The news could be much worse for Baltimore commuters.
Parking costs have risen in Baltimore since last year ? as they have nationwide ? but city prices remain below the national average, according to a recent parking study from Colliers Pinkard, a commercial real estate firm with offices in Baltimore.
Baltimore?s average daily rate increased by $2.50, and the average monthly rate increased by $17.50, according to the study.
The rate increases didn?t surprise Donald Fry, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Baltimore Committee.
“The demand for parking in Baltimore is high,” Fry said. “We have many of our downtown workers commuting from surrounding areas, and we don?t have a comprehensive mass transit system.”
The study of 51 U.S. markets showed the average cost of monthly parking rates increased 4.4 percent across the country, in response to ongoing demand and little new construction, said Ross Moore, senior vice president and director of market and economic research at Colliers International.
“We observe a direct correlation between the rising cost of monthly parking and the ongoing strength of the office market,” Moore said in a statement.
“As businesses occupy more office space, parking inventory in central business districts nationwide is becoming increasingly tight.”
The median cost of daily parking in Baltimore is $15, while the median monthly rate is $150, according to the study. Those rates fall below national averages of $15.38 for daily parking and $152.38 for monthly parking.
Median monthly rates ranged from $35 in Phoenix to $630 in midtown Manhattan.
About 19 percent of U.S. garages reported having a waiting list, and the average wait time for a space was about five months, according to reports. Forty-three percent of cities polled indicated that new garages would be built in the next two years.
In Baltimore, there has been talk of a new parking garageat Lombard and Light streets, Fry said.
“We are also strongly advocating more mass transit throughout the Baltimore area for our downtown workers,” Fry said. “Baltimore will remain a major employment hub.”
Priciest parking districts
1. Midtown Manhattan: $630
2. Downtown Manhattan: $500
3. Boston: $460
4. San Francisco: $350
19. Baltimore: $150
(Median monthly rates)
Source: Colliers Pinkard
