San Luis Obispo provides free parking during holidays

November 22, 2021

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

In attempt to encourage shopping in the downtown area, the San Luis Obispo City Council adopted a resolution establishing free parking in the city’s three parking structures for a total of 13 days this holiday season.

Parking in the downtown structures will be free every Sunday from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. Additionally, parking in the structures will be free on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

“We encourage community members to visit the downtown area and support downtown businesses this holiday season,” SLO Parking Manager Gaven Hussey said in a statement. “Historically, we’ve offered free parking on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s days, and this is an extension of that. Sundays during the holiday season can be fairly slow-traffic days and suspending parking enforcement in the parking structures on those days will help our efforts to support our community’s economic recovery.”

Overnight parking rates for the structures will remain in effect for the free-parking days. The city council resolution also authorizes staff to suspend collection of off-street parking fees for up to two weeks at a time during an emergency.


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Watch out for the meter maid that tickets your car as soon as you get out and are at the pay post paying for the privilage.


Oh God bless San Luis for letting us serfs have free parking! Let me lick the boots of whoever graced us with such a gift!


Oh cool. So they’re allowing us to park for free ONLY in the parking structures? On days like Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas when hardly any businesses downtown will be open because they’re holidays??? Who tf is going to be doing shopping on Christmas Day downtown??? They could’ve made all parking free for two weeks before Christmas and had a much better effect for shoppers.


This is great news! Free parking throughout the face mask required days should be considered to recoup the loss for small businesses.


And exactly how do face masks cause losses for small businesses? If anything, masks prevent losses by reducing the need for further COVID shutdowns.


That’s so nice! Disabled people will get to park for free, hundreds, if not thousands of feet from where they will eventually get to….some time today….because walkers and wheelchairs are cumbersome…since there is a bike path and restaurant seating in the street where the Higuera and Monterey handicapped parking used to be.


They should also offer free parking for the Christmas parade on December 3.


Gee, how nice of SLO to allow us to park for free in the structures our tax dollars paid for….


Big Deal! I will be spending my holiday money shopping in Paso Robles. A city that was not ruined by Heidi Harmon and her cronies.


Not much takes me to SLO, not even free parking.


Even with free parking for the holidays, there’s always someone who can’t help but be a grumpy SOB.