SAN ANTONIO — Before November of this year, there were multiple free parking lots at the Pearl. Now drivers are finding they must pay up to $10, with their phone, to park in the main lot off of East Grayson Street.
Drivers can be found in the parking lot staring at their phone for several minutes as they negotiate the web application used to pay. Most aren't thrilled about it.
"I've never paid to park until now. That makes it less enjoyable," Melissa Londa said. "Is it really necessary?"
"There are plenty of ways to spend your money here rather than pay for parking so that maybe that's kind of crossing a line a little bit. Do I want to spend an extra part of my wallet if I already know I'm going to spend money here," Charlie Londa said.
Other drivers said they simply wanted to know where the money was going. KENS 5 reached out to The Pearl Friday for more details and a spokesperson provided the following response on where the money was going:
"All revenue from parking will be put toward new projects and beautiful spaces for our neighborhood to enjoy every day, including areas like the new 1100 Springs Plaza, the upcoming marquee music venue Stable Hall, additional common space areas, the refurbishment of existing historical buildings and more.
"We also continuously invest in amenities that establish Pearl as a world-class pedestrian space, with safety improvements like bollards to manage traffic."
The Pearl also clarified that there were still some free options. Every Pearl lot is free for the first 30 Minutes. The spokesperson said patrons could park free for two hours at the Koehler Garage, the Newell Lot, and the River West Lot.
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