Volunteer Park Dogwalker, originally uploaded by JTContinental.
The Seattle Parks Board will hear the results of an analysis of paid parking in the city’s parks Thursday night that will help the board decide if Volunteer Park’s long stretches of free parking should be included in the plan. UPDATE: See below for clarification — this early review will focus on only an analysis of past paid parking studies. The full analysis will not be completed until later in 2011.
The analysis is the result of the City Council’s statement of legislative intent discussed this past fall to help Seattle overcome a growing budget deficit. Part of the analysis the Council is requiring from Parks will be a list of between five and ten parks to be considered for paid parking. Parks is also on the hook for an analysis of potential rates and to assess the impact on nearby street parking.
CHS has learned that Volunteer Park is likely to be considered given its relatively sizable amount of parking along with Seward, Green Lake, Discovery, Golden Gardens, Lincoln and Magnuson.
Thursday’s meeting will be the first public airing of the analysis. The Council gave Seattle Parks until July 1, 2011 to submit a final plan to its committee.
No numbers, yet, on usage of Volunteer Park’s spaces but CHS can testify to the variety of uses they are put to. Because it’s off the main roadways, it’s not unusual to see people using the parking along the park’s roadway to work on vehicles or catch a little shut eye. There’s also a fair amount of tourist traffic as people visit the Conservatory or the Seattle Asian Art Museum. In June 2009, Volunteer Park’s “western loop” roadway was closed to motor vehicles.
Can you believe it? Another reason to avoid the places we love.
because walking a few blocks instead of driving is so unreasonable…
I don’t think charging for parking is appropriate in a public park. It seems contrary to their purpose. As far as people catching a snooze or working on their cars at Volunteer Park, so what? Although I could see the level of cruising take a nose dive, I equally see the amount of people using the park for any reason decreasing. This is a terrible idea that should be put before the public so it can then be shelved.
Makes sense. Walk, bike, or take the bus if you don’t want to pay to park.
Volunteer Park is definitely used a lot by Cap HIll residents, most of whom can easily walk or bike to the park. I hope the study will consider the impact on surrounding residential streets, though, because I expect most people will look for more free parking before paying.
Making Golden Gardens parking paid is kind of evil though. It’s pretty inaccessible without a car. I used to take the bus there and it both took forever and was annoying, because you have to arrive at the ridge above and schlep down. Worth it on a weekday day off, but not if you have any other plans that day or are carrying anything.
Volunteer park improved markedly since they closed the west loop. It’s supposed to be a park, not free parking for nearby residents. If you really need to bring in a car, just pay. It’s not that expensive, and it improves the park for everyone.
For those of you who have the luxury of driving a vehicle around, choking up the air with pollutants, you surely can spare some change to park.
Now before you get all self-righteous and assume I’m a car-less hippie – let me assure you that I do have a car, and I am fine with paying a parking fee – a small pittance and tax on this luxury, that helps keep our city parks open and maintained.
This particular park especially, which is in the middle of an urban setting where plenty of people can walk to it, does not need to cave and cater car owners who think that they are the majority or have some god-given right to store their personal property in a city park for free. Suck it up drivers, parking is something you pay for in a city.
Just because something is hard to access, it should be free to park there?
That’s some weird logic. Our state parks and trail heads are not bus-accessible, and you have to pay a use fee to use them. How else is the city/county/state supposed to pay for maintaining those lots? Should everyone (taxpayers including non-drivers) have to pay for your privilege of parking? Car drivers should shoulder their own burden. Plenty of people get themselves to the parks just fine without a car.
I don’t get why parking is such a big issue. I have a car, and when I park it somewhere, I expect that I’ll usually have to pay. Free parking is a special exception, not the norm. If people can’t afford to park, then don’t drive!
assuming of course that you live within walking distance. which i don’t.
I didn’t say GG “should” have free parking, just that it wsa kind of evil to include it on a short (from the looks of it) list of parks, because not only is there not free parking around, but it is hard to access without a car. Why is that so hard to understand? The flip side of it is that, considering how bad all government entities need $$ these days, it’s also brilliant, since I don’t think people will stay away.
Oh, and before you get all “don’t like it? don’t drive!!” on my ass, I’ve never had a driver’s license. I don’t have any issue with having Volunteer Park parking paid, since it’s very accessible, other than seeing what the impact of cars to the nieghborhood will be because it’s just realistic that people will look for free parking first.
Sure why don’t we put a tax or toll on everything. For that matter let’s monetize everything possible. How about sidewalks? Or even better sidewalk usage tax for every pair of shoes you buy.
Thumbs up Seattle!
While I don’t really have an issue with paying to park at Volunteer Park (and I live within walking distance anyway), I do wonder how the implementation of paid parking might affect the SAAM, or for that matter, the Conservatory, which are located on the same grounds.
Unfortunately, I do think people will be inclined to hunt through the neighborhoods for free parking rather than pay, which is aggravating to the residents. I think as long as the parking rate is reasonable (Marymoor Park in Redmond charges $1 to help upkeep the park, except during special events), enough people will be willing to pay it that it will work out.
If you are too cheap to pay a few bucks to park, then stay home.
It’s inappropriate to charge people to park at these parks. Magnuson and Golden Gardens are extremely difficult to access without a car and for things like the dog park, you risk serious trouble taking the dog on the bus.
We already pay twice for the city parks. We pay thru regular taxes and the general fund as well as thru a special parks levy that the City has seen fit to waste on god knows what.
for Volunteer or Green Lake, I’ll just park on a surface street. That’s usually what happens for Green Lake anyway. For that matter, one could theoretically do the same thing at Golden Gardens if you park on the street before you enter the park.
For what it’s worth, the parking lot at the Locks is a standard city paid parking lot. Last time I went to the Locks on a day where it would have otherwise been packed, it was almost deserted.
‘If you are too cheap to pay a few bucks to park, then stay home.’
Should I really be forced to leave the house with money in my pocket. Its a class war you don’t even realize that you are fighting.
Just admit that you are better than “poor” and or “non-white” people, and that you are willing to use your wallet to prove it.
How are so many people believing that paying more money for what we currently have is what we really want?