Like most of the rest of Berkeley, the area south of the UC Berkeley campus has some confusing and inconvenient parking rules. In this area, known as Southside, most street parking is either metered (in the commercial areas) or designed for residents of the neighborhood. Non-residents may park here too, but are limited to two hours or less without the official sticker designating resident status. With a very few exceptions, the paid parking spots also have strict limits of two hours or less.

There are lots of potential activities in the area that would lead you to want to spend more than two hours here. It would be easy to spend that much time just browsing the four floors of books at Moe’s or the thousands of musical offerings at Amoeba and Rasputin.

Fortunately, you don’t need to choose between cutting your adventures short and risking an expensive parking ticket. There are several parking lots and garages in this area that, while not exactly cheap, are much more affordable than a parking ticket.

The major factors to take into consideration when choosing where to park your car are as follows: location, cost, and hours. This article lists many of the paid parking options in downtown Berkeley along with those three factors to help you figure out the best place to store your car.

• First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley Garage

  
  Address: 2420 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
  Hours: 7 AM to 11 PM
  Cost: $1 per 30 minutes; $9 daily maximum.
  Notes: The information online about this underground garage is conflicting, with most of it claiming that the parking is only open to the public on Sundays. I have personally parked there three times in the last two weeks, always on weekdays, and it has been extremely clear that public parking is open. You can tentatively plan on parking here, but be prepared to find another place in case the lot is restricted to church-only on the day you visit.

• Telegraph-Channing Garage

  
  Address: 2430 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704
  Hours: Sunday: 8 AM to 1 AM
  Monday through Thursday: 7 AM to 1 AM
  Friday and Saturday: 7 AM to 2 AM
  Cost: $2 for 1 hour, $4 for 2 hours, $8 for 2-3 hours, $12 for 3-4 hours, $18 for 4-5 hours, $20 daily maximum. Validated rates are exactly half the non-validated rates, except the validated daily maximum, which is $15.
  Notes: This garage is quite expensive, especially if you are not getting your ticket validated. It is also one of those relatively creepy and unkempt garages; expect to run into some unsavory characters lurking around the staircase or the elevator. Avoid using the garage’s public bathrooms (near the payment station) at all costs; they are always smelly, dirty, and out of everything (soap, toilet paper, paper towels). On the bright side, this garage is extremely close to the UC Berkeley campus and to the busy portion of Telegraph Avenue. Validated parking rates are fairly reasonable.

• Bancroft Hotel

  
  Address: 2680 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
  Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  Cost: $15 per 24 hours
  Notes: This hotel parking lot has a limited number of spaces for public parking, with most of the lot being reserved for hotel guests. The maximum is on par with other lots in the area, making this an appealing choice if you need to leave your car in Berkeley for a few days. If you only want to park for several hours, though, look elsewhere; there is no hourly parking rate here, so you will end up paying the daily rate even if you don’t stay long.

• Various UC Berkeley Lots

  
  Address: Various
  Hours: Sunday: 9 AM to 2 AM
  Monday through Friday: 5 PM to 2 AM
  Saturday: 7 AM to 2 AM
  Cost: First hour $3; each additional hour $2 extra; $15 to $20 maximum.
  Notes: The hours and costs listed above apply to most UC Berkeley lots in the area. Hours and costs may vary by location. There are several lots in the area designed for campus-affiliated drivers, which is why public parking is not available until 5 PM on weekdays. After that, though, you may park there without a UC Berkeley permit. Many of the lots you see around campus will be these UC Berkeley-run ones. If you plan to be in the area on a weekend or a weekday evening, these can be a good choice – just be sure to only enter during permitted public hours.