First Day of Paid Parking in Balboa Park — How Did It Go?

by Lu Rehling

Confusion was the order of the day in Balboa Park on January 5th , and no wonder, with info about the city’s new parking policy and rates missing and mixed throughout the Central Mesa and beyond.

As Visitor Center reps reported that they were fielding questions and complaints all day, one major block to even figuring out the new parking regime was signage. Some are just not there.

For example, there is none to identify which parking lots cost what under the tiered parking system. So, consider your options:

To find out what parking costs at any given lot, you can check at the payment kiosk for that lot. Could be $16 dollars a day or $10, and maybe with partial day parking available at a lower cost, or maybe not. If you pull in, go up to the kiosk, tap it; then, if you don’t like what you see, you can always turn around and exit that lot to try another, hoping to get luckier.

Next, if that doesn’t work out, you can enjoy driving back to the closer lot that you’d checked out in the first place. But wait, wait!–the first rate that you see on the kiosk screen actually may not be the correct one for you, IF you’re a city resident AND already have registered for discounted parking (which, by the way, cannot be done on the spot and costs $5 up front online, with a two-day wait to confirm). In that case, presumably, your registered resident rate won’t come up until after you enter your license plate number.

Alternatively, you can check your phone for the colored-coded map on the city’s Balboa Park parking website (there’s a QR code leading to that site on an easel sign at some lots, though definitely not all) and try to sort that out as you drive around. Obviously, that will be inconvenient for new or infrequent park visitors who don’t recognize all the landmarks and street names, but…. The Visitor Center is happy to share that website info, too; though, of course, you have to park first to get to the Visitor Center.

Who can say why there are no signs stating what it costs to park at the entrance of each lot? Not the city’s parking enforcement officers zipping around to give tickets, one of whom had no idea as to what it cost to park in the very lot that they were in. That officer did suggest checking the kiosk and also kindly warned against using the alternative parking app because “that’s managed by a third party, so we have no control over it”—buyer beware). There are signs for that app at every lot but, unfortunately, instead of providing any pricing info, they just display a QR code for downloading the app, along with a lot designation; as a result, you can get your pricing only within the app. A warning, however, to those who play it safer with the kiosk: It will charge a surcharge for credit card use, in addition to whatever the base parking rate might be.

Of course, you might choose instead to advance-purchase a monthly, quarterly, or annual parking pass. Before buying, you’ll want to do the math to calculate whether that will be cost effective. After estimating where and how often you plan to park, you’ll need to spend some time studying that colored-coded map and the complicated fee schedule list. Plus, needless to say, other rules apply (though just some of the time!) to certain (but not all!) employees, volunteers, and club members. See the website FAQs for the relevant, convoluted details.

Another big batch of complaints were coming from ADA plate/placard holders who have learned that from now on tier parking in Balboa Park lots will not be free, except in designated spaces. If/when those spaces are full or inconveniently located, the rate’s the rate, no matter your medically-designated disability status (except, sorry, at parking meters, but, hey, trying, against all odds, to keep things simple here).

There’s also the outdated information (misinformation?) concerning free tram service to-from the Level 3 (lowest cost) Inspiration Point lot. The sign at the pickup spot in that lot states hours of 9 AM – 6 PM this time of year. But the paid-parking day is 8 AM – 8 PM, and the parking website says the shuttle runs during those hours. So go ahead: Take your chances on, say, a 7 PM shuttle, and please let us know how that goes.

Some of the changes are a bit hard to explain, like why parking on the roadway adjoining the Activity Center now is permit-only around-the-clock. This is instead of the previous hours, which accommodated Administration Building staff during the day, but allowed folks who drove over after 4 pm for sports practice or events to park free near the facility. Now, their nearest parking is in the lot across the street, adjoining the Veteran’s Memorial. And that’s a Level 1 lot, so not cheap.

The friendly front desk staffers at the center are advising those who ask about parking that it is free for three hours “under the solar panels” a quarter-mile away (in a lot, once again, with no sign saying so). And they were keeping their fingers crossed that, though some are resisting now, “players will want to play, so they’ll come back” to the center eventually, adding, however, that “we also offer programs, and who knows what will happen with those.”

And why does the city’s Balboa Park parking website show parking on the section of Zoo Drive between Roosevelt School/War Memorial and the zoo as metered, when there’s a kiosk there charging $10 per day on one side of the street and, on the other side, signs state that one-hour parking is free?

Folks at the Visitor Center also weren’t sure if/when lot and level designations might change.

The Pepper Grove lot near the east side playground, World Beat Center, and Centro Cultural de la Raza is now a mid-priced Level 2 lot, but it is busy enough that, the thinking goes, it might upgrade to Level 1. And, according to a rep of the Tennis Club, its adjoining lot, which also is close to the dog park and the Bud Kearns pool, still is free because it’s not in the Central Mesa.

But, then, technically, the Activity Center is in the East Mesa, too, so who knows if the same pay-to-park logic might end up applying to the Morley Field area. With meters (four-hour max at $2.50/hour) now in place near there on Upas, not to mention also on Sixth/Balboa Drive in the West Mesa, as well as on Park Blvd, sources of parking revenue are expanding throughout the park. As a result, speculation is rampant. This was not a worry, at least, for the driver of a tourist bus who was out taking a break while waiting for passengers to return, because he was sure that paying for parking doesn’t apply to his vehicle. Hope for his sake that he’s right, because the city’s website does not address any such exception/misconception.

You also might wonder why it is that parking on the side of the carousel closest to the park can be purchased at $10 for four hours (the minimum duration there) while it’s a $16 flat all-day-rate-only a few steps away on the opposite (zoo) side of the carousel? One clue is the Ace Parking sign plastered on the kiosk on the zoo-side. Ace manages the zoo parking, based on its own fees and policies. Zoo greeters were keeping busy answering questions from, well, “everyone” about those. Fact is, zoo management provided their reps with details about the change to paid parking only shortly before the zoo opened, so, a greeter noted, “we’re learning too.” Zoo members still can get free parking (car registration required). Most importantly, the change at the zoo only happened because of the city’s decision to charge for parking in its Balboa Park lots.

The city as cause of all this implementation confusion leads to the one statement in common that everyone responding to rollout paid-parking queries had to say, accompanied by a resigned shrug or weary shake of the head: “What can you do? It’s the city.” Fortunately, Kate Callen answered that question here in the Rag just last week in her article about the potential for change in 2026.

Editordude: Also see David Garrick’s piece in today’s U-T: Missing signs, confusing discounts and ‘unpleasant surprise’ mar first day of paid parking in Balboa Park