A picturesque California park has plunged into chaos after residents began protesting hefty parking fees.
The historical San Diego Balboa Park is a cultural oasis that hosts various museums, theaters, and restaurants.
Visitors had previously been able to freely enjoy everything the park had to offer, thanks to the convenience of free parking.
But in September 2025, the San Diego City Council passed a hefty parking fee bill and slapped a $16 required fee for all 12 of the park’s lots.
The fee went into effect in January, and it was expected to bring in an extra $15 million to help with the city’s crushing deficit, per SFGate.
Rather than helping the city, it backfired, with outraged residents boycotting the park and local businesses taking the hit.
‘This was not thought out,’ former City Council member Lorie Zapf said at a protest, per NBC San Diego.
‘This was a knuckleheaded move that never should have happened.’
Restaurant revenue in Balboa Park has dropped nearly 40 percent, as some are considering layoffs to cope with the financial losses, KFMB-TV reported.
Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying who is responsible for vandalizing newly installed parking pay stations throughout Balboa Park
Balboa Park in reflection, San Diego, where all 12 lots had a hefty parking fee implemented
During the first week the fees were implemented, Balboa Park museums saw visitor numbers decline by 25 to 57 percent.
Residents are protesting the fees in the streets, and some have gone so far as to vandalize the parking meters.
Multiple social media posts showed damaged meters covered with graffiti and screens smeared with feces, resulting in $77,000 in damages, according to CBS 8.
The vandalism spree has unfolded since Christmas Eve through Friday, leaving a total of 52 meters destroyed, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Protesters have slammed their Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria, blaming him and the other council members who voted in favor of the fees.
‘The City Council claimed these fees were a necessary tough choice to balance a crumbling budget, but let’s look at the reality,’ Jim Kidrick, CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum, said at the protest.
‘This plan is not just unfair, it is catastrophically short-sighted.’
Multiple social media posts showed damaged meters covered with graffiti and screens smeared with feces
A general view of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion at the Balboa Park in San Diego
A walker takes advantage of the clearing skies to stroll past rain puddles at Lake Balboa Park in Lake Balboa
San Diego Police are offering a $1,000 reward for anyone with information about the meter vandalizers
Gloria has heard the outrage and responded by announcing that the city will expand free parking zones for residents starting March 2.
The city will also scale back parking enforcement, cutting hours so enforcement ends at 6pm instead of 8pm.
‘I’ve heard from residents and from members of the City Council about how this program is affecting San Diegans who love Balboa Park as much as I do.
‘That feedback matters, and it’s why I am eliminating parking fees for City residents in select lots in the park,’ Gloria said in a statement.
‘This change will reduce revenue, and I have received a commitment from the City Council President as well as other councilmembers to identify other service-level reductions in order to keep the budget balanced.’
Despite the mayor’s damage control efforts, opponents are calling for the complete removal of the hefty fees.
Many contend that visitors should not be forced to shoulder the burden of the city’s financial problems.