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Affordable downtown parking: Memphis has it, others don't

Finding an available parking space in many US cities is a challenge, especially for drivers intent on avoiding commercial lot or garage rates. Those only seem to keep going up for reasons such as the rising demand by businesses for a downtown presence. But as BusinessWeek magazine found, it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to leave one's car where daily and monthly rates are charged. Based on 2006 data by the real estate services firm Colliers International, it takes just $6 to park all day in an unreserved spot in Memphis, Tenn., the best bargain among roughly 50 major US cities. The most – and least – expensive cities in which to park, and the daily cost, according to the survey:

Most expensive

1. New York (midtown) $40
2. Boston $31
3. Honolulu $30
4. Chicago $25
5. Los Angeles (tie) San Francisco $24

Least expensive

1. Memphis, Tenn. $6
2. Bakersfield, Calif. $6.50
3. Detroit (tie) Phoenix (tie) Nashville, Tenn. $7