Community Parking Program
Capitol Hill

Updated August 24, 2010

At this time, most of the Capitol Hill parking changes have been installed. If you have any questions or comments, contact project manager Ruth Harper at (206) 684-4103 or ruth.harper@seattle.gov . For project details and background, please read below.

Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) Final Decision

March 2010

The SDOT Traffic Management Division Director has made a final decision regarding the expansion of Zones 4 and 21 in Capitol Hill. Please click here for further details, including a map and the days and hours that the zone will be in effect. If you live within the proposed area, you should also be receiving a copy in the mail. Those residents who will be eligible to purchase RPZ permits will receive applications in the mail within a couple of months, before implementation occurs (i.e. before the signs go up).

If you have questions about the RPZ program, please visit www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/parkingrpz.htm

Thank you again for your participation in this process.

Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) Public Hearing Comments Received

The comment period regarding proposals to add multiple blocks to two existing RPZs in Capitol Hill closed on March 15, 2010. Seven formal comments were made at the public hearing on March 9. In addition, nine comments were received outside of the hearing, by e-mail, letter, and phone. A summary of all of these comments can be found  here . The SDOT Traffic Management Division Director will make a final decision shortly. This decision will be published in the Daily Journal of Commerce and the Capitol Hill Times. SDOT will also notify all parties living within 300 feet of the proposed RPZ, and all other interested parties contacted during the parking study and development of the RPZ, by mail, e-mail and on the SDOT website.

Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) Public Hearing

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) held a Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) Public Hearing on March 9, concerning the addition of multiple blocks to two existing RPZs, Zones 4 and 21, within the Capitol Hill study area.

Please click here to see the staff presentation made at the hearing. Please click here to see the initial notice mailed to the neighborhood.

E Olive Way Pedestrian Crossing

Feb 2010

As part of the Capitol Hill Sound Transit light rail construction, SDOT will be installing a pedestrian crossing at Boylston Avenue E. Work has already started on this project. For more information about the crossing and keeping pedestrians safe in general, please click here .

Final Plan Released

In January 2009, SDOT began assessing Capitol Hill on-street parking, working with neighborhood businesses, residents, and community groups.

There were walking tours in February, and a parking occupancy study was completed in March. SDOT staff presented study findings and potential solutions at a Parking Open House in September. A draft parking plan was released in October 2009, and over 200 comments were received from residents and businesses. The   final parking plan that SDOT developed has been strongly informed by this community process. Residents and businesses will be receiving this plan in the mail as well.

Implementation of the parking changes will take place in 2010, starting with changes along E Olive Way in March 2010. As a firm schedule is developed, this website will continue to be updated.

Other materials from this year-long study and process are also available in links below.

• Draft parking plan released in October 2009.
• Materials from Parking Open House in September 2009:
• North of E Olive Way/E John St (the north half) [ Findings map ] [   Potential Solutions ]
• South of E Olive Way/West of Broadway (the SW quadrant) [   Findings map ] [   Potential Solutions ]
• Cal Anderson Park and 12th Avenue (the SE quadrant) [   Findings map ] [   Potential Solutions ]

Click on the relative links above to access the maps.

Click here for a handout of key findings from the parking study.  Click here for a map of the overall study area specifically showing which blocks were studied. Click here for the full report.Click here for a study regarding adding capacity on existing streets.

Project Background

Through the Community Parking Program, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will work with Capitol Hill stakeholders to develop a parking management plan that balances neighborhood needs and meets City transportation and environmental goals. The plan will support parking and access for customers, residents and businesses. We will work closely with community organizations to tailor changes that best fit the parking needs in the neighborhood. A previous assessment in 2004 resulted in the addition of time limit signs and the conversion of meters to pay stations.

The following area has been identified for this study:

• E Pine St on the south
• 12th Ave on the east
• E Roy St on the north
• Melrose Ave E on the west

Other ways SDOT is improving access to Capitol Hill

Way to Go, Seattle! is the City’s resource for programs focused on transit use, walking, biking, carpooling, and other modes of transportation. These programs support a sustainable transportation system and can reduce the demand on parking. Visit  Way to Go, Seattle! to learn how to get to and from Capitol Hill without driving.

With your levy dollars, SDOT’s Bridging the Gap program will help reduce Seattle’s maintenance backlog and invest in major transportation projects. In partnership with King County Transit Now, increases in transit service on Routes 10, 11, and 14 have occurred. Upcoming increases on Routes 8, 48 and 60 will occur in 2009 and 2010.

Visit the  Bridging the Gap homepage for more information.