SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – It's a new year, and there are new parking changes at Balboa Park.
Monday is the first day of paid parking at the massive San Diego park, which used to offer free parking.
"Mondays are a little quieter in the park, so not a bad day to start such a massive transition as this,” Peter Comiskey, Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, said. "I've taken six different shuttle rides today, I think, on different shuttles with different team members. They are all working well. But it's the first day."
Comiskey is the executive director of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership.
"So certainly, we have team members who weren't quite sure where to park, who weren't quite sure where the shuttle stop might be, they weren't quite sure where the shuttles go to. And so there will be a number of teething problems, and we fully expect those,” Comiskey said.
So here’s how things will work: verified park-based employees and volunteers can park in Balboa Park at certain lots and metered street parking for free. An on-call shuttle service will run from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and 6 to 11 p.m.
"The shuttle that is on demand is also either a sprinter van or an airport shuttle. You won't recognize either of those causes neither of those carry any type of branding. They're really just there for the team members and designated stops,” Comiskey said.
The free shuttle for everyone at Balboa Park is also going to be extended from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., which Comiskey said will also be another way for many employees and volunteers to get to and from their cars.
A City of San Diego spokesperson told ABC 10News that the on-call shuttle is to help out employees and volunteers who get to Balboa Park before or have to leave after the regular tram operation hours.
"We've talked to Park and Rec and other departments in the city about what they would like to see as far as a program,” Comiskey said. “And then we went off and developed that program and used the exceptional resources, not just of all our members, but even for organizations with the park who aren't members of the cultural partnership."
Comiskey says his organization is happy the city's ready to make changes if they find a better way to serve those who work and volunteer at Balboa Park.
"They truly are at this point for the shuttling service, both for the general public and for our team members, to be solutions-based, rather than decided and fixed,” Comiskey said.
