Downtown Santa Barbara Parking Lots Increase Hourly Rate
Source: City of Santa Barbara
Hourly parking rates in Downtown parking lots will increase to $2.50 per hour on July 1, 2022. This rate increase is in response to the rising costs of performing parking-related services, major maintenance, and capital improvements; and will ensure Downtown Parking can continue to maintain clean, safe parking facilities and provide the level of service for which Santa Barbara is known.
Parkers will continue to receive 75-minutes free parking each day before accruing hourly fees. Rates are in effect 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Downtown Parking offers affordable monthly permit options for residents and those working in the Downtown area. Visit www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/Parking to learn more about the available permit options.
Downtown Parking maintains ten parking lots and five parking structures with over 3,000 parking stalls, serving over five million vehicles annually. Revenue from parking fees also supports the Downtown Plaza area encompassing the State Street Central Business District and the downtown paseo system.
28 Comments
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Jun 30, 2022 08:48 PMVery reasonable rates for parking -
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Jun 30, 2022 12:09 PM40 , 50 years back city parking lots were 90 minute parking. How much after that I do not remember. But Monday - Saturday after 6 pm it was free till about 9am the next morning. On Sunday's it was free all day and night till about 9 am on Monday's. It will get to the point that there will not be any free parking in SB. Not even in the residential neighborhoods. Sad.
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Jun 30, 2022 12:09 PMSo much for downtown revitalization......
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Jun 30, 2022 11:09 AMNo downtown shopping for me and I vote NO on all funding for downtown. If I can't go there except in emergencies (and I can't think of any) why should I pay taxes to a <foreign> city?
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Jun 30, 2022 09:41 AMDowntown is dirty, has few interesting stores left, and is filled with transients.
I was attacked by a transient a few years ago. They were jailed but released afterwards.
I have lived here for decades and see no reason to go there anymore. Sad, but true.
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Jun 30, 2022 10:55 AMI agree Lacey. Santa Barbara’s downtown was once a crown jewel of the region. It was safe, clean, and a beautiful place to visit with a family. Not anymore!
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Jun 30, 2022 08:51 AMStill a deal!
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Jun 30, 2022 08:44 AMThanks, Chris R--absolutely agree! Another thing we have better than elsewhere is that most of the SB downtown lots are staffed--with people--and the young (usually) attendants are unfailingly helpful, polite, professional, and super friendly.
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Jun 30, 2022 08:26 AMI knew this minor change would set the commenters off. Thanks everyone, you didn’t disappoint.
Free parking for 75 mins is awesome! Yeah, it used to be 90 mins way back when. But imagine how bad the lots would be if they were totally free. If you are upset about this, try to realize how good we have it. It’s not worth worrying about.
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Jun 30, 2022 08:19 AMMost cities in their downtown areas have parking meters and there is no free period of time; the charges start immediately. We should feel fortunate that SB is retaining the free first 75 minutes, and that so many years have passed without a rate increase. Check out parking in Santa Monica (comparable to SB) where on-street parking meters are throughout the city--they charge $2.50/hour in Downtown and Beach zones and $1.25 in all other city-wide meter zones.
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Jul 02, 2022 12:36 AMSanta Monica population 2022: 88,286
Santa Barbara population: 91,847
https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/santa-monica-ca-population
Granted, I did not fact check the site. You can search figures online too.
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Jun 30, 2022 11:14 AMTo compare congested mega cities parking to santa barbara is apples and oranges. This change is aimed at tourists, just another way in which residents lose to beach-businesses, bars and expensive hotels.
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Jun 30, 2022 08:04 AMI agree with SBSAND, I see nothing to go down town for. Our town has no place to actually shop. La Cumberland plaza has Macys. I have lived here for 71 years. Down town use to be fabulous. You could go down town and see people you know.now it’s homeless, urin filled areas. I do not feel safe down there nor would I feel safe letting my children down there. I can remember it was almost a right of passage to allow you teen to go to town for a few hours alone. Newberrys woolworths, kernahans, no longer that Santa Barbara.
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Jun 30, 2022 08:43 AMDowntown may not be as good as it was, but there’s still a lot of good stuff there. La Arcada is a lovely place to stroll through. There are plenty of good restaurants, like Los Arroyos and Savoy just off State on Figueroa. There’s the Museum of Art, and the central Library. There are happy tourists and working locals. If the city can push the store landlords into renting out their vacant properties, instead of keeping them empty as tax write-offs, maybe some of the previous vibrancy will return.
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Jun 30, 2022 07:08 AMHow much of this actually goes to the city? These parking lots were funded by the corporation that set them up which also keeps a good percentage of the revenues. Cmon bro, don’t make them richer
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Jun 30, 2022 07:06 AMGeez! Rates haven't been increased for years. Even with the increase, 2 hours of parking will be $2.50 as the first 75 minutes are free. Still a good deal compared to what other cities charge in their downtowns. Even Downtown Santa Barbara, our downtown businesses association, came out in favor of it.
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Jun 30, 2022 05:02 AMLet's blame it on the mayor, like folks here did everything else that happened in SB for the last 10 years.
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Jun 29, 2022 08:17 PMShould be 10$ an hour as far I'm concerned.
Locals that work in that area should be able to park for free
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Jun 29, 2022 07:19 PMWill there be more security in the parking lots with the increase? I doubt it. People want to feel reasonably safe going downtown. Randy Rowse - Do something - do anything.... ribbon cutting ceremonies are great and all but make an impact.
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Jun 30, 2022 09:26 AM?? Is there a need for more security in the lots? Never had a problem…
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Jun 29, 2022 07:18 PMShop at Camino Real Marketing or Camarillo Premium Outlets which both have unlimited free parking. Private enterprise beats government bureaucracy yet again.
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Jun 30, 2022 11:32 AMMarcel - They’re not the same and it’s super ignorant to compare the small private lots downtown who tow violators frequently to the ease of access of public, paid for parking. You seem like one of those people who wants to sound so sharp online but I bet you’re meek as a mouse irl.
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Jun 30, 2022 05:05 AMYeah, all the private parking lots in SB are completely free because private enterprise doesn't believe in charging people.
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Jun 29, 2022 08:35 PMGas costs completely negate any parking savings with this plan
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Jun 29, 2022 04:43 PMPerhaps the Downtown Parking Committee, meeting monthly (at 8:30 am?) with no televised meetings for the public to be informed, discussed this, but for the rest of Santa Barbara, this would be more tolerable if they showed/explained what the actual costs are/parking lot and what each brings in. We, the non-bikers out here, those of us physically unable to bike around town, would be more accepting of 4-day/week government, not to mention the council with its many days off - not meeting until July 19!, if there were a clear cost to operate vs income sttatement for each would be raise in rates.
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Jun 29, 2022 03:22 PMIt's about time. SB's parking rates are way below most other cities'. Another reason to ride a bike!
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Jun 29, 2022 03:08 PMGross! Another reason NOT to go downtown.
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Jun 29, 2022 03:07 PMGreat..