The ticket kiosks and parking barriers at La Jolla’s Westfield UTC will finally be put to use. A “secured parking plan” will go into effect this week, which will come with a parking charge for some.

Starting Jan. 30, Westfield UTC will start charging customers to use their parking lots after two hours.

Guests will be charged $2 for visits lasting 2-3 hours, $4 for visits lasting 3-4 hours, and $6 for visits lasting 4-5 hours. There will be $15 daily maximum that will be reached for visits lasting longer than 9 hours.

Customers who visit the UTC’s Arclight Cinemas, 24-Hour Fitness, and the UTC Ice Sports Center will be able to receive validations for additional hours of free parking.

A new, four-lane valet drive-up will be available on La Jolla Drive that will cost customers $8 for four hours, with an additional $2 per hour fee.

Westfield originally said they would begin charging for parking in fall 2018 but that was never implemented. The parking fees will now go into effect this month.

The new parking plan was created because hundreds of vehicles a day were parking in their lots while making visits elsewhere in the local neighborhood, Westfield said.

Along with the new parking plan, UTC also made changes to their parking structures and added a designated Uber pick-up and drop-off site station near Room & Board.

Westfield said they have also added “park assist technology,” a system that uses red and green lights to lead drivers to the first available space.

For employees of the mall, UTC employers or individual employees will have the option of purchasing monthly or daily parking passes. Employees also have the option of using a 50 percent discount on San Diego Metropolitan Transit System ride.

Malls such as Fashion Valley and Mission Valley still offer free parking.

To learn more about UTC’s new “secured parking plan” visit their website.

Photo Credit: Westfield Corp.
Source: NBC San Diego