SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – There are signs that things are changing in and around Balboa Park. Paid parking signs were being installed by City of San Diego Transportation Department crews on 6th Avenue for metered on-street parking in Balboa Park on Wednesday.
Come January 5, 2026, free parking here is gone, and paid parking is coming next year.
"I come down every Monday and Wednesday for pickleball here in the gym,” Tony Puyot, who lives in Ramona, said. “It’s going to be a big burden to pay that much for parking for something that, you know, we’ve always had for free.”
On Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to implement the paid parking starting in January.
Outside of the $2.50 an hour for on-street meter parking, the price to park in the lots in Balboa is broken up into 3 levels.
For lots considered “Level 3,” like the one at Lower Inspiration Point just off Park Boulevard, they cost $5 a day with three hours free. “Level 2,” lots, like the Upper Inspiration Point lot, is will 5 bucks a day but no free time. “Level 1” lots like the Organ Pavilion lot is going to be $8 bucks a day.
However, that pricing is for San Diego residents. If you live outside the city, it’s twice as much to park.
ABC 10News spoke to a family from Ensenada who visits Balboa Park a couple of times a year when they’re in town. They said the new parking prices would be a reason not to come to Balboa Park, considering that free and affordable parking was a major bonus.
“That I will not pay it. I mean, I will prefer to visit some other place or go to other places. I would not like to pay $16 for a parking spot here, really,” Ernesto Garcia, who lives in Ensenada, said.
The City is offering parking passes with all of the new changes. $150 a year for San Diego residents and $300 for non-residents.
But the parking pass will be per vehicle, not per household. It’ll be a virtual copy, not a physical one.
“When registering online, City of San Diego residents can use one of the following to verify their residency: driver’s license, vehicle registration, or utility bill,” Leslie Wolf Branscombe, Senior Public Information Officer for the City of San Diego, told ABC 10News in an email. “Residents will need to provide their license plate when creating their account, because their daily visit and passes will be tied to their license plate.”
Puyot said having the pass tied to a specific vehicle could be a major expense if he needs to get a pass for every vehicle he tends to drive to get to Balboa Park.
“I actually also ride a motorcycle, and I have two vehicles that I mainly rotate,” Puyot said. “Obviously, the motorcycle is easier for me for gas and savings as a retiree. But then, if I can only use one vehicle, then that knocks that out in foul weather.”
Some wonder if there still can be some changes made before they have to start paying to park.
“I would hope that they would do something for seniors. I would hope that they would make the single vehicle rule maybe a little more flexible or changeable,” Puyot said.
