By Kate Callen
Balboa Park’s institutional stewards joined forces to denounce Mayor Todd Gloria’s paid parking fees in a January 21 press conference that delivered ominous news about the fees’ early impacts.
The 19 park leaders were brought together by the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership to announce a new website, that will serve as a portal for pressuring the City Council to shelve the fees.
The leaders stopped short of demanding a total repeal. They chose a milder stance: “to express our serious concerns and go on record requesting the reconsideration of the vote supporting paid parking.”
But they did (finally) challenge Gloria’s hype that the new fees will go straight into overdue park maintenance. And they would not rule out the idea of a public-private partnership, modeled after the New York City Central Park Conservancy, that would wrest management of the park away from City Hall.
“I think our community should and can have that larger discussion,” said Peter Comiskey, the partnership’s Executive Director.
Early data on attendance and revenue have borne out dire predictions that paid parking will drive away the visitors who keep the park solvent.
“The impacts have been immediate,” said Mingei International Museum CEO Jessica Hanson York, “and they have been measurable.”
“This is not theoretical,” said Michael Warburton of the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. “The downward spiral is happening now.”
Museums have reported decreases of between 20 percent and 57 percent compared with last year. During the first week of paid parking, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center saw a 25-percent drop in local visitors and a 3-percent drop in tourists.
As for revenues – and money has always been the driving force in this debate – park organizations are projecting $20 million to $30 million in lost revenues annually. And that will reduce the city’s parking revenue by $3 million.
Two surprises emerged from the press conference. Warburton was told by a disabled volunteer that “he’s not allowed, according to the current policy, to park in any other spots with that handicapped placard. So I’m going to lose him as a volunteer.”
As for the notion that parking revenues would be invested in park maintenance, Comiskey responded, “We should be clear and honest. Paid parking does not bring new money into Balboa Park. It simply substitutes for the general fund.”
“Mike [Warburton] referenced a downward spiral,” Comiskey added. “That downward spiral could quickly become a death spiral, all over a few dollars in parking revenue. As a region, as stewards of this historic cultural district, this cannot be allowed to happen.”
What a difference four months makes. At a September 15 City Council meeting, park institutional leaders went into triage mode, accepting the inevitability of the new fees and asking that certain stakeholder groups be granted exceptions.
And six Councilmembers voted for the fees because they were desperate for new money to solve a budget crisis they helped create.
They included Kent Lee, who wanted to tinker around the edges.
“We should be able to fix issues affecting bridge club players and high school students,” he said, “but some folks think we should not charge for parking at all, and I don’t believe that is an option.”
And Sean Elo-Rivera, always looking for someone to pick on, demanded that out-of-towners pay top rates: “This city must stop subsidizing the travel of other people to this city!”
On January 6, the two put out a joint statement criticizing City Hall for “a haphazard rollout” of the new fees and urging the Gloria administration “to immediately suspend paid parking fees for all residents until these changes are implemented, and residents have more time to register their vehicles in this new system.”
How many times has the City Council gone along with a dreadful Gloria proposal because it was easier than asking tough questions about implementation? And paid parking in Balboa Park is by far his worst idea ever (not counting the 101 Ash Street purchase, which was sired by Kevin Faulconer).
The post-fees trend lines for Balboa Park attendance and revenue are going straight down. There’s no reason to believe they will stabilize. If Gloria’s parking fees end up tanking San Diego’s 158-year-old crown jewel, that will be the worst stain on his already tarnished record.
Sorry to say sometimes you have to eat it to prove a point. Gloria was just on 7/39 without a remorse over his and the councils fees.
Kate, great article, but I’m not sure that parking fees are the worst idea Gloria has ever had. I think I’d be inclined to vote for going way beyond what was necessary to implement the State density bonus rules to allow an order-of-magnitude increase in residential densities and ADUs.
Just my opinion.
How about it’s Gloria’s Most Unpopular Idea?
It’s his worst idea because he has punched this city in the heart. You can’t overstate how much San Diegans love their Park. Second only to the Pacific, Balboa Park makes this city a gem; it’s our most treasured asset. Gloria doesn’t care if the Park dies a slow death as long as he gets his money and has his way.
Love how Kent Lee (who is massively unpopular in 6) managed to take *both* sides of the issue.
“Paid parking does not bring new money into Balboa Park. It simply substitutes for the general fund.”. This is the summary, what this is really all about. It is another tool to pump up the general fund for supplemental looting. The good news is that we can vote every single supporter out of office, and hopefully reverse the damage. However, I agree with the comment that Gloria’s absurd ADU policies are the greatest long term permanent damage to our communities. This isn’t Yimby, it’s undoing generations of work within our communities to achieve their individual community plans.
Toad’s Folly
Sorry Kate, but I have to agree with Paul and Norman. Once these ADUs are built, they will be there for a very long time. Paid parking could go away overnight. I agree with you that paid parking in our park strikes at the heart of our culture, but consider Mission Bay Park, another civic treasure. It has been used as a chemical dump, a land fill and for sewage treatment, but mostly, it has been used as a means to make money for the city. And it makes a lot of money, but very little goes back into the park. The restrooms in Mission Bay Park are just as bad as those in Balboa park. There are no museums in Mission Bay Park and nothing that could be called a public facility. Just businesses, all paying money to the city. So, yes, it’s true, our elected officials couldn’t care less about parks and parkland and maybe even less about culture. They only care about money and power. We can definitely agree on that.
Okay, I give. Thinking back on our “Worst ADU” contest and all the pain that program has caused, for that alone, when Gloria passes on to the next world, he will be greeted by a three-headed dog.
Being a 29th Street resident, Todd’s Bike Lane from Hell on 30th pushed all the restaurant and bar patrons into the neighborhoods along 29th and Ray Street. That was a huge failure. Balboa Park paid parking is a huge failure. ADUs are a huge failure. The redevelopment of the Sport Area is a huge failure.
But wait until Todd and the Pirates institute paid parking at the beach!! Oh $hit, there will be a mutiny!
When will he learn??
Had a pleasant ride along 30th yesterday. Stopped for delicious pretzel and a cold one at Pretzels And Pints right there on Ray St.
The ADU debacle is certainly the worst and most permanent. But let’s not forget the egregious bait and switch on the trash fees. And the untruths about being able to at least consider outsourcing. Time to change the slogan “You can’t fight city hall” to “you can’t trust city hall.”
This latest move by Gloria and certain members of the council highlight how out of touch they are with constituents. Additionally, it also underscores their ongoing typical knee-jerk half-baked decisions that always puts the city in worse shape than before. One has to wonder, how much more time will pass before this administration permanently ruins our city. #GloriaRuinsSanDiegoForAllofUs
Let us not forget that fewer visitors to Balboa Park also means fewer visitors spending money in Balboa Park.
Which means less Sales Tax revenue.
According to the City of San Diego, A vehicle displaying a handicap plate or placard
is not required to pay the parking fee and may use any space available, handicapped or not.
I would suggest one should ask how/why is the City $300,000,000 in the hole for this fiscal year in the first place. If the nitwits that created the problem are still in power you ought to vote the scoundrels out before they come up with more money grabbing schemes.