Parking in Montreal, Pain or Pleasure?

Parking in Montreal is one of the worse things about the city. First of all, the price is extremely high. Let’s take the price of the parking meter that are situated around Concordia; you have to pay 6$ for two hours. This is incredible! Besides the price there is the fact that in winter most of the time you can’t park because of the snow; either because they have closed a side of the street or because they have left so much snow near the sidewalk that parking becomes an Olympic challenge. There is also this thing with parking hours and ‘vignettes’ that Montreal has; to outsiders or newcomers this is nothing but a nightmare. You can park there, but only for two hours, and then you have to move your car on the other side of the street but for a maximum of four hours, etc. I might be exaggerating a little, but not much. I remember the first time I came to Montreal with my car, that night I cried. I was coming to see a theater production for school and had to find parking near the Henri-Bourassa metro station. I think I circled for more than an hour before I could find a place where I could rightfully park my car, and because of that I arrived fifteen minutes late at the theater and they refused to let me in because the play had started and they did not want to disturb the actors. Well believe it or not that was one of my worst experiences while driving my car, and I will always remember that I had a crying fit trying to find parking in Montreal.

Parking is one of the biggest factors that will keep me from getting a car in Montreal. I've borrowed my fathers car in the past and anytime I need to go into downtown with it it's been a pain. I was once 45 minutes late for work because it took me one hour to find a parking spot. I spent the entire time on my cellphone with my boss trying out different parking garages he was recommending. Another favourite of mine was when they put up the snowplowing signs after I'd parked my car and proceeded to tow it into a snowbank; it took my friend and I two hours of digging before the tires would even begin to spin. They were still kind enough to give me a 95$ ticket (including towing fees).

Parking in Montreal is definitely the worst pain anyone can ever go through. I've been living in Montreal for about six months with my boyfriend, but we've had paid over $300 on parking tickets. First of all, it is so difficult to find a parking downtown, there aren't just enough space for all the cars. You have to either arrive very early, or drive around for about an hour before getting a free spot. And the price for it is exorbitant; at a rate of a quarter per 5 minutes, that's ridiculously expensive. The worst part is that we can only park for 2 hours maximum. The time limit is such a major problem; if you get to your car late by 5-10 minutes, there you go, a $52 ticket. Considering that many courses in University last about 3 hours, it is hard for students to avoid tickets. The only options are to take the metro, to park in the parking lots, or to park in the free parking areas. Then again, it is usually hard to find a place in the free parking areas. Furthermore, those areas have certain restricted time zone. Fortunately, if you live downtown, you can get a tag, reserved only for local residents. This doesn't guarantee a parking spot, but it might turn out helpful.

Well driving in Montréal is a skill in itself. Kind of like playing a video game, but the drivers are crazier. The same is said for parking. I can’t even begin to think about the countless times I’ve driven around the block for twenty or thirty minutes waiting for a parking spot. Westmount is the worst near green. Try going to Chez Nicks at 11:00am and you’re bound to run into all the Westmount crowd already taken up the parking spots or stalking like lions for the next available one. St Catherine on the other hand is relatively okay, I’ve only had to wait five, maybe ten minutes max. The only thing is, in the winter, may as well just walk. You’ll get there faster.

Montreal is known for unclear parking signs at every corner of downtown. When I first moved here from Toronto I found it impossible to understand all the different parking signs compiled over one designated area. When you think that you have finally found a spot and you actually cannot believe it, all of a sudden that excitement is shattered upon return to your car with another $52 parking ticket. People in the past told me go to court and fight it and the officer will not even show up. My usual response is that I am going to go to court and waste my entire day fighting for $52 when my entire day wasted there is worth more than that. Time is money! Anyways it just annoys me how there could be parking spot and above it 7 signs stating completely different things. Which one do you look at? Do you look at all of them? If so, one contradicts the other completely so why not just put a no parking sign and allow us to move on? What also frustrates me is how fast you could get a ticket. You could be one minute late to your car and there it is, a red rectangular ticket with your name on it waiting for you. I think that the city of Montreal is in desperate need of money and they put pressure on their officers to be giving tickets constantly. Anyways, I have come to the decision that it is not worth it for me to drive downtown, instead I take the metro to school or tell my husband to take his car.

Pain! especially in downtown, it is expensive there is never a place to park and two days ago I got into the metro store, came back out and I received a ticket of 52$, that was more than the budget i have calculated from home! Absolute pain.

I don't know why I even moved here. How can anyone stay with these exorbitant prices on EVERYTHING. 85$ because I went in, tried to find change, by the time (literally less than 10 mins) and have a parking ticket for 85$. Seriously, this city is so corrupted expansive and confusing that everyone wonders wtf all these taxes/fines accomplish.