People bitch about Capitol Hill parking. The nighttime whining is mostly justified — some of our parking zones run at +100% capacity at night (thanks to some creative squeezing.) But the daytime laments might just be an education problem. With December’s art walk and the weekend Pike n’ Pine neighborhood holiday sales, Capitol Hill will probably see a few more drivers than usual on its streets. Believe it or not, you can still find a place to dump your car for 2 hours on the Hill without paying a dime. Below, we’ve used SDOT’s Seattle parking map to look at the busiest points on the Hill from a parking perspective.
Upper Pike Pine and Cal Anderson
Thou art blessed. Look at all that blue. During the day, these areas are non-metered two-hour zones that run mostly well below 100% capacity. One of the mistakes drivers on the hunt for a space make is to leave good target areas and end up on narrow, crowded side streets. If you’re hell-bet on not paying, use the map below to stay in the blue. But promise you’ll go ahead and eat the meter rate after your 10th time circling down 12th Ave, OK? Nighttime strategy? If you are already up here with a car, stay on the main routes — the higher turnover will eventually free up a space. And be on the lookout for the much-loved “yellow sign” loading zone signs — almost all of these zones are active only until 6 PM but the yellow signs scare the uninformed away.
Lower Pike Pine and I-5 Shores
At night, Pike is really your only chance and it doesn’t get much better during the day. But even here, there are stretches of blue on lower East Olive Way and on small stretches of Summit and Belmont. It’s a brutal area to try to find a space in the evening. You might want to swallow pride, pay at the Seattle Central garage.
Broadway
The 2-hour un-metered patches around Broadway are also few and far between. It’s probably worth paying your $2 during the day and, if you have to, joining the cruising cycle up and down Broadway. One pro tip that we’re probably ruining by mentioning: John near the light rail construction has pretty good turnover at night and isn’t under quite as much residential pressure as other nearby streets.
Any tips we missed? Want to chew us out for revealing your secrets? Comments please.
Yes it does exist. And it’s very, very central. But even though I’m not as dependent on it as I once was, I’m loath to reveal its location. Anyone know?
There are two ways that scarce resources are rationed: pricing and queueing. I don’t understand why people are so attached to the latter as a means of reserving parking. Circling the block 10 times looking for a space is an unpleasant experience, and it’s pretty darn bad for congestion and for the environment, as well.
We now have the technology to set demand-sensitive parking rates — low at times (and for areas) with low demand, and higher when demand is high. (SFpark is implementing exactly this in San Francisco.) With this, we could ensure that every block has a free parking space at almost any time. Parking would be *cheaper* than it is now at times when demand is low.
Would people really rather waste 10 minutes looking for a parking spot than pay $2-3/hr extra? Suppose that parking on Broadway was, at peak times, $6/hr (the current SFpark ceiling price). If you planned to stay for 30 minutes, that’s $3. If a demand-pricing system could reduce the time you spent circling by 15 minutes, then you would effectively be earning $12/hour for the “work” of circling the block. Fifteen minutes for three dollars. Is that really worth it? (And if it is, why don’t you save a whole ton more money and ditch the car entirely?)
Those calculations are based on short-term parking, but they’re also based on free parking. Even with lots of $2/hour spots, there’s still circling. And it’s entirely possible that the 95% utilization rate for Capitol Hill is closer to $4 or $5, rather than $6. Either way, the numbers work out the same: circling the block looking for a spot is a minimum-wage job.
And just as importantly, why do you need to park around here anyway? If you’re looking for parking near Pike/Pine at night, you’re probably going to a bar. If you drive, either you need a designated driver (no fun), or you’re going to drive home drunk (not cool). And Pike/Pine and Broadway are two of the most walkable and transit-accessible neighborhoods in all of Seattle.
The reason you can’t find a spot is parking is too cheap–often free. CapHill has the lowest car ownership in Seattle, and we’re getting a streetcar in less than 3 years and light rail in 6. You just don’t need a car to get to and from this neighborhood most of the time.
We’re well aware of the value of demand sensitive pricing
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2010/08/09/hate-parking-on
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2009/11/19/nighttime-paid-
We also know people drive.
My problem is that when I’m looking for a spot in the pouring down rain, there isn’t just no free spots, there are NO SPOTS! In the last month, I have been meeting people at a coffee shop at 7pm on a week night. After driving up and down the pike/pine corridor for more than a half hour. I eventually paid exorbitant fees to park in a lot.
I just wish there was more of a balance between what it costs on the street vs. in the lots. I will definitely make sure our future club meetings are on the outskirts of the corridor so that there’s hope for parking, rather than in the middle of everything.
out of curiosity, how much is “exorbitant.”? I feel like most of the lots on the hill are pretty reasonable.
Sorry, I didn’t mean my comment as criticism of you guys for posting this! I mostly just wanted to hear from people why they felt it was necessary to own a car around here. You’re right, lots of people do drive, but I can’t for the life of me understand why. :)
When I first moved to Seattle, I remember being in a car full of people looking for parking downtown. We passed lot after lot of $3, $5 or $7 rates. I was like “right there!” “Hey, lots of spots in there!” but my friends were not up for paying. We drove around and around looking for free on street parking. I had just moved from Boston and would have paid $10-$20 to park in a lot to go out for the night there, paying $7 was a steal! If you are going to drive, just budget some money for parking and save yourself the hassle of looking and looking for a free space.
The most sensible thing I’ve read in 11 days
“And just as importantly, why do you need to park around here anyway? If you’re looking for parking near Pike/Pine at night, you’re probably going to a bar. If you drive, either you need a designated driver (no fun), or you’re going to drive home drunk (not cool). And Pike/Pine and Broadway are two of the most walkable and transit-accessible neighborhoods in all of Seattle.”
This is a bit of hyperbole. Not everyone is going to a bar on CH at night. And even if they do, drinking does not completely or immediately equate with being legally intoxicated or drunk-driving.
You’re making wild assumptions and stereotyping here.
It’s a shame you added that last bit, Aleks, otherwise Mike wouldn’t have had anything to call you out on! Your main post makes complete sense.
“lots of people do drive, but I can’t for the life of me understand why.”
Here are a few reasons: people have kids, people have disabilities, people have schedules that don’t work with public transit.
Those are just examples. Yes, people with disabilities take the bus but sometimes that just is not practical. People with kids can take the bus but again, it is not always practical.
I have a 4th grader and a 10 month old. Last Saturday, he had a basketball game relatively close to my house but I would have needed to take 3 different buses to get there and an extra hour and a half for the trip. Then after the game we were supposed to drop some food at my aunt’s house. Another 2 buses and at least 2 hours round trip. Then we went to a birthday party in Federal Way. We wouldn’t have been able to get to the party without getting a ride from a bus stop in federal way or walking several miles.
Congratulation to anybody who has a lifestyle that permits exclusive transportation by bus or bike but many people do not. Having a family and a busy schedule can create a need for quick, reliable, and flexible transportation and right now the bus or bikes is not an option for many. I’m not biking with my baby and older son in the middle of the winter. Sorry. Not going to happen.
Agreed. Most sensible thing I’ve read in a while.
Question to all the drivers: why should I have to subsidize your parking?
And furthermore, to those that claim that “people are on a schedule” or “people have kids” which is why they need to drive …. do people in Manhattan/San Francisco not have kids? Are they not on a schedule too? For longer distance trips or trips with too many bus transfers there’s a thing called ZipCar or, get this, a taxi cab. By the time you circle the neighborhood 10 times looking for a parking space (and then fight with other drivers for it), you could have already been seated at your destination …
It’s called leaving 5 or 10 minutes earlier so you’re not racing through the neighborhood dangerously in your huge SUV, and then slamming on the horn for a minute (which we all have to hear) because you’re angry the one car in front of you didn’t turn fast enough through the intersection.
Mike: You’re correct. I’m exaggerating for rhetorical effect. You’re certainly right that not everyone driving in Capitol Hill at night is heading to or from a place or event where alcohol is being served.
That said, I think it’s fair to say that drinking is not an uncommon activity at night. And I maintain that our roads would be safer if people strove to avoid driving to or from anywhere where they planned on drinking.
If everyone followed this guideline, I believe both that some nontrivial number of lives would be saved, and that the number of cars on the road at night would be noticeably reduced.
In case you haven’t seen it, Carla Saulter’s (the PI’s “Bus Chick”) article “Why public transportation is good for kids” is a fantastic read. Between articles like that, and the parents with young children whom I see on the bus almost every day, the “but I have kids!” argument just isn’t very persuasive to me.
I understand that Seattle’s public transit pales in comparison to New York or San Francisco. I understand that getting between two points where one isn’t in downtown Seattle will generally be a minimum 30-minute journey, and it may be far higher. But what I don’t get is why someone would choose to drive 10 blocks in Capitol Hill when they could just as easily walk or take the bus.
i can empathize with everyone’s views here. i get why some folks might need a car to get things done outside of capitol hill. seattle is really spread out and it’s difficult to get to one neighborhood to another without spending your whole life on a bus. i’ve lived here 22 years and i feel maybe we’re just all victims of a terrible “transportation” system. i’m lucky enough to walk everywhere i need to on the hill and not deal with metro. i’ve owned cars, scooters, bikes, and walking (by far) is the easiest way to get around the hill. a bike would be ideal in some situations but i’m kind of a wimp with all these hills. i think a lot of folks would love to get rid of their cars but we don’t even have an extensive in-city rail system which is…a total fail. i’m not an expert by any means on politics and funding and logistics but it seems that even for a small city with a huge sprawl, you think we’d all benefit from a subway/rail system.
having extensively used the rail systems in cities like paris, london, rome, and major asian cities, it really is such a shock when i get back to seattle and i have to wait more then 5 minutes for a bus and then i’m lucky if that bus takes me close enough to my destination. i know we’re not a huge, densely populated city but i think a lot of folks would be a lot happier cutting their time spent traveling to and from for leisure or for work. i like to joke, that in seattle, bussing from the hill to ballard takes roughly an hour in non-rush hour traffic. the same distance can be achieved in less than 20 minutes in most international cities with rail systems. i wonder if metro really meets rider demands or we just don’t have the “funding” for it? 6 years is a real long time to wait for an efficient transportation system.
maybe someone here knows and can explain why seattle, historically, never got its crap together for a rail system. seattle could be so much better planned, i would love to see us become a thriving city with rail, busses, trams, and ferries all synced up on the same system. i feel spoiled whenever i’m abroad, i sure would like to feel the same way in seattle :)