Re “Balboa debacle getting worse” (Jan. 25): The city lacks imagination as it seeks to squeeze more money from nonresidents by imposing two-tier pricing to park in Balboa Park. Consider this idea: Expand two-tier pricing throughout the city.
Charge nonresidents more than residents for every economic activity. Nonresidents will pay more to visit Balboa Park museums and city restaurants, for the toilet paper bought at Costco or beauty products at the mall, for traffic violation fines, more for the balloon animals from street vendors. The incremental revenue will be segregated from the monies paid by residents and remitted to the city.
City residents will need to prove our status. All we have to do is carry copies of our property tax or utility bills with us at all times.
My plans may have flaws, but our city leaders are sure to embrace them as they are counterproductive, nightmarish to administer and just plain stupid.
— Bill Eiffert, Carmel Valley
As a resident who visited Balboa Park multiple times a week to walk my dogs, my blood boils that we are now being taxed to visit a public space. It turns something that belonged to all of us into something only some of us can afford. For working families, seniors, students and people living paycheck to paycheck, this isn’t a small inconvenience, it’s a barrier. This policy disproportionately hurts low-income residents. It’s a tax on people who rely on public spaces for their health, joy and connection.
We go to Balboa Park because many of our neighborhoods aren’t walkable and our parks are outdated. Balboa Park fills gaps created by long-standing infrastructure and environmental failures. When access to green space is restricted, public health suffers and existing health disparities are pushed even deeper. Our parks should be welcoming, accessible and free, not another bill added to an already unaffordable city.
— Martha Abraham, San Diego