Big changes are coming this week to paid parking in Balboa Park, including “free parking” passes for city residents, expanded signage about new lot-specific rules and an information hotline to help confused residents.
City officials plan to announce those changes Thursday and also reveal that no citations will be written until March 16 despite the new rules taking effect Monday.
No action will be taken against illegally parked cars next week, when the city plans to focus on education by having employees on-site to help anyone confused. During the week of March 9, written warnings will be issued, but no fines.
While paid parking has been in effect since Jan. 5, there hasn’t been any enforcement. Despite that, the city has pulled in more than $1 million in revenue from purchases of day passes and long-term permits.
Other changes taking effect Monday include ending daily enforcement at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m., expanding parking for workers and volunteers and allowing drivers with blue disabled placards to park for free anywhere in the park.
The changes aim to soften the impact of the highly controversial paid parking program and correct course after its rollout drew nearly universal criticism as disorganized, confusing and poorly planned.
The biggest change is the introduction of “free parking” passes for city residents, which will let them park for free any time in seven of the park’s 12 lots — all but the five lots that are most convenient to the park’s central mesa.
Before the change, the only free parking for residents and everyone else has been the relatively inconvenient lower Inspiration Point lot, and free parking there has been only for a maximum of three hours.
Dramatically expanding free parking for city residents to six more lots — and making it all day instead of three hours — is a major concession agreed to earlier this month by Mayor Todd Gloria and City Council President Joe LaCava.
Residents still must get their city residency verified online by providing one document such as a driver’s license, utility bill, property tax bill or rental lease. And the fee is still $5. Verifications must be renewed every three years.
Those who have had their residency verified to qualify for discounted day-pass parking must return to the online portal at sandiego.thepermitportal.com to add the “free parking” pass to their account.
The “free parking” passes are available now in the portal, which was recently updated. City officials are encouraging residents to get verified before an expected rush this weekend that could slow down the process.
City residents who want discounts in the park’s five premium lots — Space Theater, Casa de Balboa, Alcazar, Organ Pavilion and South Carousel — still must buy discounted day passes in the portal.
But city officials plan to announce Thursday that verified residents will soon get the long-requested ability to buy discounted day passes at kiosks in the park instead of online only.
A new hotline, which is already available, aims to help people confused by the rules, the permit process, the portal, residency verification or anything else related.
People can use the hotline, 1-800-350-6945, or attend an in-person information session. A schedule of locations and times is available at sandiego.gov/digital-navigator-program/schedule. Assistance is available in both English and Spanish.
City officials are scrambling this week to put new stickers on about 300 parking signs so they reflect the new rules that will take effect Monday. The city is also using larger A-frame signs during the rollout.
Parking was expanded for workers and volunteers as part of the city’s deal. They always have been able to park for free in Level 2 lots, but the deal shifted two lots from premium to Level 2 — Palisades and Bea Evenson.
The kiosks in those two lots have recently been reprogrammed to reflect the new pricing and rules.
Because the new lots will reduce the number of workers parking far from their destinations, the city is eliminating on-demand morning shuttles it has been providing for workers and volunteers. But on-demand nighttime shuttles will still run from 8 to 11 p.m.
The green trams from the lower Inspiration Point lot will continue to run as usual from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. They are open to everyone, not just employees and volunteers. People parking there must register their cars at a kiosk to get the three free hours of parking.
Allowing disabled placards in every parking spot in the park is a big change. People with them have previously been allowed only in spots marked blue.
The changes have no impact on new parking meters installed recently on city streets on the edges of the park and just outside the park.
While many critics of paid parking in Balboa Park have praised the city for making concessions, many others are still lobbying for complete elimination of paid parking.