Parking meters on a commercial street in San Diego. (Photo courtesy of the city of San Diego)
Parking meters throughout the city of San Diego will be adjusted over the next month to reflect longer operating hours, part of a larger effort to improve parking access and usage. The changes begin as early as Thursday in the Pacific Beach and Mid-City Community Parking Districts, where meters are already in place.
Until recently, the city’s parking meter rates and hours had not been updated in decades. These changes are part of a comprehensive effort to align San Diego’s parking practices and pricing with those of most other major California cities. Additional revenue from longer meter hours will be reinvested in the communities where the fees were collected, funding long-overdue street, sidewalk, and other infrastructure improvements.
Expanding parking enforcement by two additional hours in high-occupancy areas can significantly improve parking availability and traffic flow. By encouraging more frequent vehicle turnover, spaces become more accessible to businesses, residents, and visitors during peak times, according to a news release. This reduces the need for drivers to circle looking for parking, eases congestion, and improves the overall experience.
Meter hours will be extended by at least two hours and will now include Sundays in commercial areas in four Community Parking Districts: Pacific Beach, Mid-City, Uptown, and Downtown. In Pacific Beach, where meters currently end at 8 p.m., hours will extend to 10 p.m. and meters will operate on Sundays. In Mid-City, meters along El Cajon Boulevard will extend to 8 p.m. and also operate on Sundays. City crews will place stickers on adjacent meter signs to inform motorists of the new hours.
Uptown and Downtown meters will see similar extensions later this month and into September. Some meters currently ending at 6 p.m. will move to 8 p.m., and others that now end at 8 p.m. will extend to 10 p.m. Starting hours, generally 8 a.m. or 10 a.m., will remain unchanged. Meters by the waterfront operated by the San Diego Unified Port District are not affected.
Vehicles with a disabled placard or license plate will continue to park at meters for free throughout the city.
These changes are part of the comprehensive parking reforms approved by the San Diego City Council in June. The reforms aim to improve management of on-street parking, recognizing that curb space in the public right-of-way is a limited and valuable resource.
By state and local law, parking meter revenues must be reinvested to benefit parking and mobility-related needs within the meter zones where they are collected. These revenues will support improvements and ongoing maintenance of local infrastructure while freeing up less-restricted General Fund resources for other uses, the news release added.