No Free Parking
by Stephanie Sparks
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A driver and his money are soon parted, especially if he’s parking in downtown Calgary. At $460 per month, parking rates in downtown Calgary are second only to New York City’s midtown area rates, but fortunately the Alberta city comes nowhere near the cost of living of other cities in the world. Here’s a breakdown of the good, the bad and the priciest cities to conduct business in.
| Toronto | |
| $305/month | 2009 average parking rate |
| 2,480,000 | 2006 population |
| 7.7% | Q1 2009 office vacancy rate |
| **Highest cost of living in Canada and 85th highest worldwide | |
| Regina | |
| $148/month | 2009 average parking rate |
| 205,000 | 2007 population |
| 1.6% | 2007 office vacancy rate |
| Calgary | |
| $460/month | 2009 average parking rate |
| 1,066,0000 | 2009 projected population |
| 8.1% | Q1 2009 office vacancy rate |
| Edmonton | |
| $275/month | 2009 average parking rate |
| 782,400 | 2009 population |
| 7.14% | Q1 2009 office vacancy rate |
| Tokyo | |
| US $525/month | 2009 average parking rate |
| 12,339,000 | 2007 population |
| 6.05% | Q1 2009 office vacancy rate |
| **Highest cost of living in Asia Pacific and worldwide | |
| London | |
| US $1,020/month | 2009 average parking rate |
| 7,500,000 | 2005 population |
| 10.0% | Q1 2009 office vacancy rate |
| **16th highest cost of living worldwide | |
| New York | |
| US $550/month | 2009 average parking rate, Midtown |
| 8,360,000 | 2008 population |
| 7.4% Q1 | 2009 office vacancy rate |
| **Highest cost of living in North America and 8th highest worldwide | |
Sources: CB Richard Ellis Global MarketView, City of Calgary, City of Edmonton, City of Toronto, Colliers International, Mercer’s 2009 Cost of Living Survey, Miki Shoji Co., Office for National Statistics, Regina Regional Economic Development Authority, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, U.S. Census Bureau
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