Center Street Parking Garage is close to many businesses and UC Berkeley, which is why parking rates are higher compared to other parking garages from Downtown Berkeley. Basically, it's $3/hr until your 4th hour, which is $25. These parking garage levels are quite complex because their names start with a number and then letter (e.g. 4E), which is why I had a hard time looking for my car since I only relied on just the parking level rather than its name. Be careful not to park overnight and then the next day. Some reviewers said that they can't go to their cars since they arrived outside of hours of operation and ended up paying way more most likely because their cars are parked the next day and that parking rates are enforced. I highly advise you to read the signs carefully and leave the garage before this garage closes. Overall, this is a convenient parking garage to go to if you plan to stay for more than 4 hours. read more

Center Street Parking Garage - Parking Rates - Parking Near Me - Berkeley, California

I have to give an update. After a long night at the Greek Theater, I came back to Center Street Parking Garage to find that the elevator bank - both elevators were out of order. I was with a friend who had trouble climbing stairs so this presented a huge problem. My first review was pretty direct. I called out the City of Berkeley for ADA issues since the elevators were out of service and there was no signage on the elevators. Later, I did reach out to Kevin Phan, Project Manager, City of Berkeley but to be honest his response was a cut and paste job that he had probably sent to hundreds of other concerned Berkeley residents. I was not impressed. Later, Noah Budnick, Senior Management Analyst, City of Berkeley emailed me with a personal apology and a response that was well written and genuine. Noah gets my vote for employee of the month award for his sincere note. Center Street Parking Garage is one of the best garage's I've used in the Bay Area. . (I used to work in the City and know most of the public Garages in Downtown.) It's safe, well lit and reasonably priced if you arrive after 5:00pm. Matt says If you are in Berkeley attending the Freight and Salvage or the Greek Theater this garage is a great option. read more

We have parked in this garage several times and it is quite nice, and well-located to things in downtown Berkeley. In looking through the negative reviews (I always read those), I see that the bulk of these are folks giving bad reviews due to user error: Either they failed to read (or understand) the pricing policy, violated the four hour limit and then complained about their own failure. Or they did not read the closing time, and then complained about...wait for it... the closing time. So, the bulk of the negative reviews can be dismissed as user error. Came back to edit my post: Some of what I thought was "user error" seems not to be. I called them to check. For the 4 hour limit, yeah, that's on the user not reading signs. Overnight, though, is listed deceptively. It's $25 for the overnight PLUS any charges the day before and the day of pickup. So, showing up at 5 on a Saturday, for example, charges $9 for the night. Then add the $25 for overnight. Finally, since they open at noon on Sunday and you come between noon and 1, that's $3 more. So $37. Others have listed (here and on Google) paying more than that. So now having less trust of this place for overnight/ Within a day it's great - just read the signs for charges. Failure to do so is your own fault. Overnight is a different bag. read more

Center Street Parking Garage is the facility right across the street from Berkeley Rep and right next to Freight and Salvage. Gayle and I found that to be very convenient as we were in town to see Wuthering Heights at Berkeley Rep. The lot was well lit, clean, and at easy to park at the time we were there. Unfortunately, there is no reduced parking fee deal available through the Theatre. Getting out of garage was also fairly easy, although we were part of a larger Theatre crowd all competing for the small number of pay machines. At least they worked well and the line moved quickly. But a few more machines in strategic places would be an improvement. And as another Yelper mentioned, parking rates might require a minor degree in Math. Wuthering Heights clocked in at a little less than 3 hours and adding our arrival about 45 minutes early, we snagged a $10 parking rate before the $25 max rate would hit about a quarter of an hour later. But if we had decided to enjoy dinner or a drink after the play, the garage rate penalizes you accordingly. This example of math gymnastics is at least "honest" in comparison to the nearby Allston Garage, that charges you an extra day if you park overnight (while staying at a local hotel) and isn't even open on Sunday. And when you add my Berkeley parking experiences with the set of one-way streets, blocked access in places, and resulting weird drive arounds within the City, it really shouldn't be this hard. Or maybe the City just loves screwing with us? read more

This parking garage is closed until 12pm on Sunday, so if you park your car here overnight on a weekend, don't expect to get it out right away. On top of that, the card readers were broken and no one could leave when the garage *did* finally open. This was literally the worst experience we've ever had with a parking garage. $60 to have the car stuck in an unresponsive garage with payment readers that don't work. Nice. Do yourself a favor and use any other garage than this one. read more

Safe, secure, well-lit. I would use this again. Just be aware of the operating hours.

The pricing is tricky. Here's how it works: * If you park for less than 4 hours during the day, you will be charged $2.50 per hour. This is a good deal if you are parking for less than 4 hours since street parking is $3.50 per hour, maximum 2 hours on the street in a spot. * If you arrive before 9am, you will get the early bird deal, which is $15 all day as long as you leave by 6pm. This is also a good deal since the next cheapest spot is $17 at the Kittredge parking garage under the David Brower Center. * BUT!!! if you arrive after 9am and stay for more than 4 hours and 1 minute, this garage is a terrible deal! It will cost $25 flat rate for any amount of time more than 4 hours and 1 minute if you start your parking after 9am and before 5pm. read more

Center Street Parking Garage - Parking Near Me - Berkeley, California

East to find and park. Right next to Freight and Salvage Coffee house. Well lit and clean bathrooms. The ground level credit card machine was a bit wonky and i had to insert my visa card four times to get it to work. read more

To start with, an important warning - if you get to this garage before 5 pm, and you think you might leave your car there for even slightly longer than 4 hours, DO NOT PARK HERE (unless you are okay paying $25). More details on their bizarre rate structure below. Some basic review info: the location of this garage is handy for downtown Berkeley things, like the Freight & Salvage (excellent music venue), Berkeley Rep (top notch theater) and the Jazz School (great community music school), plus restaurants and schools, etc. It is a relatively new building, well lit, with elevators (that mostly work, but sometimes don't) and outside stairs (i.e. not too skanky). At the times I usually go there (evenings) it does not fill up. A lot of the spaces are "compact," so a bit snuggy. Overall pretty good. Now let's talk about what it costs. If you arrive after 5 pm, it costs a flat fee of $9 for any duration until closing (which I think is midnight). If you arrive before 5 pm, it costs $3 per hour for up to 4 hours. So four hours would cost you $12. BUT for any duration over 4 hours, it jumps to $25! Here is how I found this out: I arrived at the garage at 4:52 pm, attended an event at the Jazz School. Afterward, my daughter was hungry, so we went to get takeout from a nearby restaurant, which was a bit slow, so we didn't get back to the garage until about 9:20, or about 4 1/2 hours. Parking fee: $25. If I had arrived 8 minutes later, it would have been $9. If I had gotten back to the car 1/2 hour earlier, $12. Solution: if you get to the vicinity of the garage shortly before 5 pm, and are thinking doing something that might take awhile like having an early dinner, attending a show, and maybe getting some drinks or dessert afterwards, DO NOT GO IN TO THE GARAGE. Drive around for a bit looking for street parking, or double park (with your blinkers on, of course) and check your e-mails, or (very slowly) drop off your passengers at the passenger zone in front of Berkeley Rep. Just wait until 5 pm before driving in to the garage. Oh, and if you complain to the City about the $25 charge and ask for a refund of even just $13, they will tell you that they can't give refunds, that you need to talk to the garage operator (LAZ Parking), who will in turn tell you that they can't give you a refund because the rates are set by the City. Which is why I am writing this review. If even two people can use this information to avoid getting smacked with a $25 charge, it will cost them more than the $13 they would not refund me. And I would give it two stars if it wasn't a generally decent garage in such a good location. read more

I'm giving this 5 star review because of the awesome cleanliness of the women's public bathroom in the Center Street Garage. The cleaning staff deserve high praise, because it is spotless. I took the attached photos on two weekend afternoons in March 2022 and June 2023 (I've been meaning to post this review for a while). As you can see, very clean! You can find this women's public bathroom (and the men's, too) next to the garage entry located on Addison Street, between Shattuck and Milvia. There are also single-stall women's & men's bathroom next to the entry on Center Street, but this review does not include those bathrooms. Great job, cleaning staff! read more

See all

The parking garage was very clean and well lit. Everything went perfectly smoothly. There was even an attendant to help at the payment kiosk. I use the electric charge station for the first time with my vehicle. It seemed to go smoothly, but I was surprised The price was $1.50 per hour. So by the time I got my vehicle again it was only 8% and it was seven dollars! I don't know if that's normal. The location is great, and if I was in the area I would definitely park here again. After a certain hour (I think it was 5 PM) they have a flat rate of eight dollars for the evening. I prefer the sense of security of parking in the garage verses on the street. read more

Be aware if you prepay for parking you have to arrive exactly on the minute of your reservation or your code will say invalid ticket. The attendee did allow me in and out but I got lectured about arriving on time. My reservation was 10am and I arrived at 10:04am - I did contact ParkMobile app and they said that is not corrected if you prepay you can arrive anytime after your reserved time. The garage itself is very nice but I would consider other options based on this experience with the prepay timing. read more

Wow it's clean, new and beautiful. Well-lighted, too. However the night flat rate is $8 and the machine charged me $12. It took 10 minutes to sort it out with staff members, but they tell me they're working to fix this glitch. Overall though this garage will get me back spending time in Berkeley. read more

Whoever heard of a parking lot that CLOSES. Parked here for an event. Now my car is locked over night and I have to get a 30+ minute ride in the morning and pay an overnight fee. THANKS SO MUCH read more

I have to agree w/ Eric B's three star review. The garage was rebuilt in the past couple of years and the exterior is more interesting and attractive than the garage it replaced. It's clean and well lighted inside, but there are few disabled parking spaces near the elevators. Maybe it's because I'm used to Kaiser parking garages which have abundant parking disabled parking spaces, but there should be more here than there are. There are plenty of charging stations for electric vehicles. We ended up parking on the 5th floor, on the west side. The elevator down let us out by Center Street. The east side elevator lets out by Addison. We walked up Center to the passageway to Addison and through to the theatre. When we left after the play we walked over to the Addison entrance, which was more complicated than it would have been had we walked back through the passageway, down Center and had paid and taken that elevator back up. We found our way to the car eventually, but we spent more time wandering the upper garage floor than either of us liked. Next time we'll know, if we have to park in the garage again. As Eric observed, the cost for parking is $10. There is no longer a theatre discount. If you park 4 hours or more you pay the maximum day rate of $25, which is pretty steep. read more

Beware! Pricing signage is very misleading, leading to unexpectedly high fees. For example they post a 2.50$ hourly rate and underneath in smaller font a $8 evening flat rate after 5pm. They will charge the flat rate, not the hourly rate. They do this in other and more expensive variations as well from what I just saw in Google reviews. read more

Thought I was trapped, I hate their ticket machines, it would not accept my ticket after less than an hour, kept spitting it out, the 2 machines I tried did the same thing. Finally, the good part, pushed the "assistance" button and a nice guy came out in seconds. We went into his small office where another small ticket machine was, it wouldn't take it either. He said if I kept the ticket near other credit cards in my wallet, which I had, it could mess up the magnetic stripe. I do this all the time, why here does it not work? He made a new ticket, with a $2.50 charge which was fine. I would be ultra careful if I parked here again to keep my ticket somewhere else, like a shirt pocket. Too bad, this is a go-to lot for the Berkeley Art Museum, Center Street restaurants, Ippudo (where I was going). Parking on the street in a meter from now on. I really thought I was trapped in there with no way out. BAD. read more

I reserved a three hour parking on line and was charged $9.00 . The sign says $2,50 per hour so I assume there must be an extra charge if youvreserve on line. Not stated anywhere. don't stay longer than 4 hours or you will be charged $25.00. Found this out yesterday. read more

I absolutely do not recommend. My husband prepaid through ParkMobile so we didn't have to worry about if there were enough spots because we aren't from here so we aren't familiar with this garage. When we got there, we used our QR code to get in and we asked one of the attendants to make sure that we could use the same code on the way out. We were trying to leave our reservation at 9:30 even though we booked from 5:45-11:30. Our QR code was not coming up and after reading another review it could have been because we were leaving early which shouldn't matter as long as I don't stay past what I paid for. I called Center Street Parking and Christy or Christine said she'd have to charge us $9 to get out even though we already paid on ParkMobile and that it had happened to someone else the night prior. I asked why we couldn't provide our confirmation code and she said because ParkMobile is a 3rd party. So I asked why they allowed their business to be on ParkMobile if they don't honor it and she said, "Well when it works, it's fine." Yeah, thanks Capt Obvious but it's not working and it didn't work for the people last night either. Then she said, "I always tell people not to make a reservation because we have plenty of spots but the reservation may or may not work and then we have to charge you." So I again asked why they are advertised on ParkMobile if they know they frequently have issues from it and she said, "Because when it does work, it's fine." So UNHELPFUL. We ended up having to pay AGAIN. Choose a different garage. I wish I had read the reviews before we chose to spend our money on this dumb garage. read more

It's the closest garage to work, but I still prefer to park two blocks away at the 2020 Kittredge Street Garage (which may technically be called the Library Gardens Garage). Why? Because the Center Street garage feels ultra shady. It's not, but it feels that way. It's also pretty dangerous to walk through (although I do so often) because the exit ramps from the second level are very short, so someone careening down one of those ramps is unlikely to have enough lead time to brake before he or she injures or kills you. I also don't understand why they've painted center lines rather than plain old arrows. When you're driving and you see a line, do you automatically assume that you're supposed to drive with that line between your wheels? See, in the United States, lines on pavement are borders. It takes quite a bit of driving-brain-reprogramming to drive on a line rather than next to it, and having to think too much while you're driving may distract your actual driving, so you may careen into some walking-through pedestrian on the ground level. The rates are slightly cheaper or slightly more expensive than other nearby garages, depending on when you park, how long you stay, and when you leave. The elevators are gross and feel dangerous. There are too many levels. For parking, it's not as bad as the Allston Way Garage, but that's not saying much, plus I also walk through the Allston Way Garage all the time and never feel unsafe doing that. read more

See all

Excellent if you are gong to Berkeley Rep. BUT beware of the scam-to-get-you-in pricing. Sign says $2.50 per hour. Another sign says $15 for the evening. I was there 5 hours beginning at 4:20 on Sunday and had to pay $25. No atttendants so how do you try to reconcile the extra charges with a machine? read more

Great garage, good timing since they're updating they're systems as I write this review! No longer is it the stands with people collecting and giving money, but replaced with machines to take our jobs! Honesty I preferred when there were people in the booth because I've always gotten great and friendly service every time I'm there, despite the time or the rush. Like all Berkeley garages, it's crammed into a small space with sharp, tight turns and no room for mistake. Best way to park here is to drive slow and back in, even though they have signs that tell you not to. I don't know the regular prices, but anytime after 5pm till close, you only pay a flat rate of 5.00! They do take cash and card. Have security guards. Bathroom. Terrible reception. Great place. Convenient location and easy access! read more

See all

1. BE WARNED: there's a tricky-sleazy aspect to this garage's pricing, which nailed me recently. I'll suggest how to "game" it, if you choose. Background: I've lived in Berkeley several times. I have experience parking downtown, including in this garage (many rate-changes ago). Today in this central downtown area, metered street parking at popular times costs $2.75 an hour. The two garages (this one and the Allston-Way garage) $2/hour. But with complications: Its website https://www.parkme.com/lot/89998/center-street-garage-berkeley-ca indicated basic hourly fee $2, and a "daily maximum" of $20, so I chose this garage. The tricky bit: the $2 rate applies ONLY for four hours; at 4:01 the charge jumps to $20 for the day -- the same as 12 hours parking, or a "lost ticket." This trap is FAR from explicit on the website or posted signs. (It only became clear when I telephoned the firm for explanation.) I stayed slightly over four hours, therefore was charged essentially $5 for each hour I parked. In my opinion, this amounts to fraud. I believe many small-claims judges would agree and order a refund, IF it were worth customers' trouble to file claims-of-plaintiff and serve summons for a dispute of $12. That it isn't worth their trouble seems a point not lost on LAZ Parking (the firm that operates this garage). Had I known about this sly pricing, I'd have left a few mins earlier, or moved my vehicle before four hours. In fact, since the current system operates via a paper ticket (i.e. does nothing to track your specific car), it would work just to drive out before 4 hours, pay the $8 due, and drive right back in, taking a new ticket for another interval of up to four hours. 2. Note, incidentally: ALL earlier Yelp reviews (and especially, photos) are obsolete about RATES. The rate schedule changes periodically, and changed in the last year to the numbers I gave above. See the garage's own website (above) for current rates. Since the original reviewers don't bother to do so, there should be a Yelp mechanism to flag and remove photos of text content that's out of date, therefore misleading! read more

Got to the garage after 11pm to meet up with some friends at a nearby restaurant. Was given no warning that this "automated" garage closed at midnight. Came back after dinner to find the gates locked and my car essentially impounded in this lot overnight until they open in the morning. $31 for the "convenience" of not having access to get my car out overnight. What a ripoff. read more

The Honest Truth: I work right across the street so this is my parking garage of choice. Parking is expensive everywhere in Berkeley, but I've never had a problem finding parking in here. The ramps going up and down are pretty narrow and it can be dangerous so make sure you are always watching out for other cars. Pretty clean and the staff is nice. The Details: The price for a month pass is $150. I've never had a problem getting my pass to work and its pretty easy to get one (although you have to go to another garage on durant and telegraph to get it). The staff has always been pleasant to me although our interactions are very rare. The garage is kept pretty clean and the parking spaces are pretty easy to park in (not to small). There is always parking available (although sometimes only on the top level) but overall I'm pleased with parking my car there and I feel safe leaving it there. Beware of people who take the ramps down to fast. Many times cars will come out very quickly and almost hit you. read more

Just had to post a review. Was looking for information on what's going on with this facility. Apparently, it will close for business on June 30th to be torn down and replaced with a newer larger facility. This place was my goto parking facility when visiting Berkeley. Plenty of nice big spots to avoid door dings. Next to a pillar or on the sides is always good. Hope the new facility will be similar. I just had a laugh reading all the negative comments. People in this country really don't read signs or have the reading comprehension of a first grader. All the things folks complain about are clearly posted. Evening flat rate applies if you enter after 5pm. It's posted on the sign. That the garage closes at midnight is also posted. Nothing here is any different from other garages. If you enter/exit outside any of the special times, regular rates apply. Just like everywhere else. I mostly park there for only a couple of hours max during the day, or then in the evening after 5pm to eat dinner or attend a performance. What I was charged was always according to the posted rates. read more

In case you're like me and don't understand their parking rates... I believe the summary is that if you park for more than 4 hours, you no longer pay the hourly rate and instead pay the flat rate of $17. I parked there for about 10 hours and paid $17. Anyway that being said, parking in here is not bad but those narrow entrance/exits to get in and out of the levels are so claustrophobia-inducing...... I would rather be parallel parking on the streets thank you very much..... read more

I parked at this site and after coming back to pay it was $25 . I just parked for less than 4 hours. It mentioned $2 per hour. Even if the charge was $2 per half hour after an hour the maths do not do justice. It mentioned whole day $15 ? Something fishy or something wrong with the machines ? Overall the parking is clean, well lit read more

So after driving around for 30 minutes looking for reasonably cheap parking during the summer on a Saturday, I stumbled upon this garage. This is actually a really nice garage. Pros - close to Bart, open late, all automated, clean, public bathroom, very safe feeling, close to the theater, all indoors. Cons - Expensive compared to other options. You can google the garage to get the prices. 1 hour = $1, 2 hours = $3, 3 hours = $10, 4+ hours = $15. If its snowing I will park here again. If not, I will park in one of the outdoor lots. Berkeley is a very safe area and if I can save $5 for a days worth of parking its worth it. read more

Absolutely horrible! Parkers beware and make sure you know what you're paying for. They have an hourly rate and a daily rate. There are 2 options to pay. One is to get a ticket and pay when you leave, and the other is to card in. I think I did both. Instructions are SO ambiguous. I can't believe I double paid. Waste of $. Just read the instructions carefully. It's also dirty in here, as expected in dt Berkeley read more

F this place. Their rates/ pricing is super unclear. $20 parking...man alive, I thought it was $2 per hour. It feels like rates increase every year at this place- not cool ...not cool. read more

I can't understand Berkeley Council having a parking lot that closes at 12:00midnight, locking all the cars up there overnight. If Berkeley are promoting the city center as an entertainment venue, if they need to close, it should be when local establishments close. Getting there at 12.01am means your car is locked away until 5:15am. It is totally ridiculous. I know someone who needed to get a taxi to Hayward. read more

Great location. I arrived at 4p and instead of going to a park or stalling around at wait for the $5 flat rate evening parking that starts at 5p, I decided I would park and explore Berkeley for the additional $2. Well, when I went to pay at 10:30p, my bill was not $7, it was $20. I think that's a cheap shot. That extra hour yielded downtown Berkeley some tax dollars when otherwise they would have gotten $0. Cheap. I may come back to park there again, but not before 5p. Oh, and I would think maybe they could spring for a few more machines to pay them. read more

I paid $20 for 4h09m parking. I didn't see signs posted there is a special event. The rates was different from posted sign and website. Also, operating hours posted there was different from those posted on website. I can't predict their rates and hours from contradicted information obtained above. The location is convenient. But paths were narrow and lines of flow were complicated. I recommend this garage, if you think you're lucky enough to predict your rates. read more

PRICE GOUGERS I encourage anyone who has a negative experience with this parking garage to report them to the Better Business Bureau at https://www.bbb.org/ I could tell my long story about how I ended up getting charged $20 instead of the $8 I expected to pay, but lots of other people have shared similar experiences on this page already. Basically, they are not clear about their pricing scheme. I don't care how much they charge, but be upfront about it. It is not that hard. And while I am kind of relieved to see I am not the only person who has run into this issue, I am appalled that so many people are getting gouged this way and it is still happening. Since it is impossible to get help through the employees there, the only way to help make sure this doesn't happen to other people is to report them to the BBB. If enough people report this business, the BBB will have to take action. It takes only a few minutes to fill out the report. read more

I was able to speak to Matt, the manager, and obtained a refund for my friend without much argument. This garage has booby traps. To get the evening rate, DO NOT enter prior to 5 PM. You will be charged the day rate for ALL time you are parked if you enter at 4:59 PM. If you are disabled, don't just take a ticket- call for assistance. read more

It's very unclear about the price,and try to confuse people . It says after 5pm, it's evening flat fee $5. But I arrived 4:20pm, and leave at 8:40. Got changed $20. I thought they will change 1 hour for regular and after 5pm will $5, so maximum will less than $10, but it's only my thinking. And there is a sign in the entrance said $2/h, up to 4 hours, I misunderstood it's if you park more than 4 hours, will be $2/h, but they charge $2+$4+$8+..., that's how I got $20 bill. That's very unfair!!! There was another lady have the same situation when we both went the pay machine, and the customer service can't help at all. Don't go there. read more

I parked here to go to 24 Hour Fitness. The flat rate was previously $5.00, but today it was $20. I will use BART from now on. $20 to park for 1 hour is hardly worth it for a self-service garage, especially since the garage is dirty and the stairwell smells of urine. read more