Re “San Diego OKs sweeping parking price hikes, from paid Sunday parking to $10-an-hour meters during Padres games” (June 2): The city continues to waste taxpayer money. The latest gimmick is to add new parking fees at Balboa Park, Mission Bay and local beaches.
Instead of paying for meters, pay stations, etc., why doesn’t the city simply enforce the current parking rules, starting with Mission Bay and Fiesta Island? For years, people have been camping there for free. The posted signs say, “No Camping” and “No Overnight Parking.” The latest example of this was on Memorial Day weekend, when city workers posted signs reading, “No Overnight Camping, No Alcohol.” They forgot the third no: “No Enforcement.”
Ticketing and/or towing the offending vehicles would be a double win — it would bring in needed revenue, and it would clean up Mission Bay. Instead, the city wants to waste more money on making more rules, implementing them — and then maybe enforcing them? Clean up your act, San Diego!
— Kristi Markowicz, San Diego
The future of Balboa Park is at a critical juncture. If parking fees are imposed, the ripple effects could be devastating. Possible consequences: Local and tourist visitor numbers will decline, causing museum and restaurant revenues to decrease significantly. They will need to cut staff, shorten hours and even raise entry fees. Volunteerism will plummet, further imperiling their operations. Spanish Village artists will see fewer visitors, as will the Organ Pavilion and International Cottages.
Worse, our park will become off-limits to lower-income families, depriving them of the enrichment museums offer. Many visit the park regularly. This will become a luxury. Like the cuts to libraries, parks and recreation centers, the parking fee will especially harm children and seniors. Our treasured park will become a tragic testament to the failings of our city leaders to prioritize cultural and open space resources for the entire population, not just those with means.
— Beth Givens, Linda Vista
I have no problem with paying for parking — the city needs the money after unwisely handing out generous salary increases and labor agreements. But statements made by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera really irk me. He contends that “residents matter more than tourists.” This sounds like something Donald Trump would say. Divisive.
Apparently, I am now a “tourist” because I live 1.5 miles outside the city. Is Elo-Rivera ignorant of the fact that the city relies on assistance from federal and state sources that I pay plenty of taxes to? It’s outrageous he wants to treat me as though I’m from China. Such a policy is a slippery slope — what next, city checkpoints on highway offramps?
Maybe Elo-Rivera will change his tune when his union bosses remind him that many of their live outside the city. Regardless, he can forget my vote for any other position when he is termed out on the City Council.
— C. Anderson, Mount Helix
