Trying to find a parking space in Boston can often be like trying to pick an accurate March Madness bracket. It’s not an easy endeavor and is usually more stressful a task than one might initially expect. So difficult is it to locate a vacant place to settle one’s car that some are willing to shell out as much as $500,000 for two spots. It’s no surprise, then, that a new survey pegs Boston as the fifth worst city in the country for parking.
According to NerdWallet, cities with poor parking can be measured using two distinct variables: the price of parking, and the amount of motor vehicle theft. The cost of parking in a garage can be so steep that it doesn’t take much to persuade some from trying to squeeze their ride into a street slot just clearing a hydrant.
As for grand theft auto, what good is a parking space if there’s a likelihood that what you occupy it with will be stolen?
NerdWallet pulled its parking cost statistics from Collier International’s 2012 Parking Study, so keep in mind that there may have been slight changes since. Similarly, car theft data was cited from the FBI’s 2010 data on motor vehicle thefts.
Using that methodology, Boston comes in just after Chicago, Oakland, San Francisco and New York as the worst cities to park in.
NerdWallet’s data shows that the daily parking rate in Boston runs at $33.50 – the highest behind that of Chicago, $35, and Honolulu, Hawaii, $42 – and that the monthly unreserved parking rate empties peoples’ pockets to the tune of $405, second only to New York City’s hefty $547 price tag.
Luckily, Boston’s motor vehicle theft per capita fell below the national average by 37.33 percent. That’s not a bad showing when compared to the likes of Oakland, 124.59 percent above the national average, and Sacramento, 67.5 percent.
But as NerdWallet reminds us, Boston is working on various solutions to its problem:
You can register for ticket notifications, so you can get reminders when you receive a ticket and when you have to pay. You can also appeal a ticket in person, by mail or online. The city’s Department of Transportation keeps the public updated about projects for street improvement through the website Boston Complete Streets.
One such notable project is TicketZen, which allows people who have received parking tickets to scan their citation and immediately send validation to City Hall to kick off the process.
Meter parking is also free on Sundays, just so you know.
The most recent FBI data from January 2013 through June 2013 puts the motor vehicle comparison between Boston and Oakland a bit more in perspective.
During that timeframe Boston experienced 618 thefts. Oakland, meanwhile, was subjected to 3,344, which is actually an increase from the previous year’s tally of 3,338. Boston’s decreased from 793.
Rounding out the top 10 worst cities for parking is Honolulu, Washington D.C., Seattle, Philadelphia and Sacramento.
For the 10 best cities to park in — all affordable and all with a vehicle theft per capita below the national average (except for Columbia, S.C., which is 1.88 percent above) — look to the Southeast or Boise, Idaho, and Walnut Creek, Calif.
Boise sits at number one overall followed by Greenville, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Raleigh, N.C.; Walnut Creek, Calif.; Tampa, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Columbia, S.C.
Happy parking, Boston.
[image via popsop]
