SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
City May Charge for All-Day Parking in Effort to Reduce Commuters
The City Council tonight will consider installing meters and charging $1 per day for 131 parking spaces used by train commuters near the downtown depot.
The proposal is being viewed as a way to reduce the number of rail commuters from San Clemente who drive here, park and catch northbound trains because the parking is free and the train fares cheaper.
Recent city surveys of parked vehicles downtown have shown that as many as 25% were registered to San Clemente residents.
“We’re trying to control the number of commuters who park in our downtown,” Mayor Carolyn Nash said.
San Juan Capistrano has 225 spaces for all-day parking downtown, but between 300 and 330 people catch trains daily from the city, said Douglas Dumhart, a city management analyst.
Under the proposal, the city would charge $1 a day on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. for the 131 spaces the city leases in the parking structure of the Franciscan Plaza, near the depot.
The proposal also calls for annual permits that would sell for $60 to San Juan Capistrano residents and for $250 to non-residents. Commuters could use the permits in lieu of paying the daily parking fee.
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