Parking meters are coming to several San Diego neighborhoods, city officials say, with installations starting as soon as next week in Normal Heights, City Heights and Kensington-Talmadge. The city of San Diego says new two-hour and four-hour parking meters will be installed on select streets begi nning next month. Notices were sent this week to property owners in the affected areas. More San Diego parking news Jan 29 Twice the price at San Diego parking meters, but not double the dough Balboa Park Jan 28 Committee kills plan to suspend Balboa Park parking fees on Sundays Balboa Park Jan 28 Growing calls to roll back paid parking at Balboa Park According to the city, the meters are part of the larger parking reform package approved by the city council last year. They added that a parking study was recently done and found high demand for on-street parking in the neighborhoods, along with vehicles staying parked for long periods of time. A spokesperson emphasized that the meters are intended to promote turnover, making it easier for people to find parking near shops and restaurants.  Along Adams Avenue, meters will be installed from Hamilton Street in Normal Heights to 42nd Street in Kensington. Other streets slated for metered parking include El Cajon Boulevard from Kansas Street to 37th Street, as well as multiple nearby residential streets. The full list from the city is as follows: • El Cajon Boulevard from 29th Street/Kansas Street to 37th Street• Adams Avenue between Hamilton and 42nd streets• Felton Street just north of Adams Avenue to the alley south of Adams Avenue• 34th Street just north of Adams Avenue to the alley south of Adams Avenue• Hawley Boulevard and along Adams Avenue• Park Place from Kensington Drive to Marlborough Drive• Terrace Drive from Adams Avenue to Park Place• Kensington Drive from Adams Avenue to Park Place• Marlborough Drive from the alley north of Adams Avenue to Park Place• 32nd Street, Bancroft Street, 33rd Street, 35th Street and Wilson Avenue  from the alley north of Adams Avenue to the alley south of Adams Avenue Jan 27 Councilmembers appear to back off from plan for Sunday paid parking Jan 27 Trio of councilmembers to propose vote to suspend Balboa Park parking fees Balboa Park Jan 24 New demand for San Diego officials to end Balboa Park paid parking fees Balboa Park Jan 23 ‘People are really mad.' First-ever parking fees at Balboa Park draw anger Chuck Cofer, the owner of Adams Avenue Bicycles, said he only recently learned about the plan when a neighbor of the shop came in and told them about it. He said, as of now, there is a two-hour time limit for cars to park directly outside his shop, but that it does not seem to be strictly enforced and it can make it difficult for customers to find space.  “On one hand, I would like to see it be enforced more or a system that would have people not take advantage and park all day when there needs to be higher turnover for people to come to businesses, but, admittedly, I’m nervous about the result of any change like that,” Cofer said. Farther east, V Trang, the general manager of Kensington Cafe, said she worries that paid parking could discourage customers. “I think it’s going to deter a lot of people from wanting to come out to eat here because they don’t necessarily want to pay for parking [or] fight for parking,” Trang said. Ponce’s Mexican Restaurant also shared a statement with NBC 7 expressing concern about the change: “As a small neighborhood restaurant that’s been part of Kensington for over 50 years, parking is already a challenge for both our guests and our staff. We’re concerned that adding meters could make it harder for people to stop in and for our team to get to work, especially at a time when costs are already high and visitor traffic has noticeably slowed in the neighborhood. We were disappointed to learn about this so late in the process and hope there’s still room for meaningful community and business input.” David Harding, the president of the Adams Avenue Business Association, said their board members have been informed about the plan, but opinions remain divided. “As the business association, we’ve been kept in the loop throughout the process,” Harding said. “We actually brought this to the full board a month or so ago to try to get consensus. We have strong opinions on both sides, so we neither endorsed this plan nor decided to go against it.” Harding added added that the division is somewhat unusual for the group, as it is often able to come to a singular conclusion, which shows how nuanced the issue is. “I don’t think it’s the right direction,” said Andrew Gilligan, who has an office off of Adams Avenue in a more residential area. “A lot of these apartments don’t have parking. The city has actually advocated for higher density with no parking, so where do people park? How do you park on Adams Avenue? You have to come out all the time, feed the meter?” The city said state law requires that all parking meter revenue be reinvested in the same areas where it is collected, funding parking, mobility-related needs, infrastructure improvements and ongoing maintenance. Metered parking hours will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, excluding holidays. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less