Facing a relentless tide of illegally parking scofflaws, Naval Base San Diego officials have in recent months beefed up the penalties that sailors, civilians and contractors face for parking where they shouldn’t.

At the same time, base leaders acknowledge the lack of parking space along the waterfront on the installation, which is cleaved in half by Harbor Drive, and say they are working to figure out better solutions.

According to a February memo issued by then-NBSD Commander Capt. Ted Carlson, illegal parking on base has become “a serious problem.”

NBSD was responding to an average of 20 calls a day for illegally parked vehicles, and more than 100 vehicles were being towed each month, according to a copy of Carlson’s memo obtained by Navy Times.

“Illegal parking is a safety issue that impacts security and fire and emergency services,” Carlson wrote. “It is also the cause of numerous accidents and fender benders on base.”

Because the existing policies weren’t dissuading illegal parkers, Carlson’s memo directed that drivers of illegally parked vehicles get two points added to their base driving record for each infraction and have their base driving privileges suspended for 30 days, along with having their vehicle towed.

Sailors, civilians and contractors are notified of such actions via their commanding officer or boss, according to the memo, and could see their base driving privileges suspended for a year for repeat infractions.

Six drivers had been issued 30-day base driving suspensions under the new policy as of Friday, according to base spokesperson Krishna Jackson.

Parking has long been an issue on the “wet side” of NBSD, which sits on the water west of I-5 and is connected to the “dry side” by a pedestrian bridge.

Carlson’s replacement, Capt. Robert Heely, took command of the base in April and told Navy Times that part of the problem stems from a parking crunch along a waterfront clogged with ships, sailors and contractors.

“I get the frustration that many of the sailors and other folks that work here exhibit on a daily basis,” he said. “A lot of people brought that up to me as I was coming into this job … you need to fix parking.”

Base officials said they do not have any data regarding the demographics of those parking illegally at NBSD, but Heely said he suspects it is largely sailors who are running late and illegally parking so that they don’t get in trouble.

“They’re literally, blatantly, parking in areas that are off limits,” he said. “I think (prior base leadership) saw a steady stream over time. And so it came to a boiling point where my predecessor felt that they needed to take action on it.”

As he’s made the rounds as the new base CO, Heely said he has not heard concerns or complaints about the harsher parking policy.

Part of the problem involves more folks on the piers these days.

NBSD has more than 60 ships today, Heely said.

While he did not have past ship numbers on hand, Heely said the number of ships there has increased in the past decade.

“We’re doing a lot of maintenance on the piers these days,” he said. “And with that comes additional contractors, shipyard workers and things like that. I’m not pointing fingers at them, but there’s a lot more people coming to the base to do work to get this surface force ready to go.”

Heely said he also wants to look at all the reserved parking spots afforded to various waterfront leaders.

“For senior leaders as part of the ship, senior leaders as part of the waterfront organization, I think we need to look at that … what that policy says and who gets those spots,” Heely said.

The base is also looking at more reserved “afloat parking,” dedicated spaces for sailors on the waterfront’s ships, he added.

There is plenty of parking elsewhere on base, away from the piers, and Heely said he is working to increase awareness of the free shuttles and rental bikes that can get folks around quickly.

While some have suggested building a parking garage, Heely said he isn’t sure that is the answer.

“If you understand the (military construction) process … it’s not going to happen overnight,” he said. “To do that, I’m going to have to remove parking for several years, or how long it takes to build a parking structure. I’m not really sure that’s really going to solve the problem, either.”

In the meantime, Heely said he plans to convene the various waterfront commands, offices and other stakeholders to see if new solutions can be generated.

“I’m inside (I-5) here,” he noted. “There isn’t much between the 5 and the water that the Navy owns … that’s not developed.”

Correction: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the roadway that bisects Naval Base San Diego. The base is separated by Harbor Drive.

Geoff is a senior staff reporter for Military Times, focusing on the Navy. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was most recently a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.

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