Downtown parking fees third in nation

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Pulling into a parking garage in downtown Honolulu these days can be a steep experience — in more ways than just negotiating the entrance ramp.

Honolulu drivers are unfortunate enough to pay the average regular daily rate of over $30 — third-highest in a June survey of parking-garage costs in 50 major North American cities.

Only midtown Manhattan, at $33.50, and Boston, at $31, had higher rates.

The report by commercial real estate firm Colliers International also ranked Honolulu at 19th priciest for unreserved monthly parking — $155 on average. Midtown Manhattan had the highest average, at $450.

"I know downtown is a premium for parking. I've looked around," said Philip Tan, an employee at First Hawaiian Bank's downtown headquarters.

Like many others working nearby, Tan does his best to minimize parking expenses. He finagles a free stall at a secret downtown spot. "I know somebody," he said.

Melanie Oyama isn't as lucky, though the downtown office clerk at the law firm of Love Yamamoto & Motooka avoids paying $3 per half-hour at Executive Centre by getting there by 7 a.m. for the $8-a-day "early bird" special.

The survey found the cheapest monthly parking downtown in Fresno, Calif., at $37.50. Daily parking was most affordable in Vancouver, British Columbia, at $5.50.