When weather is not a factor, do you prefer parking in a parking garage or in a surface lot?
My friend commented that she didn't understand why anyone would park in the surface lot when there was an option to park in a ramp. I was surprised because I feel the opposite way. My question assumes cost and convenience are the same.
In this town you either parallel park on a side street somewhere, or play a waiting game for one of the 25 spaces in one of the two city lots. You can probably guess which one most people do. Personally I just park in the Safeway lot and walk to town from there.
There are no parking garages here (illegal). However, some elderly people like to park "inside" local establishments - despite there being a 20' wall in the way ("I thought 'D' stood for 'reverse'"; or "While I was shopping someone broke into my car and switched the brake and accelerator pedals").
If you're in the city, there are few surface parking lots. In the city, you have to pay to park. There are few spaces for parking on the street and those have meters. Most businesses outside the city have their own attached free surface parking lots.
When I worked for the county, they moved us from a building that had it's own parking lot to a center city building. The county paid for our bus passes, they were not going to pay for everyone's daily parking.
This question is about preference, not availability or cost. In the suburb where I live most larger shopping and dining venues have both and both are free.
If we have to go into the city, you have no choice. Outside the city there is rarely a parking garage (the only ones I can think of are at the two main hospitals). In other words, preference is not an option.
The only parking ticket I ever received was for parking too long at a parking meter for an appointment with my lawyer. My only other choice to park would have been a parking garage. Neither was a preference.
I live in a "tri-city" area surrounded by suburbs. Parking in the other two cities is pretty much the same. I don't know if other surrounding cities allow for preferences.
Here's another one............parking garages in my areas of residence have all been called parking decks.
Anyway, I prefer to park on the street where no one can ding my car with their door. When I must park in a lot I park at the back, generally in two spaces, and walk the absolute maximum possible to wherever I'm going. My parking spaces at home are pull-in spaces (which, of course, I back into) located on a curve. That makes them super large which is great for me.
my2cents 