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Vancouver parking prices not world class yet

Rates above national average but below Calgary's

It may seem like it costs a fortune to park in downtown Vancouver.

But a new survey of parking rates shows it's actually a bargain here compared to many cities around the globe.

Parking on average costs $20 a day in Vancouver, according to Colliers International.

That's about 25 per cent higher than the average for both Canadian and U.S. major cities.

But Calgary and Toronto motorists both pay more – $25 and $23 a day respectively.

And parking for the day typically runs $30 to $40 in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Honolulu.

Winnipeg is the cheapest Canadian city at $9 a day, while it costs just $4 in Memphis, Tennessee.

The survey found monthly parking rates average $288 in Vancouver – more than the $236 national average but less than the prices in Calgary ($472), Toronto ($332) and Montreal ($297).

And all the North American pay parking prices pale in comparison to some European and Asian metropolises.

Londoners pay more than $1,000 a month for parking and prices are $700 or more in Zurich, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Rome and Geneva.

Charles Gauthier, executive director of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, said those rates are less relevant than what's charged elsewhere in the Lower Mainland.

"I take it with a grain of salt that we're not Calgary or Toronto," he said. "That doesn't really mean much when we're competing with Burnaby, Surrey and Richmond."