SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — It's been a month since paid parking went into effect at Balboa Park, and while the fees are meant to help address the city's budget deficit, art vendors say they're now the ones losing money.
The decline in visitors is hurting businesses throughout the park's Village Art Center, where artists who have operated for years are seeing dramatic drops in sales.
Chris Stell has operated her art studio in the Village of Art for 19 years. Her small pendants used to be her most popular pieces, selling around 20 per day. Now, she's lucky if she sells one or two.
"After the 19 years, I mean, it's just to grow, grow, grow, and then just have the rug pulled out from under you just overnight," Stell said.
Stell says she would typically see 20 to 30 people come into her studio each day. After the city started charging visitors to park, the number has dropped to just a few.
"I mean, the last Sunday I had one sale, and that's just weird. I mean, we're usually packed with people coming and going. So it just really hurts," Stell said.
The financial impact has been severe. What Stell made last week didn't even cover her gas to get to the park, and she had to pay $300 for parking plus purchase a zoo pass.
Elisabeth Sullivan has been selling in the village for three years and says this is her livelihood.
"This is my livelihood, so I don't know what I'm gonna do, to tell you the truth," Sullivan said.
She's never seen business this slow, making less than half of her normal sales.
"The Saturday and Sunday of this weekend, I only sold like $150, which is less than half of what I would do on a normal weekend," Sullivan said.
Last week, City Council President Joe LaCava announced a proposal that would repeal paid parking fees for city residents after constant pushback from the community.
If they can't make parking free, Stell says they should at least make rates the same for all county residents.
"I'm in the city doing business. I'm giving them the sales tax revenue, and yet I'm treated like I'm an outsider," Stell said.
The City Council is set to vote on the proposal on February 9th. In the past, Mayor Gloria has said that if the program is suspended, the council must propose how to replace the revenue.
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