The stickers are a badge of honor for some, shame for others. You live on Capitol Hill. You need your parking space protected. The Seattle Department of Transportation has announced that director Peter Hahn has approved the extension of two Capitol Hill Restricted Parking Zones 21 and 4 to include a long stretch of 12th Ave and several blocks of residential streets west of Broadway:

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will add multiple blocks to two existing RPZs, Zones 4 and 21 in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. These changes are part of the Community Parking Program for Capitol Hill. A public hearing regarding this topic was held March 9, 2010.

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The new Zone 4 RPZ blocks will be installed as proposed, with a 2-hour time limit from 7 am to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, except by Zone 4 permit. The new Zone 21 RPZ blocks have been modified from the original proposal. Unpaid blocks will have a 2-hour time limit from 7 am unti l 6 pm, Monday through Saturday (except by Zone 21 permit), rather than unti l 10 pm as had been proposed. Residents with a Zone 21 permit will be able to park on blocks with pay stati ons that are marked with “Zone 21” eligibility, which is unchanged from the original proposal.

Residents will receive applications in the mail with information about how to purchase RPZ permits prior to implementation of the zone.

The newly extended zones will restrict parking to 2-hour time limits between the hours of 7 AM and 6 PM except for residents with zone stickers. The original proposal — ultimately nixed by SDOT — would have seen hours for Zone 21 extended to 10 PM. SDOT backed of a similar proposal to extend paid parking hours on Broadway earlier this year due, in part, to a lack of resources for enforcement.

 Also, a handful of new Zone 21 streets south of E. Olive will be paid parking areas — that means new paystations for all. Ruth Harper from SDOT tells CHS that the stations will have a small ’21’ emblazoned on them indicating that permit holders may park in these areas without paying. Harper reminded CHS that, by RPZ rules, permit holders are restricted to using their permits only within six blocks or their residences. “Our technology is improving,” Harper warns.

The new restrictions and signs will go into place in ‘months,’ according to SDOT. In the meantime, you should receive an application in the mail with information on how to purchase the RPZ permits if you qualify.