Monthly Parking Downtown Oakland - How to Park Safely and Efficiently

When looking for long-term parking in Oakland, things might get slightly complicated - especially if you are looking for monthly parking garages in downtown Oakland.

That area can be expensive, so you may have to pay quite a lot unless you get good monthly parking deals.

But where can you even find some good monthly parking in Oakland? Are there any safe options in the long term? Well, we are about to find that out.

How to Reduce Your Monthly Parking Rates

Regardless of where you are booking your parking options, there are several ways for you to save some money on the Oakland monthly parking. Here are a few tips for some good monthly Oakland parking deals.

Move Farther from the Heart of the City

The closer you are to the city center, the more expensive it will be to find the cheapest monthly parking.

As a result, you might want to find monthly parking options slightly farther away from downtown Oakland.

The parking garage at Oakland City Center is in downtown, for instance. However, it is still a couple of minutes away from the center - which is just enough to get you a reasonable price.

Look for Timing Discounts

Depending on the monthly parking app that you use or the garage where you choose to park your car, you may be able to find some timing discounts. You may want to choose your monthly parking in Oakland locations based on how much of a discount you can get.

For instance, some garages offering monthly parking may offer you a discount if you make the reservation in advance.

Some will also lower the monthly rates if you park there for more than one month at a time. Find the ones that work best for you.

Get a Good Monthly Parking App

Downtown Oakland is a very big place, but there are few places where you can get good Oakland monthly parking.

An excellent monthly parking app such as SmartPass can tell you where those parking spaces are. You may want to go for the location covered by the apps, as it will make the passage easier for you.

Book Only When Needed

You may be around for a month, but this doesn't mean you will park daily. For instance, say you live in Oakland and come back home during the weekend.

You won't need a weekday pass, but you can certainly use a weekend pass. You can book multiple weekends in a row with monthly parking in Oakland provided by Smarking.

Best Oakland Monthly Parking Options

Downtown Oakland has many parking options where you can leave your car, most of them set around public spaces (such as theaters or shopping malls).

Searching an interactive map can usually show you where every parking space is. Here are the most advantageous solutions:

Street Parking

You can easily find a parking spot in downtown Oakland by going for street parking or parking meters. The advantage is that these locations usually charge daily parking.

Therefore, if you plan on visiting other nearby cities overnight, you won't have to pay extra for the "base" monthly parking location.

Depending on the location that you go for, you can end up paying as low as $5 per hour. Even if you are staying in the long term, it won't cost you as much to maintain that parking spot.

Parking Garages

Street parking can be very convenient if you drive your car a lot. If you only leave it there for a couple of hours at a time and continuously visit within the Oakland range, little can happen to your car.

However, if you plan on visiting more, you may want to rent a parking garage instead. Monthly parking garages are convenient because they are more secure and protect your car from the elements.

You have many options, such as Ace Parking or Walnut Creek, but perhaps the best you can go for is the Oakland City Center public parking garage. There are many parking spaces, and you can use SmartPass by Smarking to enter.

How to Park with Smarking

If you are parking in locations such as the Oakland City Center or other areas covered by Smarking, here are the steps you should follow: