I don't have a car, so the question isn't really applicable to me, but for those that have, I'm wondering if it's really worth it to pay for parking, or it's something that you can do without?
There are some malls that are free and others that are paid. Sure, I consider way more friendly to have free parking, but at the same time that doesn't determine if I go there or not, if I need to go to a specific mall I go regardless to the park being free or not.
Over here in my country, the open areas are the free ones, and the shaded areas are the paid ones. That's why besides being shaded from the rain or sun, I wonder if people are willing to pay for parking when in fact, cars do get exposed to rain and sunlight regularly.
I live in a smaller area, so there is plenty of room for free parking at the mall. Although, you do sometimes have to park a little farther away on the weekends or during the holidays. I had to pay $25 for parking when we were in Denver, though, and I thought that was absolutely ridiculous. I feel for those who have to pay that much all the time.
Around here parking space at the mall is free. After all, we're there to make them a profit! There are supermarkets with a smaller parking space and there you're only allowed to park for a set amount of time, one hour usually. After that you have to pay the usual parking rates that the city administration decided. Considering the limited space, this is reasonable and understandable. They want to avoid people using their space as a free parking spot.
All of our local malls here in Maryland offer free parking, but two also have valet parking. In some cases, it may be worth it to go for valet, especially on the weekends. One mall used to have plenty of parking, but then they built a casino on part of the lot which took away a lot of it. They did build a garage, but that's mostly for the casino players.
MOST of the malls around here offer free parking, so it's mostly a non-issue, but the couple that do make you pay for parking have a system where the parking fee is waived if you make a purchase in the mall, so I just have to buy something and it's free. They do this because they are close to the train station so people would just leave their cars there while they were at work, it still doesn't work, people just buy a cup of coffee and avoid the parking fee
I have never seen a mall charge for parking, and I live in a city area. I didn't know they even did such a thing. It would probably discourage me from shopping at the mall, depending on the price of parking.
I have never paid for parking at a mall either. I guess maybe if I were driving my own car in a huge city like NYC, but then... for me personally, I'm more likely to park outside the city and use public transit from within. Or I wouldn't be going to a mall in the first place. So no, in general, it wouldn't be for me.
In our area we mostly have free parking at the Malls. There are a few that require a fee to park in the garage. I will find an area that will allow a person to park their car and walk to the Mall. Usually if the parking fee is low like a dollar I will pay, but some places charge so much by the hour it takes the fun out of shopping because you need to hurry to get off the clock.
Where I live, all the parking for the mall is free. I mean, in the towns where we have the open air "malls" (I use mall loosely, because it's just a certain part of the area that more densely populate with shops then rest of the town) you have to pay to park in certain areas, but that's only in the height of the on season. But, no, paying to park at the mall is very silly. Even more so when you have to pay to park, and then see signs that say "Not responsible is car is broken into"!! (Looking at you, certain Philly car parking garages.)
None of our malls have paid parking, it's all free. Our downtown area does have some paid parking, but I usually park in the free area and walk to where ever I need to go. It's free, and I get some exercise, so it's a win-win. The beach here does have paid parking, which usually pays to keep the beaches and surrounding areas clean, which I don't have much of a problem paying. The place we stay at is pretty close to the beach, though, so we usually carry everything and just walk. I'll sacrifice some convenience so that I don't have to worry about moving my car by a certain hour or spending $10 on it.
I never understood people who pay for parking at the mall. The mall I go to offers valet parking or general parking which is free. I would rather save my money and walk an extra 100 feet than to pay for someone to park my car. I think this option is for people who have money to waste on useless things or if they have really nice cars that they want to be looked over while inside shopping.
I have never paid for parking at my local mall. There are a few malls that offer valet parking. I can see it being useful during the holiday season because parking is outrageous. There are spots set aside for valet parking. I still refuse to pay for parking.
$25 is indeed quite expensive just to be spent on parking. I would never spend that much on parking alone. Was it a valet parking?
Yes, I usually do because whereIi live most mall have paid parking, which sucks! Especially because they tend to get really expensive the longer you stay at the mall, and I usually stay at the mall for quite a long time. However, when I go to a mall close to home, I will usually park my car right next to it where there is a little street. There is usually spots to park there and it's free. Theoretically it's a no parking spot, but honestly I don't care. Nobody I know has ever received a fine for parking there.
Though we have a car we never took it to a shopping mall. Getting out from the shopping mall to the main road is just nightmare because of the huge traffic since all of our shopping malls are in between the main roads. We usually prefer to walk or if we have bought too many stuff then we will just get a cab and let the drive struggles with the traffic alone
No. I've never been to a mall before where there's paid parking. There's just one or more giant parking lot, and you park your car there and hope you don't lose it
Most malls in our country have paid parking. The cost runs from 1$ - 3$ depending on the type of mall. You may think that is cheap but if the daily wage is only $10 gross, that is expensive. We only use the car if we have loads of shopping items to take home or if we brought the kids with us. Most of the malls are within walking distance from our place. The bigger ones can be reached by a single ride. With the heavy traffic and terrible chance of getting a parking space, often it is better to take the cab or public transportation.
Paying to park at a mall is virtually non-existent where I live. The only mall near me that charges to park is the one in downtown Cleveland, but they too waive the fee if you buy something in the mall while you are there. As another poster noted, it is partly to deal with the downtown workers who were using the malls parking spaces instead of paying to park where they are supposed to. There is actually a train that runs right into that same mall though (it was originally a train station before becoming a mall as well, but the trains are still active), so if you live in the suburbs you can just hop on that to go shopping at the mall. It takes you into the basement of the building then you just hop on the elevator to get into the shopping sections. I think the most I've ever paid to park while shopping was $20/hour in New York back in like 1999.
