Parking meters are going up at Lake Merritt

OAKLAND, Calif. - Drivers around Lake Merritt in Oakland are discovering a big change.

Parking meters have been newly installed around the lake in areas that until now, were free to park.

The city says two miles of the area around the lake are being converted into metered parking.

Some people who live nearby are upset.

"It’s just something else to pay for and it’s making it hard for us," one man said. "You know what I mean?"

Trisha Day added: "I feel like there’s a lot of other place the city could funnel from. But this is just another way to take it from everyday people."

A map posted on the city’s website shows the streets where drivers will have to pay seven days a week to park, including all of Lakeshore Avenue.

The meters approved by the city are a one-year pilot program, and they are expected to bring in over $1.5-million a year,-some of which will go to improvements in the park around the lake.