San Diego city officials are already requesting another look at the much-maligned parking fees that went into effect on Monday at Balboa Park — but the mayor says that isn’t happening.
Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee and Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera put out a joint statement on Tuesday evening recommending that the city suspend the fees until further notice, citing a disjointed rollout with little information readily available to residents amid waves of public criticism.
“The fact that these critical steps are being taken at the last minute, including the signs, which won’t be ready for days if not weeks, shows a clear example that this program is not yet ready for prime time,” the letter added.
Mayor Todd Gloria’s office quickly refuted the recommendations in a Wednesday afternoon memo.
“Now that the program has been successfully implemented, your proposal to suspend paid parking for residents two days into the new program would have immediate and serious fiscal consequences,” said the mayor in a memo. “This reversal could introduce confusion among park users and would disregard investments already made to establish the system, potentially compromising the program’s effectiveness.”
The backlash and criticism have been significant, and the meters have been repeatedly vandalized with expanding foam (and other substances) in the payment slots. Meanwhile, city officials say there will be a “grace period” for parking enforcement for at least a few weeks, but exactly when that ends is unclear.
Discounted rates are available to San Diego residents, but that process has not been made particularly clear.
“Enforcement remains focused on education, not punishment, during this early phase, to ensure park users are aware of the new parking fees adopted by Council,” the mayor’s memo said. “We are continuing to expand public education, complete remaining wayfinding signage, refine kiosk messaging, develop the technology to display the daily resident rate on the kiosk, and improve the resident portal.”
On Tuesday night, Councilmember Stephen Whitburn took to social media to call for repealing paid parking entirely.
— Councilmember Stephen Whitburn (@CMWhitburnD3) January 7, 2026
“Instead of delaying paid parking in Balboa Park, I have a better idea — let’s repeal it altogether,” he posted.
“From the beginning, I have strongly opposed paid parking at Balboa Park,” said Councilmember Raul Campillo.
“While a majority of my colleagues supported it at the time, I did not—and I still don’t. Paid parking was a mistake then and it remains a mistake now. The Mayor and City Council members who supported it should reverse course and eliminate paid parking at Balboa Park once and for all.”
This story was updated on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 2:36 p.m. A previous quote from Councilmember Raul Campillo referred to downtown parking, not Balboa Park.
