Council News Release

Council President Pro Tem Tim Burgess
Councilmember Mike O’Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Seattle City Council statement on changes to 2011 paid parking rates

SEATTLE - Seattle City Councilmembers Rasmussen, Burgess and O'Brien issued the following statements in response to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announcement of changes to the 2011 paid parking rates.  SDOT will brief the Transportation Committee on the new rates on February 8 at 9:30 a.m.

Councilmember Rasmussen, transportation committee chair, issued the following statement:

"The Transportation Committee will be watching implementation of the new rates closely.  We'll be asking SDOT for regular updates on whether they are achieving our policy goal of making parking more readily available in neighborhood business districts.  We will also be asking neighbors and business owners for their observations about how the new policies are working.  This information will allow us to determine if we must make changes in the policy."

Councilmember Burgess issued the following statement:

"By focusing on parking availability, the City's new policy encourages greater use of our neighborhood business districts.  The rate refinements announced by SDOT today reflect even closer adherence to this policy."

Councilmember O'Brien issued the following statement:

"After Councilmember Burgess and I proposed this study in November, we have worked very closely with the Mayor's Office and SDOT to make sure that any and all rate increases were based on statistical data. I really appreciate the collaborative nature with which all parties have worked through this new process.  These rates are a good starting point and I look forward to the next set of data we collect later this year, which will include feedback on impacts the neighborhoods feel, as we further refine the rates."