SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego city officials have taken direct control of parking meter revenue, promising faster repairs to streetlights, crosswalks, and potholes after what they call decades of mismanagement by nonprofit organizations.
The city assumed responsibility for managing parking meter funds from downtown, Uptown, Mid-City, and Pacific Beach on Monday. City leaders said most of the money had been used for administrative costs instead of necessary infrastructure improvements.
One nonprofit, the Gaslamp Association, responded to these claims, saying: “The Mayor’s decision to sweep all Community Parking District funds for the next two fiscal years may leave Council Policy 100-18 on paper, but it effectively strips neighborhoods of their ability to use those funds for approved pedestrian, mobility, and safety projects. The lack of collaboration and transparency in this process is deeply disappointing.
It’s unfair to blame the districts for mismanagement of the program when the City approved the projects, budgets, and invoices. The City now says it will reinvest these funds into the neighborhoods where they were generated, but based on its recent track record, that claim is highly skeptical."
"For the next two years, that money will stay within the city's management to prioritize maintenance and repairs," said Bethany Bezak, San Diego's transportation director.
The change provides an additional $1.8 million for infrastructure work, starting with repairs to 1,200 streetlights in the downtown area. One business owner said he had waited years for these improvements.
"What took so long?" the business owner asked.
Bezak said all revenue will still return to the communities where it was collected, but she will now decide which projects to prioritize. She promised faster response times for "Get It Done" requests covering sidewalk repairs, lights, crosswalks, and street sweeping.
"People will see there will be a change within these areas," Bezak said.
"Get it done has made it much more visible for us to know exactly where the needs are. So the city is well-poised to have those requests and respond to them promptly," she said.
The city receives more than 9,000 repair requests every month, but Bezak said she doesn't have enough staff to respond. The additional funding allows electricians to work overtime on critical repairs.
"It gets pretty dark here at night and can be a little scary so that's a big move in the right direction," one resident said.
Community members expressed optimism about the changes.
"Those minor fixes would be a big help, not just to drivers, but people walking as well," another resident said.
The city will manage these areas for the next two years and will later reevaluate whether to continue direct oversight.
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