Safe parking

Safe parking site reopens in El Cajon, serving people living out of their cars

By Paul Levikow

August 30, 2025 (El Cajon) – An overnight safe parking site for people living out of their vehicles reopened on Magnolia Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon Friday, after a yearlong, $3 million renovation project. It’s open daily from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.

Improvements announced at a news conference include flushable restrooms with running water, showers, additional parking spaces, meeting space, a place for staff, security, a dog run, meals, and an upgraded picnic area.

“This location is near and dear to our heart, as this is our very first safe parking site,” said Dijana Beck, Director of the County’s Office of Homeless Solutions. “It was borne out of a journey to resolve a large encampment that was forming in this area.”


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Overnight safe parking site opens in San Diego's Grantville neighborhood

By Paul Levikow

August 7, 2025 (Grantville) – The San Diego County Office of Homeless Solutions opened a new Overnight Safe Parking site in the Grantville neighborhood of San Diego today, with capacity to serve 20 vehicles. The location, in the 4500 block of Glacier Ave., is on county-owned land that will eventually become 300 affordable senior housing units. It’s part of the County’s efforts to expand emergency housing options for people experiencing homelessness.

The site is in a residential and commercial neighborhood next to the California Bank & Trust, which is on Mission Gorge Road.

The opening was announced at a morning news conference with San Diego County District 2 Supervisor Joel Anderson, Rep. Sara Jacobs from California’s 51st Congressional District, San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo of District 7, and other officials.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

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