SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : 35% Fewer Commuters Using Lot Near Depot

About 35% fewer rail commuters are parking in 131 reserved spaces near the train depot since the city started charging for the privilege a month ago.

More rail commuters are parking in nearby free lots, but the city doesn’t plan to make any immediate changes in an attempt to fill all 131 pay spaces, said Douglas Dumhart, a city management analyst.

The city spends $100,000 a year to lease the spaces from the Franciscan Plaza.

In late July, the city began charging a parking fee for the spaces of 25 cents an hour on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., with a $2-a-day maximum. Annual passes also are available for $125 to San Juan Capistrano residents and $400 for non-residents.

The fees were enacted to offset part of the city’s expenses, and better control downtown parking.

A handful of rail commuters from neighboring South County cities have called the fees unfair.

Dumhart said that city officials expected only a 15% drop in the number of rail commuters who park in the 131 spaces. Before the fees went into effect, the lot was near capacity each weekday.

Metrolink officials said that daily departures from the San Juan Capistrano depot have recently dropped by about two dozen people per day.

Some of the drop is being attributed to summer vacations of workers who would normally be taking the Metrolink to work.