Free Parking at San Diego Zoo Ends as City Faces $258 Million Deficit

Free parking at San Diego Zoo ends as city faces $258 million deficit

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The San Diego Zoo has offered free parking for 102 years, but will soon begin charging for parking as the city grapples with a $258 million budget deficit. The decision to introduce parking fees at the San Diego Zoo comes as part of a broader move by the city council to address the significant budget shortfall. The council has already voted to implement parking charges at Balboa Park, which has historically offered free…

There’ll be no more free parking at the San Diego Zoo starting next month. But how much could it cost?

The San Diego Zoo will start charging for parking Oct. 1, after the City Council agreed Monday to let it give discounts to employees, volunteers, city residents, zoo members and possibly others. The zoo has declined for decades to make visitors pay to park, but a recent decision by the cash-strapped city to impose parking fees elsewhere in Balboa Park forced the zoo’s hand. If the only free parking in Balboa Park were to be the roughly 3,000 spa…

Paid parking at the San Diego Zoo: Do locals get a discount?

A trip to the zoo is now going to cost a bit more than just a ticket.The City Council voted 7 to 1 to change the zoos lease so it can charge for parking.But not without pushback from the public.Please do not allow this paid parking to be a broad stroke for all people, all the same rate. It can't happen, said a speaker at Mondays meeting.With the San Diego City Council's changes to paid parking soon to be implemented in Balboa Park, the lot at th…

Plans for paid parking at San Diego Zoo move forward

The San Diego City Council on Monday afternoon took a key step toward charging for parking at the San Diego Zoo.

Will San Diego’s New Parking Rates Make a Dent in the Deficit?

By Richard Bailey How much will the new paid parking at Balboa Park, the Zoo, and the increased meters rates actually generate for the City? More importantly, will it even make a dent in the city’s structural deficit? San Diego just raised parking rates on two fronts: (1) higher rates and longer hours at existing meters including $10/hour “special event” pricing around Petco Park, and (2) the start of paid parking in Balboa Park, including the z…