Park It Here!

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Worst Cities to Park


• Chicago, IL
• Oakland, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• New York, NY
• Boston, MA
• Honolulu, HI
• Washington, DC
• Seattle, WA
• Philadelphia, PA
• Sacramento, CA





Best Cities to Park




• Boise, ID
• Greenville, SC
• Jacksonville, FL
• Raleigh, NC
• Walnut Creek, CA
• Tampa, FL
• Charleston, SC
• Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• West Palm Beach, FL
• Columbia, SC




I have driven in only a handful of these cities. I do not agree that Walnut Creek, here in my own backyard, is an easy place to park. On most evenings, the restaurants all tend to mandate valet parking. In fact, even Nordstrom, during the massive redevelopment of downtown Walnut Creek, will employ heavy use of valet parking. But Boise, Raleigh, Charleston, the Fort, and Columbia are good for parking.












Parking in Tokyo is rather difficult!








On the worst list, certainly Oakland and the City belong at or neat the top, along with New York City, Boston, and Chicago. I would add Denver since I probably still have outstanding parking violations from the 1980s. Seattle and Washington, DC are not a "drive in the park" but remember, the walk will do you some good! Weekends are easier to park in those two cities since most of the work force is off.








Honolulu has a free downtown shuttle/shopping service. Use hotel shuttles as much as possible to avoid renting a car, and paying for parking. I hate getting a parking ticket.








Hotels in the busy cities tend to offer free parking, or reduced rate valet parking with your room rate. This is where San Francisco wins the prize. Overnight in a downtown parking garage runs well over $50 without a parking deal attached to your room rate. So, my solution is to take BART.








I think the trend is toward less driving in big cities, for both business and leisure travel. Some places, like Phoenix/Scottsdale, Vegas, all Hawaiian islands, and Denver require a car. But many places like San Diego, Seattle, DC, Portland, Nawlins, Boston, and Chicago are ideal for using public transportation. At one time, Seattle offered free public transportation in their downtown core area.








Nothing compares to international cities, like London, Paris, Rome, Sydney, Rio, and Berlin. But the world's worst is Tokyo. In order to buy a car, the buyer must prove that he/she has a parking space at home AND at work!!!








Perhaps I will become car-less in the next decade. The real question is, will you?

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