SAN DIEGO — Parking meters have expanded across San Diego, leaving drivers with fewer free options and plenty of frustration. But city officials say the money collected isn’t disappearing into a general fund. Instead, it’s required by law to be reinvested directly into the neighborhoods where it’s collected, funding projects meant to improve safety for both drivers and pedestrians.
Along 7th Avenue and B Street in downtown, crews are preparing to replace sections of sidewalk from curb to gutter. The city says this is the first full sidewalk project paid for entirely by parking meter revenue.
Craig Gustafson, deputy director of the City of San Diego’s Transportation Department, says every driver who feeds the meter is also contributing to neighborhood improvements…