SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Mayor Todd Gloria announced a few weeks ago that the city would allow verified San Diego residents to park for free in seven lots starting March 2nd.
Those lots are:
- Pepper Grove
- Federal
- Upper Inspiration Point
- Lower Inspiration Point
- Marston Point
- Palisades
- Bea Evenson.
Paid parking at Balboa Park began in January, and 10News has been following the backlash and complicated roll out since then.
READ MORE: Museums, volunteers talk impact of the first week of paid parking at Balboa Park
The paid parking window will also be two hours shorter, now running from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M., instead of 8 P.M.
These are the parking lots that will still require fees.
- Space Theater
- Casa de Balboa
- Alcazar
- Organ Pavilion
- South Carouse
To participate in the free parking program, San Diego residents must be verified through an online portal.
However, students at UC San Diego say they are not able to qualify for free parking because they are not considered residents.
Samantha Olivar, a UCSD student, tried applying for the resident program but was unsuccessful.
"I think it's like weird. I feel like we live here like for 4 years, which is like an extended period of time, so we should be allowed to park in Balboa, but they're not accepting it as a resident," Olivar said.
"I tried submitting like what I pay for like the campus living on campus, and like they declined the application," Olivar said.
People visiting from out of town say the current fees are inconvenient.
"It's a bit annoying. I think like, especially somewhere like a park, I think it should be accessible to everybody. And then I know also the machine took forever too. So like that even that was a bit annoying," Grayson Jaime said.
Stewart Schofield, who is visiting from Michigan, agreed.
"It's a new thing. It's something that we're not used to doing. We felt like we could come here, park. We have some grandchildren that are going to meet us here, but they don't know about the parking, and it's $10 they weren't expecting," Schofield said.
10News has reached out to the City of San Diego for comment.
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