The Seattle Department of Transportation has released its final parking plan for central Capitol Hill and one of the more controversial but innovative proposals didn’t make the cut. An extension of paid parking on Broadway beyond 6 PM is not among changes to parking rules for Broadway, Cal Anderson Park and surrounding streets. Here are seven proposals that did make the final plan:
- Add parking to the north side of 12 residenti al blocks to improve parking availability and calm traffic (the October 2009 proposal suggested 19 blocks)
- Install (proposed) three blocks of Zone 21 Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) parking with 2-hour paid parking (Zone 21 permit holders will be exempt from ti me limits and payment)
- Install (proposed) additional Zone 21 RPZ parking west of Broadway and south of East Olive Way (not originally proposed in October 2009)
- Install (proposed) additi onal Zone 4 RPZ parking to fi ll existing gaps and improve residenti al access (adding three more blocks than the October 2009 proposal)
- Install 4-hour paid parking next to Cal Anderson Park on the west side of 11th Avenue
- Standardize 2-hour time limits along 12th Avenue and East Olive Way
- Install angled parking on the east side of Belmont Avenue between East Pine and East Olive Streets
As part of the announcement, SDOT said it will continue to examine the Broadway extension of paid parking past 6 PM:
To improve customer parking access aft er 6 pm in acti ve neighborhood business districts like Broadway, SDOT may consider extending paid parking hours into the evening in several neighborhoods. The outreach and study effort would be done aft er consultation with the Mayor’s Office and Council, and if approved, would be implemented in 2011 or later.
We have asked SDOT planner Ruth Harper for more information about why the Broadway paid night parking didn’t make the cut. We’ll update when we hear back. We wrote about the planning and community outreach to shape the parking plan here.
UPDATE 1:35 PM: More information about why the Broadway night parking is going to take a lot more time. We were reminded that this would be the first stretch in the city to have metered parking after 6 PM. That means a whole new schedule for the city’s parking enforcement officers. That, in turn, means buy-in from offices and officials up and down the city’s ranks. As for the community feedback on the proposal, we hear that it was actually more positive than you might expect but we don’t have any numbers from the surveys.
SDOT said installation for some of the changes will start in March and continue through summer. SDOT also said the proposed changes to Restricted Parking Zones 4 and 21 require a public hearing planned for March.
The agency is also making changes to help alleviate concerns about pedestrian safety as light rail traffic construction increases. SDOT said it will make pedestrian crossing improvements along East Olive Way and East John Street including removing peak hour parking restrictions along this corridor. According to SDOT, the restored parking will eliminate one lane of traffic, shortening the distance pedestrians have to cross. A ‘pedestrian refuge’ with a marked crosswalk at Boylston Avenue East will also be installed.
“SDOT will make pedestrian crossing improvements along East Olive Way and East John Street. Peak hour parking restrictions will be removed along this corridor. The restored parking will eliminate one vehicle travel lane, shortening the distance pedestrians have to cross. “
There’s no parking 7-9 and 4-6 on Olive/John, giving 2 traffic lanes for commute hours traffic. That will be eliminated by the above changes. It’ll be interesting to see what the results will be.
My impression is that much of that traffic has come from 520, up 23rd, then down John/Olive to downtown (minus the folks who use our neighborhoods as “distributed commuter parking”).
Oh, I don’t like that at all. I feel like traffic gets pretty bad coming up Denny Way until after Broadway during rush hour. As someone who rides the number 8 bus, which can get pretty crowded and unpleasant, this sounds like it will make the commute to the hill worse. Perhaps they could add those protruding bus stops (like on Pine) so the bus doesn’t have to enter and exit traffic at each stop location.
A new streetcar, light rail construction, a bunch of new bars, and a gigantic parking lot for Elliott Bay are going to make the area around Broadway and Pike/Pine a pedestrian death zone. It’s already likely the most dangerous corridor in the city for pedestrians (it was #3 a few years ago). Sad.
We need A LOT more stoplights. Like, every block along Pike, Pine, John, and Olive. Staggered.
Bus bulbs would be awesome along Olive Way! I just emailed that suggestion to SDOT, you should too.
Broadway is a complete ghost town after dark now that many of the businesses have closed or been torn down so lets put in some late night paid parking so no one will go on Broadway anymore.