋說，這樣劃分主要是因爲男性的停車技術一般都比女性好。不過他也指出，如果有女性想要挑戰自己的停車技術，也歡迎她們使用男性專用停車位。有批評人士稱此舉有性別歧視嫌疑，這位鎮長予以否認，並且辯稱女性專用停車位有十個，而劃給男性的只有兩個。他進一步解釋說，此舉同時也是一個營銷策略，希望能夠以此吸引更多遊客到訪這座以瀑布和自然景觀著稱的小鎮。

A German mayor has courted controversy by allocating so-called easy parking spaces to women.

Spaces in a new car park in the Black Forest town of Triberg now come with male and female symbols. The spaces for women are wider and well lit, while those for men are close to concrete pillars and can only be reversed into.

Explaining the policy, Mayor Gallus Strobel said it was a natural decision because men are better at parking than women.

"In the new car park we found that two place were not rectangular, at an angle to the road and placed between walls and pillars; that makes parking difficult so we decided to allocate them to men," the 58 year-old mayor told Germany's Spiegel magazine.

But, he added, that there were great women drivers, and all women were welcome to try and park in the men-only spaces. Mr Strobel, who denies accusations of sexism, also pointed out that 10 spaces were reserved for women as opposed to just two for men.

So far the mayor says he has received mostly positive feedback despite expecting some "humourless reactions from the political correct" and being accused by one angry female critic of exhibiting "male pig-headedness. One man, the mayor reported, said he would travel to the town just to try the parking.

In an attempt to deflect any charges of sexism Mr Strobel also indicated that the whole affair may be a marketing ploy aimed at drumming up business for the small town of 5,000, more famed for its waterfalls and natural beauty than being a bastion of male chauvinism.

"I never expected this reaction," he said. "I've been on the phone all day, the TV will come. I am happy, and it looks like we've hit a raw nerve in society. It's been a great marketing gimmick.

"Women can come here and prove me wrong, and while they're at it they can see the town's attractions," he added.