Big change coming to parking in downtown Paso Robles. 2 free hours are going away

Drivers will no longer have a free ride parking in downtown Paso Robles starting Jan. 1 after the City Council voted to begin charging from the get-go.

Currently, visitors to downtown Paso Robles can park free for two hours and then will be charged $2 per hour.

Starting in January, however, drivers will pay $1 an hour from the moment they arrive, after the City Council passed the new rates on a narrow vote at a meeting last week.

The city will give a break to Paso Robles residents older than 65, who will be eligible for one senior parking pass per household, allowing them to park downtown free of charge.

At the Nov. 21 meeting, councilmembers listened to a lengthy public comment period and reviewed feedback from the ad-hoc Parking Committee about the existing parking program.

Paso Robles residents who spoke during public comment and at previous parking committee meetings were largely against paid parking in downtown Paso Robles, saying it discouraged residents from visiting the city core.

“I don’t think I’ve had a single email that was favorable to this program,” Strong said of paid parking in downtown Paso Robles.

Despite public sentiment against paid parking, the motion to expand paid parking passed 3-2, with Mayor Jon Hamon and councilmembers Sharon Roche and Steven Gregory approving the motion and Councilmembers Chris Bausch and Fred Strong voting against.

“We have to have some kind of a parking program in our city because of the volume of traffic coming in,” Paso Robles Councilmember Steve Gregory said.

As part of the motion, city staff was directed to improve signage explaining parking rules downtown and provide assistance to seniors on signing up for parking passes.