California State Parks will implement a new parking system along San Diego beaches that will give a price break to park visitors, and maybe even improve park revenue.
Automated pay machines for payment of daytime fees will see be installed at beach parking lots along San Diego’s Coast including South Ponto, San Elijo Day Use, North Cardiff, South Cardiff, Torrey Pines, and Silver Strand State Beach. At present, park visitors pay a flat fee for the entire day, regardless of their length of stay.
The new machines could allow more flexibility in the number of hours a visitor
can stay at the park, and some locations will have reduced fee options for hourly parking, depending on the location and/or time of year. If visitors want a short visit, like a run on the beach or a sunset, they would not pay for the whole day, but rather just for the time they select and that’s how they would be given a price break. Also, State Parks thinks this will help with revenue because it may encourage more people to take advantage of the opportunity for shorter visits, possibly creating more turnover of visitors and therefore more revenue. In addition, visitors may choose to use the state lots at hourly rates rather than park farther away from the beach.
California State Parks has contracted with LAZ Parking San Diego, LLC to collect the day use fees on behalf of the state as "park, pay, display" using the automated pay machines that are easy to use and accept credit cards and discount passes. On busy weekends and in environmentally sensitive areas, LAZ will provide a parking attendant to welcome park visitors and facilitate easier access to the park.
With an unprecedented permanent budget reduction of $22 million, the California State Department of Parks and Recreation continues to explore creative solutions to serve the public, collect day use fees, and still reduce operating costs.
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