You might be shelling out $10 to park at Baker Beach, Land’s End, and a host of other SF and Marin County parks under a new proposal from the National Park Service.
The patchwork of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin County parks known as the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) has welcomed more than 12.4 million visitors over the course of the pandemic, as people have looked to get out of their indoor Zoom-wormholes and get some fresh air. But those 12.4 million visitors have kind of taken a toll on the place. “There's so much trash and the dumpster there is just overflowing all the time there now," nearby SF resident Lucy Sogard told KTVU.
The National Park Service says bigger crowds are coming with bigger costs for more trash removal, beach cleanup, traffic control and janitor services. They are proposing a new parking fee of $3 an hour with a maximum of $10 per day. https://t.co/W6a7Z9DvWT
— KTVU (@KTVU) September 8, 2021
She brings this up because the GGNRA is mulling a plan to pay for increased trash pickups, and other services, with a new parking fees at GGNRA parking lots, as KRON4 reports. The parks themselves would still be free to visit, but parking would now be considered an amenity, at the cost of $3 an hour, with a $10 daily maximum charge.
As a refresher, here are the parking lots in the GGNRA that would have parking fees added, according to the GGNRA’s trial balloon announcement:
- Baker Beach Lots
- Land’s End Lookout Lot
- Sutro Heights Lot
- China Beach Lot
The same fees would also apply at the Lone Sailor Statue Lot on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, and other Marin County pearl locations like the Rodeo Beach, Fort Cronkhite, and Stinson Beach parking lots. Point Bonita Lighthouse would see additional charges for its evening tours, which in the words of the NPS, “will fund its operational costs to ensure that it can be offered to visitors in the future.”
As we said, this proposal is a trial balloon, the National Park Service is soliciting public comment and seeing how people react. This is unlikely to be some car-free Great Highway kind of controversy, but if you have thoughts one way or the other, you can email [email protected] or call them at 415-561-4700.
Image: NPS.gov
