Last week, staff from the city of San Diego’s Parks & Rec department released a framework for long-term parking in Balboa Park, one that proposed charging residents $300 per year to park in the city’s crown jewel. Visitors, whether from Del Mar or Delaware, would have had to pay $375 annually.
On Thursday, though, after pushback from the community, adjusted figures from staffers were announced, with a significantly reduced rate: $150 a month, a number in line with one first proposed by some Balboa Park stakeholders when the city council was considering the plan back in September.
Out-of-towners, however, would now be the ones shelling out $300 a year for unlimited visits to Balboa Park under the new plan. A three-month pass for city residents would drop to $60 from the originally proposed $80, while monthly passes would remain at $30, $40 for visitors. A quarterly pass for visitors would actually swell to $120, up from the first proposal of $100.
The passes would apply to any lots in the park, but not for the zoo lot or streets in and near the park, according to the city documents.
On Tuesday, NBC 7 spoke to some members of the Redwood Bridge Club in Balboa Park, some of the most vocal opponents of paid parking in the park since the city took up the issue. They said that paying $300 a year just wasn’t in the cards for many of their players: “The park is going to become a park for the rich people,” said one.
Philippe Gagne, who plays bridge there several times a week, said he didn’t think the city should be balancing its budget on the backs of bridge players, especially senior citizens on a fixed income.
“I lose all the socialization, and that’s what keeps me healthy,” Gagne said. “That’s what keeps us, most of us healthy.”
On Tuesday, the city said the rates were still in flux — just how in flux was revealed on Thursday.
The city council could take the issue up as early as next week.
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