Changes are coming to Santana Row’s parking rules. Starting this week, visitors and employees will have to pay for parking after two free hours at the San Jose outdoor mall.
There are signs that have been put up at the garages. After two hours, customers will have to pay $2 per hour with a maximum daily rate of $10.
“I think it’s not very pleasant because a lot of the times. I’m going to Valley Fair just to try to avoid the little fees. I’m not very happy about it,” said San Jose resident Keirah Chen.
Santana Row’s new parking rules are similar to what the nearby Westfield Valley Fair mall has been doing. San Jose resident Stella Zhou used to work at Valley Fair and would have to pay for parking.
“You’re already kind of getting paid minimum wage at most of the shops there and having to pay parking on top of that, it’s not really fun,” she said.
The senior director of marketing at Santana Row said employees can get a monthly parking pass for $20 or pay a daily rate of $2.
In an email, Santana Row said the change is due to “the increased number of Valley Fair employees and customers using our parking spaces, by regulating parking, we ensure that our guests can conveniently find parking spaces.”
Also, one outdoor parking lot is now only for Santana Row employees. In some of the garages, there will be signs that say paid parking starts Tuesday, but the senior marketing director said they don’t have the official day just yet, but it will begin this week.
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