Parking at Humber College’s North campus is a bargain compared to parking in downtown Toronto. PHOTO BY ALEX FULLER
By Alex Fuller
Parking at Humber College can be costly, but apparently only half as much as parking in downtown Toronto.
This year’s price for a monthly parking pass at the North campus is $140, but motorists elsewhere in Toronto are paying just over double per month to park, according to a study released Tuesday.
The study by real estate firm Colliers International shows Toronto is the third-most expensive city in Canada when it comes to parking in unreserved spaces.
Calgary tops the chart in Canada with an average monthly rate of $456.75, according to the survey.
A new study by Colliers International shows the average monthly rate for unreserved parking spaces is on the rise across Canada. COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The average monthly parking rate across Canada rose by 2.7 per cent this year, but Toronto’s rate has fallen by 4.8 per cent.
In addition, the limited availability of parking spaces is a factor. The survey shows the average waiting time for a parking space in Canada is now just less than eight months.
“Parking lots here fill up by 8 a.m.,” David Hand, a radio broadcasting student, told Humber News. Hand attended George Brown College last year and recalls “it was much more expensive” to park there.
“Improving economic conditions, a strong office market and limited future supply of new parking spots are all contributing to the continued increase of parking rates in all categories and across the country,” Ian MacCulloch, National Research Director for Colliers International in Canada said in a news release Tuesday.
According to the City of Toronto’s website, there are 37, 700 off-street parking spaces in 213 facilities managed by the City, as well as 18, 600 metered spaces on city streets.
Parking lots can be expensive because many of them are on prime real estate, said Bill Hooper, a businessman who frequently visits downtown Toronto for work and pleasure.
“The land is so valuable,” Hooper told Humber News. “They’re there to make money and if people stop paying then [prices will] start to come down, but that’s not going to happen.”