Anyone with a car in San Francisco – whether living here or visiting – has encountered the annoyance of parking. For me, parking is my worst enemy.
Most of the best parking spots in San Francisco are along a curb. That means you’ll have to parallel park. Not only is it hard to find a spots big enough to fit your car, but finding one it while moving at a speed to avoid impeding traffic makes finding this kind of spot much more difficult.
I have on many occasions been the target of honks, looks of death, and explicit words and gestures. Curbside parking is only one of the many problems that mine the streets of San Francisco for those who would try to park.
If you are lucky enough to find a parking spot, your troubles do not end. Now, you have to deal with ridiculously high parking fees or limited parking times. Paying $2-$3.50 for an hour of parking is usual. Now you’re thinking to yourself, “Self we should just find a parking garage and pay for the day. Its cheaper, right?” It depends, but likely you will still need to shell out some serious cash. I myself have paid $15 for only an hour or so. And, many parking garages don’t offer hourly parking. So, it ends up costing much more than paying at a meter, if you can find one.
Of course, no matter what, if you park in San Francisco, you will ultimately end up with a parking ticket. Parking tickets here are costly – $55-$75 depending on the neighborhood and violation – and the meter maids seem to have a radar or some unnatural sixth sense to find expired meters or overlong parkers. I often wonder if they hide in the bushes and wait for your time to expire.
Keep in mind, all of this hinges on whether or not you can find a place to park. I often spend more time trying to find parking then actually parked. I often get much too frustrated and head to a far-away location to find a spot. I then end up walking for miles to get where I am going just because I needed to park.
Parking, my ancient arch enemy, we shall do battle for an eternity. Curse you parking!
