Inside the Portage County line By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette FREE PARKING: Isn't it amazing to see so many motorists create their own parking spaces? Many motorists seem to feel they can park any place they want, no matter if there's a marked parking space or not. Some of the more frequent violators are those who drive in the wrong way of a diagonal parking area, then back up into a space against the flow of traffic. Their vehicle is facing the wrong way. When they leave the parking space, they're going the wrong way, blocking traffic as they exit the lane. Sometimes, wrong-way drivers see two vacant spaces and try pulling into one. Then, instead of jockeying their car into the correct position between the marked lines, they proceed to leave it parked, taking up two spaces. The wrong-way violator is also one who pulls through an adjacent lane into a parking space, thereby facing the wrong way of traffic again. Then there's the driver who decides to use the handicapped space because the visit to the store is just going to be "an in-and-out trip." Except the trip inevitably last for several more minutes than expected. Judging by the driver's mobility in getting out of the vehicle and running into the store, you know they're not eligible for handicapped plates. Some drivers like to park in no-parking areas, even though there may be signs, yellow curbing or crossed yellow stripes indicating "no parking." The drivers may intend to make short trips into a store, but they also seem to take a lot of time. One of the most "beloved" parkers, is the straddler, the driver who, despite some vividly painted white parking stalls, seems to enjoy parking the middle of two stalls, thereby taking up two spaces. At least those parkers are considerate. They only seem to do it when the parking lot is full or near capacity.