SAN ANTONIO – Getting the best spot in the parking lot might cost you a few dollars the next time you head to the mall.
The Shops at La Cantera has designated 250 parking spaces as “Preferred Paid Parking,” a spokesperson told KSAT 12.
The spaces are located near the restaurant zone on the east and south side of the shopping center, and the spokesperson said make up less than five percent of all parking available at La Cantera.
Nevertheless, the decision has sparked community debate about whether shoppers should have to pay to park at the mall.
“I think that’s a little insane, considering it’s been around for a while and then out of nowhere one day we’re just having to pay for parking,” shopper Selena Gardea said. “This isn’t downtown.”
Parking in one of the preferred spaces costs $2 per hour, with a $10 cap if you are parked in the spaces for over 5 hours.
As stores become busier during the holidays, some shoppers said that the preferred spots offer a little convenience.
“I like it, especially during the holidays,” shopper Elizabeth Langston said. “It’s super crowded here, so it’s only five bucks, it’s convenient.”
KSAT 12 spoke to more than a dozen shoppers in the La Cantera parking lot, and saw multiple people decide to park in the preferred spaces after telling us they would “absolutely not” pay for parking.
“It’s perspective,” Amanda Madrano said. “The girlfriend who gets frustrated and doesn’t want to walk a mile, I’m like, I will pay the money.”
Even those who chose not to park in preferred spaces acknowledged that they might in the future to combat traffic.
“I almost wanted to pay for the preferred parking just so I could get a good spot,” Anthony Flammia said, “because the parking was ridiculous.”
Other people mentioned that the feeling of safety drove them to pay for parking.
“It’s one of those things where you pick and choose,” Ruth Agueros said. “Do you want close parking, being a woman, or do you want further out parking? Because safety is probably number one.”
La Cantera said that 10 percent of parking proceeds will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank.
The website says this is being done for a limited time, but a spokesperson said that it will become permanent.
“I did see that when I was paying,” Agueros said, ”and it kinda made me feel okay with it."
Even with the donation, multiple people expressed discontent with the mall attempting to get people to pay for parking.
“If they’re doing ten percent, they could do twenty percent,” shopper Enoch Gutierrez said. “They could certainly give more.”
“It’s still taking away from the middle class,” shopper Selena Gardea said. “They’re already coming here to spend money, and now they have to spend extra money just to park.”
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