Hours extended for parking meters in these San Diego neighborhoods
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- San Diego drivers will now face extended parking meter hours in several neighborhoods, including Pacific Beach and Mid-City, as part of new city regulations.
The changes, announced by city staff in a press release Thursday, are part of a series of sweeping new rules approved by the city council in June. Meters in Pacific Beach will now run until 10 p.m. instead of 8 p.m., and in Mid-City, meters will run until 8 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. Additionally, parking meters will be enforced on Sundays in certain areas.
What residents are saying
"We live somewhere where it's so expensive to be already like we should be able to go out and park and not have to pay $5 to $10 to hang out somewhere for the day," said Hunter Mannix, a San Diego resident.
"Basically now as soon as you get out of work now you have to pay for parking versus before it was free, so they’re hurting the working class,”" said Rolando Ochoa, another local resident.
"It's taking away more from my money; other people’s money," expressed Jocelyn Villanueva, who works in North Park.
Reason for the increase
The city expects the extended meter hours to generate an estimated $2 million in revenue over the current fiscal year. This revenue is intended to fund infrastructure improvements in the areas where the money is collected.
Earlier this year, city leaders introduced other parking changes, such as adding more meters and charging $10 per hour at meters near Petco Park, in an effort to address a quarter of a billion dollar budget gap.
City crews have already put up new stickers to inform drivers of the changes. Later this month and into next, the extended meter hours will be implemented in Uptown and Downtown, although areas by the waterfront will not be affected as they are managed by the San Diego Unified Port District.
A city spokesperson mentioned that when meters are enforced on Sundays in residential areas, residents will have the opportunity to buy parking permits, though the exact timing for this is unclear.
With the implementation of these new parking regulations, San Diego aims to address budgetary challenges while investing in local infrastructure. However, the changes have sparked concerns among residents about the financial impact on the community.
FOX 5/KUSI's Jennifer Franco contributed to this report.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KSWB. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KSWB staff before being published.
