Del Mar Train Depot

Paul Frankel’s article urging retention of the Del Mar Amtrak station, brags about 90 dedicated parking spaces and 128 adjacent spaces available to service travelers. But the city of Del Mar, in connection with Amtrak, sealed its own fate by authorizing the decades-old free parking to be $5 per partial day. That means that my late-evening trips to Los Angeles, for morning court appearances, with a return by 1 p.m., incur a $10 parking charge. My pleas to have the fee $5 per 24 hours are ignored. And I am tired of parking blocks away to avoid this.

I’ll welcome Solana Beach with its 400 free parking spaces. Kudos to Jim Mills for his work in arranging this new transportation center that will serve all of North County, including adjacent Del Mar.

MICHAEL SCHAEFER

San Diego