San Jose holds grand opening for 2nd safe parking site for RVs

SAN JOSE, CA - The City of San Jose held a grand opening for its second safe parking site today. Officials say the Berryessa Safe Parking site is now its largest site, offering 86 spaces for RVs. San Jose’s mayor has promoted the safe parking program as part of his plan to get people off the streets.

This is the second safe parking site opened in San Jose and the mayor says the program is working. Still, one homeless advocate says the city isn’t opening the parking sites fast enough.

"I’ve only been here a little over a month, but I’ve been on the streets for 17 to 20 years. Safe parking, to me, is from the heart," said Carol, a Berryessa Safe Parking site resident. 

What we know:

The Safe Parking site at 1300 Berryessa Road officially opened last month, but city officials held a grand opening for the site on Thursday. It provides 86 gated spaces for recreational vehicles or RVs and offers support services including case management. Residents are selected through referrals and how long they stay is determined case by case.  

"The staff here encourage you and support you to reach your goals, without the violence, the threats, the drugs, the alcohol, that you have on the streets. There’s none of that here and all your neighbors are the same as you," said Carol.   

People living at the Berryessa safe parking site are given two meals a day, have access to showers, a laundry room and security on site. People are not required to have up-to-date registration or insurance to be accepted. The city’s first safe parking site, Santa Teresa, opened in July 2023 with 42 spaces.

"People are crying out for change. They want to see an end to the era of encampments. They’re tired of seeing human suffering. The fact that we have 200 people die on our streets each year is completely morally unacceptable," said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. 

The other side:

The city estimates there are more than a thousand people sleeping in vehicles each night in San Jose. Homeless advocate Shaunn Cartwright, co-founder of Unhoused Response Group (URG), says she supports safe parking sites but believes opening sites isn’t happening as much as it should.

"Safe parking is a great idea. We just need more of it much quicker to accommodate the people, the people that we have right now. Let alone the influx of unhoused people that we expect from across the country," said Cartwright. 

The city also recently started towaway zones for RVs in designated areas. Officials say they plan to offer a thousand new placements to people over the next year, but there is no current timeline to open a third safe parking site.