San Francisco considers converting 2-hour parking to 'pay or permit' in specific parts of city

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- People in some San Francisco neighborhoods say they're upset over proposed changes to parking.

But the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority says there's a lot of "misinformation" about the plan.

It would convert parking in the Marina, Cow Hollow and Union Street Corridor from two-hour parking to "pay or permit" parking.

Michael Alaraj grew up in San Francisco's Lower Haight.

He owns a business on Haight Street but says this is still a primarily residential area.

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"So, we have two-hour zones and no meters whatsoever, because, you know, people live here," Alaraj said.

But that could soon be changing.

SFMTA is proposing a plan to convert some parking in Marina, Cow Hollow and the Union Street Corridor from "two-hour residential parking permit" zones to "pay or permit" parking.

That means parking will still be free for residents with permits, but visitors without a permit would now have to pay up. No parking spaces would be removed.

In a release meant to clear up confusion about the plan, SFMTA says, "This is intended to make it easier for residents and visitors to park where visitor demand is very high."

"I don't see how that's going to increase our business here, other than people are just going to get more tickets from meter maids, because either they don't have their meters full or that money's going to stay with the city," Alaraj said.

"We don't need more turnover. We have adequate parking. What we need is to not charge people additionally," said Evan Matteo, a San Francisco resident.

Matteo has lived in Lower Haight for 19 years. But, he worries about how this could affect people just trying to do their jobs, like home health workers or cleaners.

"Expanding that program out and into the residential blocks. I mean, I guess it produces incremental revenue for MTA, but that's the only benefit and that money comes from the pockets of people who don't have a lot of money," he said.

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SFMTA says this change to "pay or permit" parking has already been working in the Hayes Valley neighborhood for the past two years.

"Give them an inch to take a mile," said Xavier Daniel, an employee at Undefeated in Hayes Valley.

Daniel says he's forced to leave work every few hours just to go move his car on most days.

"I feel like they're penny-pinching to an extent, so I have to put in that $8," he said. "I'm already worried about if it's going to get bipped or not. Now, I gotta worry about a ticket on top of that too."

SFMTA is holding an open house meeting on this proposal Monday night at 5 p.m. at the Moscone Recreation Center.