Heading south on Interstate 5, somewhere around the Route 54 intersection, there’s a view where you can see all the way into Tijuana. At night it looks like a sea of lights stretching to the southern horizon. It doesn’t look like two different worlds. It looks like one region.
But if you keep driving, you eventually reach a line that changes who belongs and who has access.
That’s why the updated parking policy in Balboa Park gives me pause.
I remember Mayor Todd Gloria in the park at the reopening of Mingei International Museum, advocating for the half-cent tax meant to balance the city’s budget, and walking the park on weekends like many other San Diegans. He clearly cares about this place.
The half-cent tax proposal was pitched as a long-term structural solution. Voters declined. When tax increases fail, budgets are balanced in other ways: fees, permits parking.
Long before it became Balboa Park, this land was home to a Kumeyaay village. It later passed through Mexican and American governance, and the park we recognize nearly disappeared after the 1915 exposition. It exists because earlier generations chose to preserve it. That preservation still requires resources. Buildings age. Landscaping, maintenance and security all cost money. Charging for parking is understandable.
The infrastructure is already built. Paid parking is here.
The updated policy, which went into effect March 2, expands free parking access for city residents and shortens regulatory hours. City residents also receive discounted daily and annual passes, while county residents pay the standard rate, roughly double. On paper, that reflects municipal funding realities. City taxpayers fund much of the park’s cost.
But Balboa Park has never functioned as a purely city amenity. Families from Chula Vista, National City, El Cajon, La Mesa and beyond visit every weekend. School groups come from across the county. The museums and gardens do not feel like neighborhood assets. They feel shared.
The park is also staffed regionally. Many of the people who operate its museums, maintain its grounds, welcome visitors and provide security commute from cities throughout San Diego County. The workforce reflects the same interconnected region as its guests.
When access is tied to residency, it creates an internal border in a region that prides itself on being interconnected.
San Diego often celebrates its unity. Our professional soccer club describes its crest as honoring the 18 diverse communities that create the heart and soul of the region. That’s the San Diego many of us recognize.
Balancing the budget is necessary. But we should do it in a way that strengthens regional belonging.
There is a simpler alternative. Keep parking free Monday through Thursday, including Tuesdays when many museums already offer free admission to city and county residents. Charge on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, when the park sees its highest volume. If there is a major event that requires traffic management, charge accordingly. That approach would raise revenue during peak use while keeping weekday access open for students, working families and seniors throughout the region.
The park is maintained by the city. But it belongs, culturally and emotionally, to all of us. In a region that has always looked and felt like one, Balboa Park should bring us together, not divide us.
Antonio Avalos works in safety and security at Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. The views expressed here are his own.
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