San Bruno parking meters stir further dissent

That’s the sentiment of many residents and community members who gathered this week to discuss their grievances to San Bruno officials after parking meters were installed downtown that require everyone to pay $1.50 for at least one hour.

“At least try to give us something. Maybe give us Sunday, if you're going to do 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,” Rebecca Molano, owner of One Love Cafe, said. “I see it on the Avenue, but almost all the side streets, like we said already, it's too aggressive and it feels like an attack on the neighborhood … This is a neighborhood that is predominantly people of color. So it does feel inequitable.”

San Bruno’s newly established paid parking system for downtown has been in effect since April 1 and all kiosks are now 100% operational, San Bruno Police Chief Ryan Johansen said. Early information illustrates that the paid meters are succeeding in creating parking turnover and lower occupancy rates — two key goals of the program’s implementation — he said. 

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.

Resident issues with the meters vary, from complaints around parking spillover in residential areas, technical issues with the meters themselves, minimum payments of $1.50, paid parking on weekends and meter hours. Some say the meters are hurting local business, while others maintain meters are succeeding in creating more parking spaces for downtown visitors.  

A City Council subcommittee is forming to study a possible solution to one of these problems: a reformed residential parking permit system in neighborhoods near the new meters experiencing increase in parking spillover. San Bruno currently has an opt-in residential parking permit program, but it’s not in use. 

“I see it as two separate issues. The meters, getting them to work, potentially accept a quarter for 10 minutes, all that data, I'm not talking about it. What we can see with our own eyes is metered parking is working,” Councilmember Marty Medina, who spearheaded the initiative, said at an April 23 City Council meeting. “But what I’m hearing from residents is, ‘now I come home, I can’t park during the day, I can't leave during the day.’” 

At a neighborhood meeting on April 24, San Bruno resident Don Ramirez said his tenants were facing serious parking issues — with parking meters on one side of the street and an increased lack of parking due to spillover on the other. 

“My people cannot park there, because on one side, we've got meters. On the other side, we don’t have meters. My tenants have to pay more attention to the meters than they do to their jobs, and they need a permit,” he said. “Right now, I'm having people telling me they're going to move out because they can’t find parking.” 

Ramirez was open to residential parking permits but said the issue is too urgent to wait for three to six months for subcommittee findings. 

City Manager Alex McIntryre encouraged patience before passing judgment on the program’s success or failure and said at the council meeting that three to six months would be needed before meaningful data could be collected. 

City staff are continuing to look into the possibility of paying for parking for shorter periods of time, another commonly expressed complaint by community members. From a technical perspective, it’s possible, Johansen said, but on a policy level more information is needed about minimum transaction fees. 

Issues with meters themselves not working can be reported to SBrunoenforcement@lazparking.com, and Johansen emphasized that kinks in the program may require time to work out. Early information illustrates that the paid meters are succeeding in creating parking turnover and lower occupancy rates, he said. 

“We’re asking for a little bit of patience as we learn and figure out with existing resources how to manage [the] existing relationship with LAZ,” Johansen said. 

Residents like Usman Diaz remain convinced that the parking meters serve as a detriment to the San Bruno downtown and scare off visitors. He reiterated a conversation with his son — visiting from college — who was shocked by the meters’ installation. 

“He goes, ‘They've been killing downtown forever and now, with this stuff, they're gonna kill it and that's it.’ Most people can relate with me,” he said. “The transparency of the project is even worse.” 

And some business owners, like Molano and Kimberly Koury, owner of Hana Hawaiian Barbeque, agree with the sentiment. Others, like Mike Kharsa, owner of Grand Leader Market & Deli, actually say the parking meters are a boon for business. 

“The meters have been great. They should have done it 20 years ago. Now, there’s rotational parking on the street, people are coming and going,” he said. “That was the problem in the past, the problem was with the merchants and employees taking up parking on the street.” 

Customers haven’t been pleased with having to pay over a dollar just to run inside the store, Kharsa said, but maintained that “if you have your mind set on a sandwich, you’re going to pay the $1.50.” 

LAZ Parking has only been issuing warning citations thus far, Johansen said, but residents can expect monetary citations for nonpayment as soon as April 26. 

holly@smdailyjournal.com

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