City Considers Paid On-Street Parking for South Lake Union

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is now considering whether to install paid on-street parking throughout the South Lake Union neighborhood as well as a residential parking zone (RPZ) in Cascade neighborhood. Pay stations and the RPZ may begin installation in spring 2007. According to SDOT, managing the on-street parking will help to:

• implement the City’s vision to make South Lake Union an accessible place to live, shop, and work;
  
  
• support a comprehensive package of transit, walking and biking investments and transportation demand management measures from the City of Seattle and King County Metro; and
  
  
• provide a flexible parking response to dynamic and substantial development changes.

SDOT will be releasing a draft management plan in January 2007 for businesses, residents, and employees in the neighborhood to review. The draft plan would accommodate both all-day and short-term parking, although there would be a charge for the on-street parking.

SDOT’s draft parking plan entails:

• installation of hourly paid parking throughout entire neighborhood so that on-street parking is managed fairly for all business employees, retail customers, visitors and residents;
  
  
• implementing two different hourly paid parking rates that allow parkers to purchase up to ten hours of time and still support turnover near retail and visitor-oriented businesses; and
  
  
• install an RPZ in the Cascade neighborhood.

Staff will start an extensive outreach process in January with a mailing to all residents, business tenants and property owners of the draft plan. Community-wide workshops will be held likely in early February. Staff will be attending SLUFAN meetings and other community events in the first few months of the year as well.

For more information, to share comments, or to add your name to the mailing list, contact Mary Catherine Snyder, SDOT, at marycatherine.snyder@seattle.gov or 206-684-8110.