Paid parking causing concerns in San Bruno

Parking in the downtown corridor is $1.50 per hour with a two-hour maximum from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. Parking in adjacent lots is charged on a sliding scale — $1 for two hours, $2 for five hours, $3 for eight hours and $3.50 for 10 hours — from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.

But their installation is having a potentially negative impact on residents in surrounding neighborhoods, some of whom say parking has been more challenging to find, Councilmember Marty Medina said.

“I’m asking for a subcommittee to be appointed to look into closer those details so that our residents could have some relief, where maybe they would have an opportunity to come home and have a space more readily available — instead of that space taken by a shopper, worker, who doesn’t want to pay,” he said.

The topic will be discussed at the April 23 City Council meeting.

San Bruno already has limited parking in residential areas due to the street infrastructure, Medina said. A residential parking permit system would typically allow residents one free permit and $50 a year for further vehicles, although he said he’s open to discussion on pricing and fees.

“Previously, we were told it was hard to have parking permits because we couldn’t enforce it,” Medina said. “Now, with [metered parking], there is a revenue source and there is enforcement going up and down that same street.”

Local business owners are also concerned with the new parking meters’ charging system, which requires drivers to pay for at least an hour of parking.

For Kimberly Koury, owner of Hana Hawaiian Barbeque, the new system is frustrating for those simply picking up orders and is dissuading patrons. Sales have gone down at least 10% since the new parking system went into effect, she said.

“I’m not caring about myself, I’m caring about my customers. How about Doordash, picking up the stuff? They don’t make a lot of money, the order is less than $10, if that. To ask them to pay is a bit too much,” Koury said.

She would prefer a parking system that allowed customers to pay with coins, per every 10 or 15 minutes, she said, noting that typing in one’s license plate can be another added obstacle — especially for older customers.

“Make it easier for people going through a tough time,” she said. “A lot of people are going through hardship right now, [and are] lucky to put food on the table. Why don’t they make it easy?”

Rebecca Molano, owner of One Love Cafe, voiced similar concerns around the lack of flexibility for parking times and said a lack of communication between city government and business owners contributed to the problem.

“Had they considered the merchants more, they could have been more prepared to integrate a paid parking program,” she said. “There’s no liaising between merchants on the street and the city. … We feel that there are solutions, there are things that can be done. It’s extremely frustrating when there’s that disconnect between merchants, residents and the local government.”

The parking pricing itself is also excessive, in Molano’s view, and has been marred by a lack of publication of the new rules and problems with the meters themselves.

“They should have spent more time testing it,” she said, noting that the regulations were more excessive than other cities with paid parking. “Nobody charges Sundays for parking, charging until 8 p.m. is extreme. We have one of the least, lackluster downtowns on the Peninsula and [they’re] charging more than any other downtown.”

A town hall to discuss the parking and other neighborhood concerns will be held April 24 at 6:30 p.m. at 486 San Mateo Ave.

Medina said that although some criticism of the paid parking — which is intended to create more turnover in downtown parking and allow for a greater number of shoppers — was an adjustment to change, the issue of parking for smaller increments of time is a valid concern.

“I think our biggest thing is, right now, our meters aren’t programmed to let somebody put a quarter in for 10 minutes to jump out, to get a coffee, get a potato, a lemon, whatever they need,” he said. “Parking meters are programmed by the hour. It doesn’t allocate shorter durations.”

City staff is looking into the situation, Medina said, acknowledging that the paid parking program still has some kinks to be worked out.

“We’re walking and stumbling a little bit as we go forward with this,” he said.