CARPARKS in some Orchard Road malls are getting more expensive, but cheaper parking can still be found.

On Wednesday, my paper visited over 20 carparks at shopping malls, hotels and office buildings in the Orchard Road district, and found five places to park on weekdays for under $5 for a three-hour stretch from 11am to 2pm.

Granted, the lots are further away from the main shopping belt.

Located in the heart of the Orchard vicinity, Tangs Plaza charges as much as $9 for parking during the 11am to 2pm timeslot.

However, charges at at least three places including Plaza Singapura, The Cathay and LeMeridien drop to almost a third of that for the same timing.

Plaza Singapura offers one of the cheapest parking rates for a weekday afternoon. From 10am to 6pm, the first hour is free.

The second hour costs $1.05, and subsequently, 30 cents for every 15 minutes. Three hours there will cost $2.25.

The first-hour waiver was well-received by SAF musician Hussin Hozari, 47, who parks there every week while waiting for his wife to finish work in Robinson Road. He said: "I save $2 or $3 each time."

At nearby The Cathay, parking from 8am to 9.59pm costs $1 an hour. The Cathay's management will be reviewing parking rates in June.

Parking at Le Meridien Singapore, meanwhile, costs $1.20 per hour.

In the heart of Orchard Road, open-air URA carparks with coupon parking offer a cheaper alternative, but it may be harder to find a lot.

It costs 50 cents every half-hourly to park at the 268-lot carpark next to Wheelock Place, as well as along Claymore
Road and Claymore Hill, which has 35 parking lots, from 8.30am to 10pm.