‘I Stand With 81% of San Diegans Who Strongly Oppose Paid Parking in Balboa Park’

Editordude: Paul Krueger testified before the City Council on Monday, April 6, about his experiences collecting signatures for a “Repeal the Fees” November ballot measure. This essay is based on his remarks to the council.

By Paul Krueger

I stand with the 81 percent of San Diegans who strongly oppose paid parking in Balboa Park.

Last Saturday, during the “Repeal The Fees” ballot measure rally at the Organ Pavilion, I stood by the parking payment kiosk behind the pavilion to gather signatures for the initiative. And I talked with locals and tourists as they waited in line to pay. What I heard – and saw – was both enlightening and infuriating.

The line at the kiosk stretched as long as 20 yards. It moved painfully slow. There is no display of instructions at that kiosk, so many visitors couldn’t begin to figure out how to pay. Some didn’t know they needed their license plate number to process their payment. If they had to go back to their car to get that information, they lost their place. Others didn’t know if they needed to return to their vehicle to put their payment receipt on their dashboards (they don’t).

When the wait hit 10 minutes or longer, some visitors worried they’d get a citation before they could pay. This was a legitimate concern; I saw at least one parking enforcement officer checking plates. Others were upset they might miss performances at the Houses of Hospitality or Balboa Park Club which brought them to the park.

Locals enthusiastically signed my “Repeal The Fees” petition. No one familiar with the controversy offered a defense of the parking fee.

County residents – who don’t qualify for the city resident discount – were angry and incredulous. They pointed out that they pay both property tax and sales tax on all the merchandise they buy and meals they eat in the city. But when they visit what they consider to be “their” park, they are treated like “tourists.”

The line was long in part because a kiosk closer to the Pavilion was covered with a plastic bag. It wasn’t an “official” bag, so no one knew if the kiosk was broken or vandalized, or both. And no one tried to use it.

The sign near that disabled kiosk included both payment instructions and a QR code to pay with your phone. But two visitors who tried to use it couldn’t navigate the app. One showed me the “X” on his cell phone screen that confirmed the malfunctioning app.

Unlike local residents who are accustomed to free parking and angry about the fee (or don’t know about low-or-no-cost parking on the park’s perimeter), the tourists I talked with didn’t complain about the fee.

Maybe they are used to paying for parking at public attractions in Tucson, New Zealand, Brazil, and Costa Mesa. Maybe they just accept it as another cost of destination travel.

But the lack of signage and clear instructions, the broken kiosk, the malfunctioning QR code, and the long wait to pay offered a very unwelcoming “welcome” to one of our top tourist attractions.

Most frustrating of all, the fiasco I witnessed was totally – and easily – avoidable.

The city needs to place one or two “ambassadors” at the entrance to the paid parking lots. These staff would greet visitors when they enter the lots, let them know if parking is available (the Organ Pavilion lot, closest to all attractions, was near capacity by 11:00 a.m.), and explain the payment process.

The kiosks and QR codes must all be working, all the time.

And there’s no excuse, ever, for lines at the kiosks. The ambassadors could speed things up with hand-held devices that process payments.

If the Mayor’s office – which is solely responsible for the mess I witnessed – had properly staffed these locations from the beginning, the “Repeal The Fees” revolt might not have materialized, because the public might not have been angry enough to mount a costly and needlessly divisive referendum.

Finally, to demonstrate their commitment to public service, the Mayor, the six Councilmembers who voted to approve the fees — and their subordinates — should be required to spend two hours in the park next weekend.

They should see why the pay system is broken. They should talk with frustrated and angry visitors. And they should quickly fix all the problems with the payment process.

It’s not rocket science. It’s not expensive. It’s really just a small step towards building credibility and trust with taxpayers and visitors.