When I first moved here, the challenge of finding a good parking spot was a difficult one. Of course, while driving, I would sometimes stumble on a half empty parking lot here and there, and if I was really lucky, a spot on Broadway. Most of the time, however, I would just park on Washington right behind a car. And although I learned to drive in Charleston, where parallel parking is a standard day to day thing on King Street, I hate it. I would rather pay to park then have to parallel park.
Today, while taking my son to the Children’s Museum on Toddler Tuesday, I had to park a good block away. I notice, however, I was not the only one as a grandmother and her grandson also made the trek with us. During our brief conversation, she mentioned to me that parking in downtown is becoming harder and harder; during racing season, it’s almost impossible. I guess I could write something eloquent down, but since I haven’t experience racing season yet, all I can say is that this is going to “stink” (to put it nicely).
The other night, while trying to find a parking spot so my family could eat at a restaurant on Phila Street, we circled several different blocks looking for free parking spots with no success. To put it simple, downtown parking is crazy at night. Eventually, we ended up parking over by High Rock Ave and hiking over to the restaurant. It made me wonder why there weren’t any of those bike taxis you sometimes see in downtown areas. It amazed me, however, how many other people were scrambling to find spots as well that evening.
I guess my point is that I didn’t realized how many free parking lots there are here in downtown Saratoga. With a quick Google search, I was able to find quite a few. Granted, most of the ones we saw the other night were full, but I wonder how many weren’t. Here’s a list of a few parking garages I found below and where they are located. And perhaps when racing season comes, if push comes to shove, we can always take a taxi- I think that would be more forgiving on my feet as well.
- Paid parking lot between Congress Street & Washington Street
- Free parking garage on Putnam Street: Upper deck is free all day, while lower deck is free two hour parking
- Free parking garage off of Woodlawn Ave & Church Street
- Free two hour parking off of High Rock Ave
- Free parking off of Congress Street by the CVS
- Free all day parking off of Spring Street
- Free all day parking on the corner of Caroline Street & Henry Street
- Free all day parking off of Woodlawn Ave between Division Street & Church Street
Just a quick note!
Want to thank the readers for bringing this to my attention, but a lot of these free parking lots do charge during Racing Season. The good news, however, is that the weather is getting nicer. So why not take a stroll?
Hi Danielle and welcome to Saratoga! I moved here 4 years ago with my family. Nice to meet a fellow blogger. I’m the Saratoga Traveler. I agree with your blog post for the most part. We usually park in the garage off of Church St and then just walk to downtown. We also use the one that is close to Ben and Jerry’s but be warned during “track”season most of these garages are no longer free! And quite frankly you probably wouldn’t want to be downtown then anyway, especially on Tuesday when the track is closed. Hope your are enjoying Saratoga!
This is a great post! Thanks for all the pointers on parking. I moved here 4 months ago myself.
Yes, parking is tough in Saratoga! It only gets crazier once the track season starts. I wonder if they will ever build more parking garages?
Most cities would kill to have this problem. I’ll agree, looking for a parking spot right next to where you want to go can be a problem. But unless we want a city full of parking lots instead of walkable streets with beautiful trees and landscaping and lots of successful businesses, we’re just going to have to put up with a little walking. Luckily, it can be a very pleasant experience and good for your health. Just plan for a little extra time and enjoy the stroll.