How much does that metered parking space really cost?
Now that Oakland is charging for metered parking 12 hours a day, six days a week, I decided to revisit the mental exercise of "How much does that metered parking space really cost"? Let's assume, for argument's sake, that you leave your car at the metered space all the time, that you pay during all the hours that payment is required, and that a parking space is 5x8 feet (40 sq.ft.). In a week, you would pay $2 per hour x 12 hours of metered parking per day (8am to 8pm), time six days per week (Sundays are free). That comes to $144/week, or $7,488/year, or $624/month, or $15.60 per square foot per month. Typical Oakland apartment rents are probably closer to $1.50-$2 per square foot per month.
So a parking space in Oakland costs 8-10 times as much as an apartment. I've always thought that street parking was too cheap, as most days all spots are occupied and there are people driving around looking for a spot. In the pure supply/demand sense of "too cheap," that remains true, but in terms of how much it costs to rent a tiny patch of land, it's exorbitant.
And yes, I realize that no one occupies parking spots in the way I have described, and that feeding meters is illegal. The comparison is merely a thought experiment.