Parking in the Palisades lot in Balboa Park will now be free for city residents. (Photo by Thomas Murphy/Times of San Diego)
This post has been updated.
Widespread backlash to paid parking in Balboa Park has finally pushed Mayor Todd Gloria to back down from his steadfast support for the unpopular policy by expanding the park’s free parking lots for city residents.
Gloria’s reversal also spelled the end of a council-supported effort to suspend paid parking in the park indefinitely.
The mayor announced Friday that starting March 2, six additional lots in the park would now boast free parking — but only for verified city residents. He also trimmed two hours from when paid parking is enforced in the park, allowing people to park for free after 6pm, instead of 8pm.
City residents will still need to pay for the park’s most desirable lots, at $5 for up to four hours and $8 for a dull day. Non-residents will still need to pay in most of the park.
Gloria’s announcement came three days before the City Council was set to consider suspending the park’s paid parking program indefinitely, after a tumultuous rollout that included protests, vandalism of parking meters and widespread confusionover the deeply unpopular policy.
Monday’s vote will no longer happen, Council President Joe LaCava announced in a Friday statement.
“I recognize that with today’s announcements this conversation may not yet be over,” LaCava said. “My colleagues and I recognize the impacts paid parking has had on residents, Balboa Park institutions, and the many clubs. The Mayor’s reforms address these impacts and align with our calls for action.”
Councilmember Sean-Elo Rivera, who led the suspension proposal with LaCava, also supported Gloria’s changes. The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, a group representing park institutions, likewise celebrated the mayor’s shift.
Councilmember Kent Lee, who was also part of the push, said he is still not satisfied with Gloria’s reforms.
The six new lots that will now be free for residents include: Marston Point, in the southwest corner of the park, near Bankers Hill; Upper Inspiration Point, at the corner of Park Blvd. and Presidents Way; the Federal lot, behind Starlight Bowl and the Comic-Con Museum; the Palisades lot in front of the Comic-Con Museum; the Pepper Grove lot on Park Blvd., next to the playground and near the Fleet Science Center; and the Bea Evanson lot, adjacent to the Bea Evanson Fountain, next to the San Diego Natural History Museum.
Until Friday, Gloria had remained defiant in the face of resident anger and abandoned support from other elected officials. Two councilmembers in early January urged him to delay the start of the program, anticipating its launch problems.
He rejected that appeal, and continued to insist the city needed the revenue generated by paid parking as councilmembers brought forward a measure to indefinitely pause the program.
But the council appeared to build a veto-proof majority to overcome his opposition. Now, he’s maintained some paid parking in the park — including in most of the park’s lots for non-city residents — by expanding the availability of free parking for residents.
“Good governing also means listening,” Gloria said. “This change will reduce revenue, and I have received a commitment from the City Council President as well as other councilmembers to identify other service-level reductions in order to keep the budget balanced.”
The city was already facing a $17 million hole in this year’s budget, in large part thanks to delaying paid parking in Balboa Park from when it was supposed to go into effect this summer.
Lee said in a statement Friday that Gloria’s announcement did not accomplish his goal to suspend paid parking for residents in the entire park.
“I appreciate that Mayor Gloria is now taking steps to respond to the outpouring of frustration and concern that San Diegans have expressed for months regarding the implementation of Balboa Park parking,” he said.
But Lee said the changes don’t do enough to address the community’s concerns, and deprive the public of an opportunity for a full debate on parking in Balboa Park, a vote to provide free parking for residents throughout the park and a discussion on how the city should address its budget situation.
This post has been updated to include a statement and response from Councilmember Kent Lee.
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