San Diego now has a plan for charging for parking in Balboa Park. The change is meant to help close the city's budget deficit.
Why it matters
San Diego was facing a big budget crunch. To stay in the black, the City Council had to do some things it never wanted to do before. One way was to make people pay to park their cars in Balboa Park.
Last week, the mayor’s office gave the first look at charging for parking. But the mayor didn’t even touch on what could be the stickiest and most difficult part of an already complex plan: What to do about the zoo.
Let’s put that aside for a minute and go through parking everywhere else.
By the numbers
- The city would install parking meters on the following streets: Balboa Drive, Presidents Way, Quince Drive, Village Place, Juniper Street, Park Boulevard, El Prado, and Sixth Avenue. The rate for these would be $2.50 an hour.
- Then there are 12 parking lots inside the park. The mayor wants to divide them into three tiers.
- The top tier are those prize spots — the Organ Pavilion, and the lots by the Fleet Science Center and the Natural History Museum. If you get a spot there, you’re in such good shape. In coming months, though, you’d have to pay $15 a day for those prime lots, if the mayor has his way.
- The second tier lots, like the Veterans Museum and Starlight Bowl will be $5 a day.
- Then there’s the lowest tier, the big lot known as Inspiration Point. That is always a good option even on the busiest days. It will be free for two hours.
- San Diego residents would be eligible for a 50% discount off the highest-tier rate. The city plans to create an “account-based” permit.
- The city is working on a separate solution for park employees and volunteers.
At the zoo
Now the elephant in the room: the San Diego Zoo. It has three giant parking lots that will still be free. So people could pack into them more than ever.
The city owns all the land the zoo sits on. But the zoo’s lease is a big, complex thing. The mayor and council want to charge for parking in the zoo’s lots as well. There are more than 3,000 spaces there. If they remain free, many non-zoo visitors will use them.
If the city starts charging for parking at the zoo, the zoo would want some of that money. But that would require renegotiating the zoo’s lease, which could take a year or more.
Looking ahead
For now, paid parking on the other lots and streets is going forward.
The City Council will hear the proposal at the end of July. If approved, the meters could be installed in fall 2025.
