The City of San Diego is rolling out special event pricing for downtown parking meters starting Sept. 1.
It will affect meter locations within a half mile of Petco Park. Rates at those meters will jump from $2.50 per hour to $10 per hour during events that attract 10,000 people or more.
Not everyone is happy about the change.
“Earlier this year they raised it to $2.50 and now they're going to raise it to $10. That's a pretty significant change for approximately 100 days a year that's going to be happening,” said Gaslamp Quarter Association President Michael Trimble.
His organization represents more than 400 businesses.
The surge pricing zone includes the Gaslamp District, much of the East Village and surrounding neighborhoods downtown.
He’s worried about losing workers and customers due to new parking prices.
“It would be a tremendous impact to the business community, the workers that work down here and also in East Village, and all the residents as well,” Trimble said of the new special event parking zone.
His organization is not alone in opposition.
The East Village Association and the San Diego Chapter of the California Restaurant Association are also against the new parking meter rates.
San Diego City Council Member Stephen Whitburn voted in favor of parking reform changes back in June. He represents District 3, which includes the affected area. KPBS reached out to his office for comment, but he was not available.
Rachel Laing is director of communications with the mayor's office. She said the funds earned from the new program go back into the special event zone.
“You're going to see, over time, improved sidewalks, improved mobility enhancements, streetlights, signage,” Laing said.
She also said special event parking rates are common in other major cities, like San Francisco.
City officials this year balanced the budget in part by increasing parking rates and other fees across San Diego — including game-day and special event parking downtown.
“Long before our budget woes, this effort was in effect,” Laing said. “We'd been doing parking demand studies and we'd been making all sorts of efforts to comprehensively overhaul how we do parking in San Diego.”
The surge pricing window begins two hours before the event and continues for four hours after an event starts, maxing out at six hours total.
That means drivers could pay up to $60 to park at a meter near the ballpark.
The city lists 17 special events in September alone, 14 of which are Padres games.
“The city’s decision to raise parking meter rates by 700% since last year, reaching $10 per hour before and during events at Petco Park, will make it significantly more expensive for fans, workers, and residents to park on the streets surrounding the ballpark,” a Padres spokesperson said in a written statement.
“The city made this decision without meaningful input from key stakeholders, including the Padres organization. We have not yet received information regarding how the new parking revenue will be reinvested locally but look forward to better understanding the city’s plan,” the statement continued.
Laing said the community gave a lot of feedback on the overall parking program and local organizations were aware of the special event rate change.
She said city crews are finishing the installation of 400 special event zone signs in the area ahead of the program kickoff.
Trimble is hoping for a compromise — reduced hours for special event parking surge pricing.
“There are a lot of cities within San Diego that don't even have meters. So why is the burden placed on downtown exclusively, (rather) than looking at other areas for ways to raise revenue?,” he said.
Trimble’s big concern is next year.
“It's really about when the new season rolls around. It's 81 days a year with the Padres and however many big concerts the Padres are going to have,” he said.
Vehicles with a disabled placard or license plate will continue to be able to park at meters throughout the city for free, including in the special event zone during events.
Laing said people can avoid paying parking meter fees by using public transportation.
