Two weeks ago we heard about rising parking rates all around Seattle, including a $0.50/hour hike here in Fremont. Most of you were displeased. And you weren’t alone.
The city was listening to you and other neighborhoods, some of which are facing a new $4.00/hour parking rate, and is putting these revised rates under review before making them official.
At a lunch-time forum at City Hall, Councilmember Tim Burgess said the City Council has asked for a review of a parking study used by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to set the new rates.
Mike Estey, SDOT manager, said staff were “scrubbing the numbers, the data and methodology” in the wake of criticism that the rates would hurt small businesses and were based on peak-occupancy, not typical parking availability.
No word on what changes might be in order and whether or not this affects Fremont specifically (most comments are directed towards downtown), but at least for the time being you can expect to see the same-old $1.50/hour rates in town.
3 responses so far ↓
1 sofia // Jan 27, 2011 at 12:30 pm
I live in Fremont so I don’t park at the meters, but what are the ramifications of NOT raising the rates?
2 Fremonster // Jan 27, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Every night this week I’ve seen a parking enforcement officer writing tickets along Fremont Ave.
Sucks to drive a car.
3 Sean Keeley // Jan 27, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Sofia, the theory would be that lower parking rates means less available parking spots for incoming drivers at any given time. If they raise the rates slightly, then a couple less people park, making it easier for other folks to park and spend their money here.
That’s the theory at least. I think it makes more sense downtown than in a place like Fremont which has so much free parking to begin with, but we’ll see.
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