Ten years ago, when Bob Beal paid $7,500 for a parking space on Beacon Hill, some of his friends thought he was nuts.

But this year, two spots in the same garage changed hands for $135,000 each - and 10 more buyers put their names on a waiting list. So who's nuts now?"I'd say it looks like it was a pretty good investment," Beal said. "Wouldn't you?"

Of course, not all parking in this city is so expensive. A space in the garage under the Boston Common goes for $110 a month. All you have to do is sign up and wait your turn - which, at the present rate, would come in about seven years, according to the state agency that runs the 1,500-car garage.

On an average day, according to a recent study, 99 percent of the spaces in the financial district are filled by 10 a.m. By noon, the occupancy rate rises to 102 percent - the extra 2 percent reflecting illegally parked vehicles.

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While many major cities have similar problems, Boston's is particularly acute, because the parking supply has been frozen since 1973, when the federal Environmental Protection Agency and a state environmental agency set a cap of 35,500 spaces in an effort to control smog.

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