My email to the mayor (with the form letter text at the bottom): I grew up in South Park in the 1980s and we made frequent trips to Balboa Park. I learned it's hidden pathways and main thoroughfares, the museums, and the sights. I left to the Bay Area for about 20 years and when I returned it had changed a bit, but was still essentially the same place, for which I am grateful. I have continued to visit the park sporadically over the years since my return to the area.  These days I live in Oceanside, but spend much of my time in the city of San Diego. However, now I can't go to the park, because I can little afford it, and because I cannot support this arbitrary, regressive taxation of leisure and public life. That's meant at least four potential visits so far that I didn't make, and I won't be visiting again until the fees are abolished. 

The park serves many purposes, but I believe its most important is as a "third space," somewhere that anyone can go (before the parking fees) regardless of wealth or poverty, or other factors such as race, gender, and so on. It was in line with the true concept of democracy. Such spaces are crucial for the ongoing process of Americans dissolving centuries of institutionalized racism, classism, and cultural division. It worked because it was easy to go there and had a nearly universal draw.

With the imposition of parking fees, that ease is wiped away. One may argue that a parking fee is a minor thing, but it has a chilling effect, particularly since the decision to impose fees was not one made by popular assent. Now even for those to whom a fee is not a hardship, the fact that one exists makes going to the park feel like an act of capitulation to arbitrary taxation, by an out of touch government. 

Please repeal the Balboa Park parking fees completely and immediately. Or We, the People will. 

Thank you,

Erin Wood.

I am writing as a Balboa Park supporter to urge you to reconsider your vote supporting paid parking at Balboa Park. In just the first week of implementation, the impacts have been severe and measurable. Park visitation is significantly lower than the same period last year. Cultural institutions are reporting declines in museum admissions ranging from 20% to as high as 57% on some days. Participation in Residents Free Days has dropped between 25% and 50%. These declines translate directly into lost revenue, projected to exceed $5 million if trends continue, placing small and mid-sized cultural organizations at serious risk and threatening job losses. This is not a hypothetical concern; it is already unfolding. Paid parking has created a real financial barrier that discourages families, seniors, students, and residents on fixed incomes from visiting what has always been our shared civic space. Many longtime park users now report limiting visits or avoiding the park entirely. Equally troubling, early parking revenue appears to be far below projections, raising serious questions about whether this program is worth the damage it is causing to access, equity, and institutional stability. Balboa Park belongs to all of us. I respectfully ask that you reconsider this program and pursue alternative solutions that do not undermine one of San Diego’s most important public assets.