Parking plentiful in Toronto, global study finds

Finding that elusive parking spot is a problem worldwide, but according to a new study Torontonians have it relatively easy.

In its first-ever Global Parking Index, IBM found it took Toronto drivers on average 13 minutes to park, placing the city third best in the world behind Chicago and Los Angeles and well below the 20-minute average.

New Delhi drivers had the hardest time parking, followed by Bangalore and Beijing.

Researchers polled 8,042 commuters in 20 cities about the time spent looking for a space, arguments over spots and parking tickets received.

More than half said they had given up a search for a spot, and drivers in New Delhi, Bangalore, Nairobi and Milan argued the most over parking.

Chicago reported the fewest tickets for illegal parking. Bangalore had the most.

A recent survey by Colliers International found Toronto has the second-highest monthly parking rates in the country, but is generally affordable, ranking 32nd worldwide.

But not all drivers CityNews spoke to on Thursday seemed convinced that the Big Smoke was the equivalent of parking heaven.  They complained of high costs, and the seemingly omnipresent threat of getting a ticket.

“It’s horrible,” said Peter Nowak.  “The parking cops are basically like vultures.  You could park somewhere for like two seconds and come back and you’ve got a ticket.”

Linda Cerisano, who works downtown, has heard and seen it all.

“I heard one lady, I think she was a tourist, and she said she was ticketed while she was going to get her ticket,” she relayed with wide eyes.

Others agreed that parking was fairly easy to find, if you’re willing to fork over big bucks for coveted spots.

“I think there is an abundance of decent parking spaces,” said Torontonian Neil Vohrah.  “It’s whether people want to pay for it.”

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