Why Don’t You Take This Opportunity to Drive to Work?

A recent study showed that it is cheaper to park a car in New York’s central business districts than it is in the other global financial capitals.

Place Monthly parking cost
London (West End) $898
City of London $896
Tokyo $702
Hong Kong $682
Midtown Manhattan $574
Downtown Manhattan $500

But apparently parking is a seasonal business, and it gets so cheap here in the summer that parking lot owners are encouraging rail riders to drive instead. A Streetsblog tipster reports that he was walking through Penn Station last week when he was handed the following flier.

parking_bulletin.jpg

Summer may be the best time to commute by car, but as our tipster notes, it’s also the best time for ozone production. At a time when state and local governments are encouraging people to use mass transit, their efforts are being undermined by parking garage operators targeting rail riders. Oh well. There’s nothing illegal about it. I guess all you can do is shrug, store this information away for the next time people are complaining about lack of parking, and conclude, as our tipster does, "I guess there’s no parking shortage in NYC."

  • Andy

    But don’t forget that the British Pound is practically double the US Dollar (currently $1.86). In the context of cost of living, Manhattan might actually be more expensive then London.

  • AD

    I’m sure they calculated an appropriate exchange rate to make it comparable. What struck me the most was that that was after the congestion pricing.

  • That website and advertisement was for Icon Parking. They have no garages that have bike parking in my experience. Write to them at http://www.weparknewyork.com/Contact_Us.asp and ask them to offer bike parking. Tell them your would pay good money for it too – like $30-60 a month and remind them that they can fit 10-15 bikes or more in the same space as a automobile. Tell them it would earn them more money than the $168 rate they are offering in Midtown.

  • AD

    Right on Glenn! I like the way you think.

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