[notirk]

Depends where you are, but where I live in Queens, and I think in Manhattan, parking is often free on the streets, cheap on the avenues (a buck or two an hr), and the parking garages (privately run) are astronomical in price. So, as you can imagine, drivers spend a very long time circling to find a free spot before biting the bullet and paying for a parking garage. This circling of course adds to the traffic problem. I'm of the opinion that if all street parking spots were metered, and prices were higher than they are now, traffic would be reduced significantly.

Then again, I haven't had a car since living here (10+ years) and don't plan on getting one.