After a series of community meetings and heated discussion, the Seattle Department of Transportation has released its final parking plan for Fremont. The following changes will occur in February:
- Two-hour paid parking will take effect in Fremont’s retail core — a total of about 115 spaces — at a rate of $1.50 an hour.
- Time-limit signs will be installed outside Fremont’s retail core. Restrictions will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Saturday. On some streets near restaurants, time limits will continue until 10 p.m.
- Residential parking zone (RPZ) will take effect on streets north and east of the business district. RPZ signs will be installed on one side of residential streets (the other side will remain unrestricted) with 2-hour parking allowed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for non-permit holders, and from 8 p.m. to midnight with no non-permit holder parking allowed. The RPZ will be in effect Monday through Saturday.
The “retail core” is a rather concentrated area that encompasses the absolute center of Fremont — 115 parking spaces out of a total of 700. This popular area along 35th St. by the Rocket will be paid parking:
But go one block to the west, and it’s free with time limits. Here’s the map (.pdf) that outlines the specific zones and provides more details. Beginning in a couple weeks, eligible residents will receive RPZ permits in the mail. In January, sidewalks will be marked where paid parking kiosks and signs will be installed. In February, the installation begins.
As we’ve been reporting, the Fremont Chamber of Commerce has fought the plan all along with its Keep Fremont Free campaign, generating an outpouring of support from local businesses. So what do you think, will paid parking help or hurt business in the retail core?
15 responses so far ↓
1 Ballardog // Dec 4, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Democracy has been thrown out the window. Good time to unincorporate. West side of I-5, North to Shoreline, South to Lake Union and the Canal, East to the Sound. A new city free from the facsism and elitism of Seattle.
2 Patrick McGrath // Dec 5, 2008 at 11:37 am
Parking is difficult in Fremont. If ever have to drive there, I end up circling the block over and over. I imagine others are doing the same. I welcome a modest fee for parking if it means I don’t have to cruise to find a spot. I think these local business owners are more concerned about where they’re going to park during the day than they are about their revenue or customers.
3 Sheila // Dec 5, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I sure hope it helps. I’m quite tired of circling to find a space.
4 Rebecca // Dec 5, 2008 at 3:06 pm
As a resident of Fremont, I’m pretty excited about this plan and really hope that it helps the parking in Fremont. Maybe I’ll actually be able to go somewhere outside of Fremont on a Friday and then be able to park outside my building when I get home instead of 6 blocks away.
5 Sheila // Dec 5, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I wonder what this will mean for the Fremont Solstice parade and Fremont Fair.
6 ChadK // Dec 6, 2008 at 12:53 am
Ballardog, I’ve got that handful of fries you need so badly to complete that Happy Meal of yours.
Methinks you might be one of those nuts that places the safety cones in the street parking immediately in front of one’s house, claiming it out of one’s own self interest.
7 Ballardog // Dec 6, 2008 at 2:02 am
ChadK,
Not sure what you mean by that analogy.
Fremont is about the businesses and residents that locate there, not about the city trying to find another revenue resource. Their input should carry the most weight but it did not matter in this instance. The city had a plan regardless. This is my point. The city acted unilaterally in the interest of the government not the people. If you are okay with that then evidently you are in the right place if you live in Fremont.
8 ChadK // Dec 6, 2008 at 3:23 am
Lower Queen Anne actually.
9 ChadK // Dec 6, 2008 at 3:32 am
BTW, wouldn’t the new city emerging free of the facism and elitism of old actually would be founded purely out of elitism and an inherent sense of snobbery?
I mean, how did you all plan on addressing parking issues in your densifying neighborhood anyway?
People can’t be counted on with the honor system, and not everyone in those garish new condos (or thier visiters) is going to shell out for or otherwise use their own secured parking beneath their buildings.
So what is your comprehensive plan for your Fremont? It is a far cry fom Ballard, and I like it that way. It’s just that this whole secessionist riffraff amounts to nothing more than the painfully shrill braying of reactionary defeat without considering how to constructively act after a perceived setback.
10 Laura // Dec 6, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I live in upper Fremont, and work in the core, running a low-fee psychology clinic. This is going to make life harder for our patients, who can barely buy their gas and pay a pittance for therapy. It’s also going to make life a lot worse for our struggling small retail stores. People come to Fremont because it’s easy; this makes it hard. I know that my own behavior and shopping patterns have changed due to implementation of paid parking where it was previously free and time-limited, e.g., outside of the Roosevelt Trader Joe’s- I avoid going there during the daytime on a weekday, because their garage is insane, and I’m not willing to pay to shop for groceries. That’s groceries- an necessity. What’s going to happen to all of the people who don’t have to spend time at Burnt Sugar or Fremont Place Books?
I’m very angry at the city for blowing off the feedback it received. I’m not surprised, though. Our neighborhood doesn’t matter to the city.
11 Ballardog // Dec 6, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Chadk,
Again, my criticism isn’t about the parking or if I have a better plan. It’s about the community of Fremont, the people that live there and the businesses that operate there. They should have a say and I believe make the ultimate decision on the best way to structure the parking. They came up with an alternate plan and the city completely disregarded it, giving it no consideration whatsoever. How can you constructively act when they do not allow you any other option? It might seem extreme but I don’t know any other way of taking back control of the community from this authoritarian mayor and council.
12 Michael Snyder // Dec 16, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Where can I sign the petition to add the parking meters?
No, I don’t want to petition for free parking because parking isn’t free…it is public right of way that is being pilfered when there is perfectly good pay parking lots nearby.
I think that paid parking will be a good thing. I wish that the zone would be made much larger. The smaller zone might actually create more problems for nearby residents. Do any of these business owners live nearby?
13 trizzle // Dec 16, 2008 at 10:22 pm
My concern is about where they have decided to charge for parking and where they don’t. West seattle has no meters. Why? I live and work in Ballard, and I have seen my buisness drop (hairstylist) or be hampered (at least) by the parking issue. In tough economic times, when we are encouraging each other to shop local, why are we adding meters and upping parking fees in these local hoods? Seems counter intelligent to me.
14 Rey T. Fox // Dec 20, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Visitors to Fremont are perfectly welcome to TAKE THE BUS.
15 Lisa // Dec 23, 2008 at 11:05 am
Being a resident of Fremont, I am a bit frustrated by the new parking restrictions. I live on 35th and Fremont, and my building does not have its own parking. The new restrictions mean I have to pay for an RPZ permit, but I also will have to park farther away. I wish they had though a bit more about the residents that live in the downtown core.
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