Seattle Clamps Down on Free Parking in Lake Union Neighborhood


Via Planetizen.


2 responses to “Seattle Clamps Down on Free Parking in Lake Union Neighborhood”

  1. I am not sure if this will work. On local talk radio(the few shows of it I listen to), they talked about this, and some sere saying that it is wrong, but a few were saying they were just putting the cart before the horse on the issue. Until we have alternatives to driving in place, people will still have to drive in many places, and they need some parking.

    In fact, Dave Ross(KIRO 710AM, 9-Noon) said he could not take the bus, and parks in one of those few free spots in that area.(KIRO Radio studios are in the area of South Lake Union). The reason is he has to be to work at 5:45AM, the first inbound buses to Seattle do not reach Mercer Island until after 6AM. Ron Reagan(12-1PM, and he is the son of the 40th President, but his politics are different than his father), who mostly does political issues on the national side, even covered it. One of his callers had a good point, why not pre-paid parking cards like we have pre-paid phone cards?

    Although the South Lake Union Streetcar is progressing construction-wise, it will only go from the Westlake Hub in Downtown Seattle to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center down around Valley St. I do not think they will expand it as fast as the Portland Streetcar has. The next logical step is the University District, but they have a major technical issue to overcome. The University Bridge, built 1919, once hosted streetcars, but they did some improvements to the approaches a decade ago, and supposedly they could not support a streetcar, but the drawspan could. Although they still have not said much about what the water main break on the south side of the bridge had done to it’s foundation. Besides roadways and bridges that are 50-100 years old, we have water mains that are 100 years old, and two breaks in two weeks is bad.

    Now also another transportation milestone just occured today. The Beacon Hill Light Rail Tunnel has just completed one of the two tubes. Hopefully they can get this line to the airport completed by 2009.

  2. Define “work.” Sounds like they’re making it more difficult to park for free.

    If “work” is measured as the city picking up additional revenue by charging for parking, then it probably will work.

    If “work” is measured as some people being induced to walk, ride their bicycle or take transit rather than drive and park for free, then I’m sure that at least some people will be induced to make these travel behaviour changes, and it probably will work.

    If “work” is measured as this policy being the end-all cure-all for all things related to parking and transit, then no, I think it probably will not work.

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