Buffalo Has The Highest Parking Rates in the Country? What?

I always find these WalletHub studies interesting.  WalletHub is a personal finance website and several times a week they release studies on a host of different topics.  Over the past few weeks among the topics was the "Most and Least Energy-Expensive  States", "Best and Worst Run Cities in America", "Strictest and Most Lenient States on Speeding and Reckless Driving" and "Best and Worst States to Start A Business."

One of the most recent ones is "Best and Worst Cities to Drive In".  WalletHub compared 100 cities across America in a number of different categories to arrive at their conclusions.  They took into consideration gas prices, traffic congestion, infrastructure of the city's road system, car theft, accidents, weather and parking rates.

Buffalo came in dead last among 100 cities for days of precipitation.  With the near-drought conditions we're experiencing now you coulda fooled me on that one.  But the one that has me scratching my head is parking rates.  Buffalo was rated the most expensive city in the COUNTRY to park your car.

WalletHub says the cost to park a car in Buffalo is $27.44 for two hours.  What parking lot did they get that information from?  Is there a parking lot anywhere in the city that charges that much?  Maybe for special events where some parking lots absolutely gouge drivers.  We heard about that during the World Junior Hockey Championships and some other events downtown.

I just got back from Boston where even on a Sunday it cost $15.00 to park in a ramp.  I've been to Washington, DC, San Francisco and Dallas and I never thought I was getting a great deal to park.  But Buffalo?

It was all part of a study of the best cities in the country to drive a car.  Of 100 cites, Buffalo came in 77th on that last.  Buffalo was:

• 74th in Cost of Ownership and Maintenance
• 71st in Traffic and Infrastructure Rank
• 50th in Safety
• 75th in Access to Vehicles and Maintenance

This survey must have been done in the dead of a Buffalo winter.  Is driving in Buffalo really all that bad?  I've been in some cities where there's always a traffic jam at all hours of the day.  Gas isn't cheap, but it's cheaper than in California.  But the most expensive parking?

Check out the WalletHub report for yourself: