Backlash is reaching a fever pitch as San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s plan to fill a budget deficit by enacting downtown Special Event Parking Regulations moves closer to reality.
Downtown residents and merchants are upset, the Gaslamp Quarter Association has issued a stinging rebuke and even the San Diego Padres, usually a reliable ally of the city, are crying foul.
After Gloria’s administration oversaw a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar deficit that had to be balanced this past summer, surge-pricing for parking was put on the table. The city council had already recently voted to double fees to $2.50 per hour.
Starting September 1, the city has called for a quadrupling of the rate, to $10 per hour, during large-crowd special events at Petco Park in East Village.
“This is a money grab,” East Village Residents Group board member David Spiewak says. “The city has a spending problem and now they’re passing the buck to us. We give them more money just to make more bad decisions. This will not be good for business downtown.”
Robyn Spencer, who serves on several community boards, says none of the 750 businesses in East Village were “consulted/asked/informed of this move. Talk about stifling business. Our workforce can’t afford these astronomical rates just to come to work.”
A statement from the Padres reads: “The city’s decision to raise parking meter rates by 700 percent 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…
“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 Padres were informed before the rollout began, according to a city of San Diego spokesperson. Regarding where the revenue will go, the spokesperson says: “By state and local law, parking meter revenues must be reinvested to benefit parking and mobility-related needs within the meter zone where they were collected.”
Gaslamp Quarter Association Executive Director Michael Trimble also feels blindsided by the city’s parking fee plan.
“This move ensures that the public is paying, quite literally, for the mismanagement of the city’s budget,” Trimble says. “…placing the burden almost exclusively on downtown businesses, residents and visitors is not fair, and it’s not the way to build trust and support.”
Trimble notes that in 2025 there will be 18 more Petco Park events (and more if the Padres reaches the postseason) and 16 concerts at the ballpark with more than 10,000 attendees. That’s the attendance number that triggers the Special Events Parking Regulations increase.
Trimble points out in 2026 there will be a minimum of 81 Padres home games and 25-30 special events or concerts at Petco with more than 10,000 attendees. That means surge pricing will be in effect nearly one third of the year.
The $10-per-hour fee at parking meters is slated to kick in two hours before a special event at Petco and remain in place for four hours after the event starts. (Note: That means metered parking would be in effect as late as 11 p.m. on some nights.)
The zone for surge pricing includes areas that are ½-mile distance from Petco Park. That includes Broadway to the north, State Street to the west, Interstate 5 to the east and Harbor Drive and 16th Street to the south of the ballpark.
The city of San Diego responded to several questions emailed by The Sun to a spokesperson.
“Curb space in the public right of way is a limited, valuable public resource that must be managed accordingly,” The spokesperson says. “San Diego’s parking fees are reasonably set based on detailed studies of parking usage to effectively manage availability. These updates will bring the city’s practices and pricing in line with most other major cities in California.”
To the question of confusion among motorists not sure if surge pricing is in effect, the city says new signage, QR codes on signs and a website will provide the necessary information to drivers about parking rates.
For those accustomed to paying for two hours at a time at most parking meters, the city says the meter will be adjusted to allow them to collect for six hours on special-event days.
Since few people carry $60 worth of change with them, meters will accept credit cards. The city’s spokesperson says “offloading merchant fees (for credit cards) is not yet in effect.”
The city-owned Park It On Market multilevel-parking structure will not be affected by the new surge pricing. At last check, it cost $16 per evening to park in the lot located at Sixth Avenue and Market Street.
It doesn’t appear that animosity aimed at parking fees will simmer down any time soon.
“The city’s changes to parking fees are outrageous and deeply unpopular,” GQA’s Trimble concludes. “If the city were truly concerned with balancing the budget while also considering the community impact, they would not place the majority of this burden on downtown.” SDSun
