If you spend any time dri­ving around in Vancouver, you’ll quickly find that not all park­ing spots are cre­ated equal.

The city of Vancouver has approx­i­mately 8,500 metered park­ing spots, but the rates for those spaces vary — from $1 to $5 per hour.

So how do you find the least expen­sive places to park?

Check out VanPark2010​.ca, a map show­ing the park­ing rates at meters around the city.

Not sur­pris­ingly, the down­town core has the high­est rates, with the streets bounded by Howe, Georgia, Bute, and the water­front lined with $5-​​per-​​hour meters.

But by check­ing the park­ing map, you can see that while it will cost you $5/​hour to park on Hornby Street between Smithe and Robson, you can park your car two blocks away at Nelson and Howe for only $2/​hour.

Similarly, if you’re shop­ping on Robson Street, don’t leave your car on Robson between Burrard and Thurlow — the rate there is $4/​hour. Just a cou­ple of blocks away, you can park on Alberni Street between Bute and Jervis for only $1.50/hour — and you’ve saved enough money to buy your­self a latte!

Remember: Vancouver meters are in effect from 9 AM to 10 PM seven days a week, includ­ing hol­i­days. And most metered spots allow only two-​​hour parking.

If you need to park your car for more than two hours, you’d do bet­ter to pull into a park­ing lot. You’ll find some of the cheap­est rates in the EasyPark lots and garages, which are partly owned by the city and marked with an orange “P” sign. Their web­site has a map show­ing EasyPark loca­tions and rates.

For more on Vancouver park­ing rules, check the City of Vancouver’s park­ing site.

Thanks to Darren Barefoot for the heads up on the use­ful VanPark2010​.ca tool.

Robson Street photo ©Carolyn B. Heller