Spokanes daily parking rates are among the lowest on the continent, suggests a new survey by the Washington, D.C.-based National Parking Association that examined parking rates in 131 markets throughout the U.S. and Canada.


The survey looked at monthly, daily, and hourly parking rates, and found theres a sizable disparity in what people pay to park.


Spokanes listed mean weekday (12-hour) parking rate of $9.50 was $3.75 below the $13.25 mean rate for the markets studied and was about one-third that of San Diego, which ranked as the most expensive city at $41 a day, followed by New York, at $38.50, and Honolulu, at $34.50.


That ranking was based on data from three managed facilities here with a total of 721 parking spaces.


The survey showed that the 12-hour weekday rate in Spokanes central business district ranged from a low of $6 to a high of $13.


In Seattle, by comparison, the listed mean weekday parking rate of $24.25 was more than double the rate here, with a low of $12 and a high of $43.


The survey listed Spokanes mean monthly unreserved and reserved parking rates at $122.75 and $145, respectively, which also were well below the $128.04 and $185.06 overall mean rates in those categories for all of the markets studied. The survey defines unreserved parking as when parking customers are guaranteed a parking spot in the garage or lot, and reserved parking as when theyre guaranteed the same parking spot upon each entry.


New York City and Boston had the most expensive average monthly unreserved parking rates, at $479 and $437, respectively, while Seattle was at $244.25, and Milwaukee was the most affordable, at $115.


The survey listed Spokanes average first-hour parking rate, or the hourly rate for the first hour of parking upon entering a parking facility, at $1.75, compared with $8.25 in Seattle and highs of $16 and $15, respectively, in Century City, Calif., and Brooklyn, N.Y.


Many cities undervalue on-street metered parking, with the highest one-hour meter rates averaging out at $1.41 for these valuable spaces, the research report said.


Martin Stein, president of the National Parking Association (NPA), claimed the study is the most comprehensive review of parking rates ever conducted. Stein says, Many people who think they are paying too much for parking may be surprised to see how reasonable their rates are compared with other cities.


Along with central business district parking rates, the report, titled Parking in America, included data on a number of specialty parking sources, including hospitals, hotels, educational institutions, and airports, in select markets.


The survey relied on interviews with 365 parking-facility operators who oversee more than 2.1 million parking spaces in 7,400 parking facilities. The NPA is an international network of parking industry representatives.