Parking Changes

Exciting changes are coming to the City’s downtown parking program, effective Aug. 3, 2020.  

The City suspended parking operations and provided free parking effective March 19^that the onset of the pandemic.  Since that time, the City’s parking team has continued to monitor downtown activity and overall parking occupancy, both on-street and in City lots and garages. 

As communicated previously, the City Council on June 23 approved several updates to the parking programs and rates, with the most notable being the introduction of 90 Minutes of FREE Parking to all downtown visitors parking in the following garages:

• Market & San Pedro Square
• Second & San Carlos
• Third Street
• Fourth Street
• Third & Santa Clara (The Globe)

The 90-minute period of free parking replaces the previous validation program.  The new program is designed to provide the following benefits:

• Easy-to-understand program for merchants and customers
• Equity to all downtown businesses and visitors who park at City garages
• Provides costs savings to businesses by eliminating the $0.30-per-validation cost
• Reduces high-touch interactions by eliminating the need for customers to bring parking tickets to merchant for validation 
• Continues to support downtown businesses during the pandemic

In the garages, the weekday (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) rates after the first 90 FREE minutes will be $1 per 15 minutes up to a maximum rate of $25.

Weekdays from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and on Saturday and Sunday, after the first 90 minutes, the rate will be $1 per $15 minutes up to a maximum rate of $10.

Additionally, the City has adopted a new Discounted Downtown Employee Parking Permit program providing a 50% discount to those employees working in the downtown and earning $20 or less per hour (employment and wage verified during application).

• For additional information on parking rates and programs, please contact the City’s parking operator at 408-794-1090.
• For Monthly Permit parking questions, including applications for the new employee discount, email sanjose@spplus.com or call 408-794-1090

The City will also resume paid parking Aug. 3 at all on-street meters within the downtown core at the current $2-per-hour rates.  Parking compliance activities within the downtown core will resume as well on Aug. 3.