Often. Long-term parking can run $600-$800/mo in many areas of SF. While a ticket can be up to $50 (sometimes more), you won't necessarily get them every time, and it's often hard to find legal, convenient parking, or you'll pay $20+/day for it.

So yeah, it can be, particularly when convenience is figured in.

Parking fees are one thing that put me off the Ruby on Rails startups in the city :-)