There’s No Way I’d Ever Pay This to Park in Portland, Maine

Parking has always been an issue in Portland, Maine, but when did it get THIS expensive?

I work in Downtown Portland and love it. I park in a garage that is not cheap, but does guarantee me parking. It is not easy to find parking in a small, popular downtown area of Maine's biggest city. I recently had a situation where I just gave up and pulled into a lot very close to where I needed to pick up pizza for the night.

I felt lucky that there were a few open spots in this lot. You park, then pay using your license plate number. I figured it would be probably 10 bucks, but again, I was at my wits end and decided to suck it up and chalk it up to the cost of yummy pizza in Portland, Maine.

"There is no way I'm paying this for parking in Portland, Maine."

The shock when I pressed the green button to start the process was palpable.

I said out loud,

There is no way I'm paying this for parking in Portland, Maine.

I only needed 30 minutes at most, and I was not going to pay $22 to pick up pizza. I was not going to pay $22 to do anything in Portland, Maine.

I understand that this is a private company and there were plenty of cars parked in this lot (one of many) with people paying this amount. Makes me think I got into the wrong line of work. I eventually found parking that worked for what I needed, and it was free. I love this city, but sometimes it does make me shake my head.