Found: More Downtown Parking

Downtown San Diego has earned a reputation for having little street parking available when you need it. When a “Public Parking” sign appeared last week at the driveway of a privately owned lot on Tenth Avenue near Petco Park, several people immediately took advantage.

According to locals, the lot has been open to the public for some time, but it only drew cars in when there was an attendant present — mostly at night on weekends.

Although open and accessible during the regular workweek and equipped with a pay machine, the lot has been underused. Nearby business proprietors believe the reason people haven’t used the lot is because the pay machine is hidden behind a fence and can’t be easily spotted from the street.

“Whoever decided to finally put that sign up deserves some credit,” says a local resident, “but I’m just wondering why it took so long. The lot owners could have been making money a whole lot earlier from the parking fees.”