Do we really need valet parking on the Plaza?

The five o’clock rush-hour traffic was crawling by the young man in the blue polo shirt as he kept looking for something. A Volvo turned on its right blinker, so the young man half-raised his arm, moving slowly away from the curb. But the driver waved him off, and the young man once again took up his post at the sign on Ward Parkway that advertised valet parking for $7 in front of the new Coal Vines Pizza.

Valet parking is certainly an amenity. But is it part of the service that brings diners to the Plaza or simply a reflection of this city’s obsession with finding a parking spot within a block of one’s final destination?