SFMTA plan to extend parking meter hours into evenings, Sundays on hold due to study
SAN FRANCISCO – Drivers in San Francisco may soon face extended hours at parking meters across the city. While one shop owner fears driving customers away, transportation officials argue it will do the opposite.
Parking meters line the street outside of Macchiarini Creative Design in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, where longtime resident, Daniel Macchiarini, makes his living.
Macchiarini's family has been in business in the city since the 1940's. He has a vested interest in his neighborhood and in San Francisco, which is why he says he's concerned about the SFMTA's proposed plan to extend parking meter hours across the city to 10:00 p.m., and on Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
"Any time where you create a situation where people have to pay more in order to visit a commercial district, you inhibit the use of the commercial district," Macchiarini said. "This is a form of tax on using our commercial district."
He believes more paid parking will negatively impact businesses across the city.
"The commercial districts in particular, I think, will suffer," he said.
However, the SFMTA sees it differently.
"We think this will be good for business. We think that extending meter hours into the evenings and on Sundays will create more parking availability, will make it easier for people to find parking and spend money in our neighborhood commercial districts," said Hank Willson, the Parking Policy Manager for the SFMTA.
The plan to extend parking meter hours comes from the SFMTA being in a precarious place – on the verge of a fiscal cliff.
"It's extremely important that we generate revenue in any way we can. The SFMTA is facing a $130 million annual budget deficit starting in fiscal year 2025, which is July 1 of 2024," Willson said. "$18.5 million is the gross revenue from both the evening and the Sunday meter extension, is what we're estimating. That combines both meter revenue and revenue that we would generate through additional citations."
Willson says the money generated from extended parking meter hours could help save "several MUNI lines."
"We've called it the fiscal cliff, and I don't really think that's an exaggeration," Willson said. "We're looking for other sources of revenue, we're asking the state for sources of revenue, but one of the things that we've heard back from state legislators is, we need to see what you're doing on the local level to generate more revenue and make things more sustainable financially for MUNI. So, this is one of the things that we can do."
The plan was set to roll out in phases starting in July. That was until the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to move forward with an economic impact study, that board president Aaron Peskin says should be done by September.
"The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is actually taking the appropriate steps to ensure that this makes sense. If it doesn't, we are going to use everything in our power to have the SFMTA not implement it," Peskin said. "We need to have an independent, economic analysis. We have ordered that. It will be done in September. We will see whether or not we're spending a dime to make a nickel."
Peskin says business owners like Macchiarini aren't alone with their concerns.
"I've gotten literally thousands of emails in support of the rather measured step that I took, which is requiring an economic analysis," Peskin said.
Willson says the SFMTA wants to move forward in a way that works best for all San Franciscans.
"We're supportive of the resolution, we're supportive of the economic impact study, and we won't plan to begin rolling out the extended parking meter hours until that study is complete," he said.
As this is a decision that impacts San Franciscans across the city, Macchiarini thinks everyone should have a say.
"I think like this should go to a vote of the entire population," he said.
