The issue of increasing paid parking in downtown San Diego has moved from the public ire stage to the political arena.
Recall that as part of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s attempt to balance last year’s budget, Special Event Surge Pricing at downtown parking meters went into effect. When the San Diego Padres play their 81 home games at Petco Park in East Village the cost of hourly parking at meters quadruples from $2.50 to $10. That price lasts six hours (beginning two hours before game start time) and covers a wide swath of city blocks in East Village, the Gaslamp Quarter and beyond.
When the Padres opened their season on March 26, the Downtown San Diego Partnership, California Restaurant Association San Diego Chapter, and San Diego County Lodging Association released a joint statement.
The statement claims downtown San Diego should be welcoming Padres fans but is actually sending an opposite message.
“Downtown’s vitality depends on it being easy to access for everyone,” the joint statement reads. “By increasing metered parking to as much as $10 per hour during special events, we are not inviting people downtown with open arms — we are effectively greeting them with an entrance fee. These increased rates create an unnecessary barrier for the very people who keep downtown thriving — workers getting to their jobs, residents returning home, families enjoying a night out, and visitors supporting our local and small businesses.”
In response to the surge pricing, San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo proposed a 5-5-5 plan. It calls for the parking fee to drop to $5 per hour, last for five hours, and be enforced at just five blocks around Petco.
Campillo’s office said he is open to a compromise on those numbers and is participating in a listening campaign along with the DSDP.
“Since Opening Day, the city is looking at increased parking revenue and not at losses of [tax revenue] by businesses that are losing money because the public may be going to games but they’re not staying afterward to visit downtown businesses,” DSDP VP of Government Affairs Justine Murray said.
Campillo and the DSDP will present their listening tour findings to the city council’s Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on April 16. If a new fee structure passes the committee it will go to the full city council for consideration.
Adoption of a new downtown parking fee structure would call for a change to a city ordinance. It would not require placement on an election ballot.
That’s different from other efforts in the works to reinstate free parking at Balboa Park and to preemptively ban parking fees at area beaches and bays. Proponents of those actions are hoping to get on the November 2026 general election ballot. SDSun
