SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Starting Jan. 1, parking will be free again across Balboa Park — but the San Diego Zoo is keeping its paid parking program, at least partially, beyond 2026.
The city of San Diego has restored free parking across Balboa Park, but the San Diego Zoo is not following suit.
Parking at the zoo used to be free until paid parking was introduced earlier this year as part of the city's parking changes. That decision frustrated residents, and now the zoo's decision to keep its parking fee is raising questions.
Starting Jan. 1, parking will be free again at Balboa Park. But that's not the case for the San Diego Zoo, which decided to keep its paid program in place.
The zoo says the program has been a meaningful improvement, and some visitors understand. But for others, it's another expense they don't agree with.
For some guests, $16 to park at the zoo isn't a dealbreaker.
"So honestly for the zoo I don't think that's terribly unreasonable. Free parking would be beautiful, but I don't think it's terrible. It's not too bad for the full day," Habib Albatarse said.
But for others, the new fee came as a surprise.
"Out of all the zoos that we've been to, San Diego is the most expensive, adult tickets are 65 to 68 dollars, so to add on $16 for parking on to that, that's quite a bit for a single mother," Kelly Smith said.
Smith drove down from Chino with her children, taking advantage of October's free admission program. But now, she says that $16 parking fee is making the family outing more expensive.
"I really believe that San Diego Zoo, it was a saver for me, to bring my kids and have a nice place that they can go to for free during the month of October only to have to come in also now pay for parking," Smith said.
The zoo announced Friday it will keep its paid parking program beyond 2026.
The zoo was forced to start charging for parking after the city implemented parking in the rest of Balboa Park. That didn't go over well. Residents complained, and the park's museums said attendance dropped drastically. The city backpedaled just a few months later. The zoo said it was still debating what it would do.
On Friday, the zoo decided to keep paid parking, at least partially.
Starting Jan. 1, parking will be free for San Diego city residents, zoo members, active-duty military, employees and volunteers. Everyone else will have to pay.
The zoo says half of the parking revenue goes to the city to support Balboa Park operations. It also says the program helps ensure more parking availability for zoo visitors.
"The city needs it for sure and uh I don't know if the zoo needs it, but the city definitely needs it for sure," Albatarse said.
The zoo says it's committed to working with its Balboa Park neighbors and the city to address concerns about parking access.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
