Free parking set near Union Square
Starting Friday through the end of the year, three city-owned garages near San Francisco’s Union Square will offer free parking for up to two hours while car access on some adjacent streets will be limited at night following a string of retail thefts at the high-end shopping square and across the city.
The temporary changes, which were announced by Mayor London Breed this week, are meant to give Union Square shoppers and retailers peace of mind during the busy holiday shopping season. Breed also said Union Square patrons should expect to see more police foot patrols and a greater law enforcement presence.
According to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, three garages within a two-block radius of Union Square will offer free two-hour parking: the Sutter-Stockton Garage at 444 Stockton Street; the Ellis-O’Farrell Garage at 123 O’Farrell Street; and Union Square Garage at 333 Post Street.
The three garages have a combined 3,042 vehicle spaces, and hourly parking rates vary between $4 and $5, depending on the time of day. It was unclear Wednesday afternoon which streets near Union Square would be closed off to car traffic from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., though the transportation agency said the closures would not affect Muni service or result in any bus re-routes.
“To support Union Square businesses that are still reeling from the brazen thefts that took place last weekend, and to make sure businesses in this area don’t suffer an additional economic impact because of them, we have approved a temporary parking discount for off-street parking,” SFMTA spokesperson Erica Kato said in a statement.
The mayor’s announcement this week set off a wave of social media backlash from transit riders and advocates who said the decision to offer free parking could adversely affect the city’s financially struggling Municipal Transportation Agency that sustains Muni service, in part, through parking revenue.
Parking and traffic enforcement, along with Muni fares and appropriations from the city’s general budget, make up the three major pillars of funding sources for SFMTA. The free parking is estimated to cost between $700,000 and $900,000 in lost revenue, The Chronicle reported, and it’s unclear whether the shortfall would be backfilled by City Hall or absorbed by SFMTA.
The agency’s off-street parking revenue has steadily climbed up as more people drive to and shop at retail stores across the city. Weekly parking revenues exceeded $1 million for the first time since the pandemic in October.
But revenue has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels as the agency weighs limited service restorations amid an epic funding crunch that could lead to a ballot measure for Muni operations next year.
Some transit advocates said the city’s free-parking decision in a transitrich and oft-congested part of the city would financially hamper public transit.