Slog News & Arts

Line Out

Music & Nightlife

« Can't Haliburton Pony Up For H... | Word of the Day »

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Tell the City How You Feel About Parking In Your Neighborhood

posted by on April 8 at 16:02 PM

The Seattle Department of Transportation has a survey up on its website asking for input on our annoying—but necessary—parking permit system.

Last year, the city added parking zones in South Lake Union, and SDOT is considering zoning other areas around town, like on 11th and 12th Ave just south of East Pike Street.

So, do we need more restrictions on parking? More expensive parking passes? A chaotic, unenforced parking free-for-all?

Tell the city.

RSS icon Comments

1

That was fun, I like surveys.

Posted by Katelyn | April 8, 2008 4:08 PM
2

What fucking parking? I live on Capitol Hill.

And only jerks drive.

Posted by Mr. Poe | April 8, 2008 4:09 PM
3

I agree with Poe.

Posted by Bellevue Ave | April 8, 2008 4:13 PM
4

The thing that annoys me the most is getting ticketed for parking at a spot for over 24 hours.

Posted by D. | April 8, 2008 4:21 PM
5

How do I feel about parking in my neighborhood? I LOVE IT! And the best part is, it's so CLOSE to where I live!

The only thing I need in my neighborhood are some of those tire-puncturing metal spikes imbedded in the roadway that automatically deploy whenever a car races down my street at more than 25 mph.

Posted by COMTE | April 8, 2008 4:41 PM
6

@5,

I'd also like those deployed on cars that have unnecessarily loud engines.

Posted by keshmeshi | April 8, 2008 4:45 PM
7

what really gets me is (in the U-District / Zone 6) we get ticketed for leaving our car in the same spot for more than 72 hours.

Posted by not a commuter | April 8, 2008 4:46 PM
8

@7 - you get ticketed anywhere you leave your car for more than 72 hours - it's state law that you have to move it if parked on the street.

Posted by Will in Seattle | April 8, 2008 4:50 PM
9

Why do you need a fucking car if it's rotting on the street? Zipcar, you fucking dolts. If you think it's a retarded concept, well guess what! You're the perfect candidate!

Posted by Mr. Poe | April 8, 2008 5:10 PM
10

@7 - No, it's a City law (which was actually revised upward from 24 hours a few years back)


Posted by Mr. X | April 8, 2008 5:14 PM
11

If you can't park your car on your own private property, then you pay to park it on the public street.

Posted by El Seven | April 8, 2008 5:22 PM
12

I'd figure that a street parking permit in my neighborhood would cost somewhere in the vicinity of $400/year if it were indexed to the market value.

Posted by tsm | April 8, 2008 5:22 PM
13

A backgrounder on parking management for armchair transportation planners:

http://www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf

Posted by Patrick McGrath | April 8, 2008 5:25 PM
14

i think seattle needs more parking lots plz. hard for me to park my pimped out mazda when i drive in from bellevue

Posted by Cale | April 8, 2008 5:35 PM
15

The mazda I trained the neighborhood pigeons to poop on?

You mean that one?

Posted by Will in Blowdart Pigeon Seattle | April 8, 2008 5:38 PM
16

I frequently leave my car for longer than 72 hours if I take a long weekend, or walk to work. Never going to get a ticket for it, either. The lady across the street typically leaves one of her two nearly-identical '88 Ford/Mercury station wagons in the same spot for months on end, though she's recently had one of them hauled away, it seems. There was a guy up the block whose truck AND BOAT were parked without moving for AT LEAST five years, and no one ever said anything. I do report abandoned vehicles, because they're usually stolen, and still worth something to the owner if not stripped.

Despite what the zoo management says, there's nothing remotely resembling a parking shortage here, except on summer Wednesdays when a popular band is playing; then, I might have to park three or four spaces away from my usual. One time I had to circle the block, and park over a hundred feet away! Oh my god, how I cried and cried.

Posted by Fnarf | April 8, 2008 7:28 PM
17

@ 16 You're lucky. I was out of town for 10 days (took the bus to the airport) and came back to find a ticket, and a warning it would be impounded shortly. The U-District parking cops are intense.

The house I live in doesn't have a driveway. So next time I'm gone I could ask my neighbor to move it every couple of days ??

It's totally lame of Seattle to give tickets to cars driven just once or twice a week.

ps. Mr Poe - take it easy, kiddo

Posted by not a commuter | April 8, 2008 11:01 PM
18

The "must move every 3 days" rule encourages driving. Which encourages pollution.

Yet, we're going to charge $0.20 for plastic bags.

Seattle is so fucking backwards.

Posted by TheMisanthrope | April 8, 2008 11:07 PM
19

same people posting on here. over and over. makes no sense.

Posted by superyeadon | April 9, 2008 12:25 AM
20

The 72-hour rule should be abolished, but Seattle neighborhoods should have NO free street parking. Annual parking stickers (plus one guest pass) for everyone, priced based upon neighborhood density.

The money would be used to fund bike lanes, of course.

Posted by DOUG. | April 9, 2008 7:39 AM
21

#17: Why don't you get rid of the car? I think getting a "3 day" ticket is a sign your life would be better without a car.

Posted by poppy | April 9, 2008 9:09 AM
22

parkings not bad where i live. a couple pet peeves:

1. people constantly take up two spaces by the way they position their vehicle.

2. neighbors with a driveway sometimes park on the street when there is a space. hello?

Posted by infrequent | April 9, 2008 10:51 AM
23

Mr. Poe, I'm one of those retards who owns a car but doesn't use it regularly. In fact, I'm such a dolt that I'm too dense to get what exactly you have against us 'tards.


What's wrong with only using one's car occasionally and leaving it parked the rest of the time? You would agree that using one's car a few times a month (and walking or busing the rest of the time) is preferable to using a car every day, yes? Since you recommend Zipcar, you don't seem to be one of the "all car usage is evil and inexcusable" crew. And since you've stated that you don't own a vehicle, it would follow that my rotting car isn't taking up a parking space that you'd like to use.

One could make a case that owning a car that's only driven a few times a month is more expensive than renting one, but I'm fairly certain your ire doesn't stem from disappointment with my financial choices. (In case you were wondering, since my car is paid off and my insurance is cheap, my monthly carrying costs as a car owner are under $50.)


So what's the problem, mister?


Is your disgust based on aesthetics? You just don't like seeing cars parked on the street and would prefer that all cars in Seattle were replaced with bouncy castles? (Okay, I admit, that would actually be pretty cool.)


Or perhaps you think that since you're able to live perfectly happily without a car that everyone else should too, regardless of their personal circumstances (kids, physical infirmities, work requirements, etc.)? I wouldn't go so far as to say that's retarded, but it does seem kinda short-sighted.


Please enlighten this retard!

Posted by Kalakalot | April 9, 2008 11:51 AM
24

There is no such thing as free parking.

1. RPZ's should cost a lot more money and should NEVER be allowed in single family residential neighborhoods.

2.We should meter all commercial areas.

3. We should have maximum parking
regulations for developers and require that developers build far less than one space per unit in residential developments near high capacity transit stations and stops.

By the way, you do not own the pavement directly in front of your house -- all of the taxpayers do.

Posted by No Free Parking | April 9, 2008 3:49 PM
25

@ all you landed gentry

The neighborhood covered by Zone 6 would be a disaster if it were not an RPZ. Everyone driving to UW would use it as a parking lot for the day, and there would be cars crawling around all the time looking for spots. RPZ are really important for neighborhoods next to busy areas. That is, if you want these high-density areas of the city to be livable... When there are 6 people living in a house, you can bet there is not enough room in the teeny 1920s driveway. Being all against residential street parking is fine if it's an area with big lots, driveways, garages.. but that's just not an option in a lot of Seattle's coziest neighborhoods.

Posted by not a commuter | April 9, 2008 11:27 PM

Comments Closed

In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).