Max Goldwasser is ABC 10News' weekend evening anchor and forecaster. During the week, he reports on stories as an MMJ.
The City of San Diego's parking programs at Petco Park and Balboa Park are falling millions of dollars short of original revenue projections as the city faces a $120 million budget deficit.
For Padres games and other major events, anyone parking within a half-mile radius of Petco Park now pays $10 an hour. The city put the program in place last September to help improve mobility and overcome a budget deficit, which was $258 million at the time.
The city originally expected the program to bring in around $6.2 million for the fiscal year. However, seven and a half months in, the city said the revenue stands at $809,053.
Fans pouring into Petco Park expressed frustration over the parking situation, with many avoiding parking around the stadium altogether.
'Parking, yeah, right, you can't do that down here. Better take a trolley, a bus, Uber, cab, something,' Kenneth Coleman said.
'100%. We took the trolley,' Travis Perkins said.
Perkins said taking the trolley was not something he had done before the new parking program.
When told the city had only made $809,000 from the program so far, Perkins expressed disappointment.
'Yeah, I just think that we don't have to, you know, charge the customers for that, man. I mean, we're coming down here to support our team, support our city. That just seems, seems too much, man,' Perkins said.
The city said the projected revenue has shrunk to $1.7 million, which is 27% of the original estimate. The city attributed the shortfall to the special event parking not beginning until September, missing the busy months of July and August, and the parking zone being cut down from one mile to a half-mile.
The other parking program, which rolled out at Balboa Park at the beginning of the year, has brought in more than $2 million.
According to the mid-year monitoring report, that figure is still more than $6 million below budget after delays and changes.
When asked if the benefit for the city outweighs the cost for the consumer, Coleman disagreed.
'Not at all. Not at all,' Coleman said.
Mayor Todd Gloria will release his budget for FY 2027 online Wednesday, before presenting it to the City Council next Monday.
Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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.
Balboa Park Parking City Of San Diego Parking Max Goldwasser San Diego Parking Petco Park Parking Special Event Parking Downtown
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fire Damages Fraternity Home Near San Diego State UniversityFire damaged a home on College Avenue near Montezuma near the SDSU campus.
Read more »
New data confirms most San Diego college students are using AIFirst, new data has confirmed what many were already skeptical of: most San Diego college students are using AI. Then, a San Diego lawmaker wants chain restaurants to be more transparent about drinks that are packed with sugar. Also, we’ll tell you why San Diego County is selling water to Riverside County.
Read more »
‘A countdown to failure’: Independent review blasts bloated staff, misspending at San Diego City HallAmong other findings, a taxpayer watchdog group’s report says the number of middle managers in San Diego city government exploded by 461% over 15 years.
Read more »
Suspect in deadly Antioch shooting of 20-year-old woman arrested in San DiegoA man suspected of fatally shooting a woman in Antioch earlier this year has been arrested in Southern California, police said.
Read more »
San Diego hospital worker receives a life-saving kidney transplant from a coworker at Sharp MemorialEmmy award-winning journalist Jared Aarons joined ABC 10News in September 2014. You can watch him weekday mornings and on the anchor desk on weekend nights.
Read more »
San Diego explores emergency loan program to support TSA workers during federal shutdownsGabe Salazar is KGTV's newest multimedia journalist, weekend anchor and forecaster.
Read more »