Free parking in San Francisco constitutes a historic happening and I enjoyed it on Friday night. Score! When we first moved to the Bay Area I was incensed by the exorbitant parking fees in the city. It was excruciating to pay six dollars an hour for parking.
In contrast, I loved the comp of going to a parking garage in Santa Cruz, right off Pacific Avenue, and paying twenty-five cents an hour.
But Santa Cruz can’t quite take the place of San Fran so I’ve just become accustomed to the outrageous prices. Still, I completely understand the logic behind city people who don’t bother owning a car.
I was in the city twice this past week. First, on Thursday, when Paige and I went up, we paid the usual inflated price to leave the car. But traffic had been so horrendous driving up we were happy to pay to leave the car and be out of gridlock for a few hours.
Then on Friday when I headed back for the PCG holiday party I had excellent parking karma. At shortly after six pm (when parking meters expire) I secured a legal meter right in front of the restaurant hosting the work party.
I can’t recall another time in the city when I’ve been so lucky. It was such a perfect spot (completely free) that I was convinced I must be missing a sign somewhere that excluded it. But, it was kosher, after all, and my car sat safely just steps away from my destination at no cost. It’s practically a Christmas miracle!
