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Link light rail station neighborhood parking and restricted parking zones (RPZs) New! Updated March 2013! Share your feedback! The regulation that allows neighborhood businesses and their employees to receive restricted parking zone (RPZ) permits near Link Light Rail stations in Seattle will expire in summer 2013 unless extended by the City. We need to hear from you by May 1 about Restricted Parking Zones (RPZs.)
If you live in one of the light rail RPZs, you should also receive this mailer in mid-March 2013. If you have any questions, would like to invite SDOT to a meeting, or want to share your feedback, please contact project manager Ruth Harper at (206) 684-4103 or ruth.harper@seattle.gov . Background SDOT and Sound Transit want to ensure that Link light rail provides great transit service without adversely impacting on-street parking spaces needed by businesses and residents. To do so, the two agencies started working with neighborhoods in April 2008 to design parking regulations around each station. The regulations are intended to prevent commuters and other transit riders from using the on-street parking spaces needed by people living and working in each station area neighborhood. As of July 20, 2009 restricted parking zones (RPZs) have been in effect in the Beacon Hill, Mount Baker, Columbia City, Othello, and Rainier Beach station areas (since Link light rail trains started running). SDOT and Sound Transit’s joint outreach to establish the zones aligned with SDOT’s RPZ policy review and an outcome of the effort was development of a four-year pilot program to allow employees of station-area businesses to have RPZs permits. There was general support for the pilot because it provided a unique solution to unique conditions including the input of many small business owners that they used their person vehicles for business purposes. SDOT made a mid-pilot report to Council in July 2011. In 2009, two permits and one guest pass were available to each household and business at no cost, to ease the transition to new parking rules. Beginning in 2011, residents and businesses are responsible for permit costs. SDOT studied on-street parking in the SODO and Stadium station areas, but conditions did not warrant an RPZ. Parking study results SDOT has been collecting on-street parking data each year since the light rail RPZs opened in 2009, to understand how parking is being used, whether conditions have changed since 2009, and to see how the business permit pilot is working (whether it is outweighing residential parking needs). Read the reports here: The 2012 report should be posted within a couple of months. 2013 permit renewals & fees If you received an RPZ permit between August 2011 and now, you’ll be getting a renewal notice in the mail about a month before your permit expires with instructions for how to renew. This list shows when each zone will expire:
If you are a business in a Light Rail RPZ and wish to apply for or renew your RPZ permits, CLICK HERE to download application information. Each decal is $65, a guest permit is $30, and a low-income permit is available for $10. Learn more about RPZ permit fees. Want to be removed from your RPZ? You can request to remove your side of the street from the RPZ using this Zone Removal Request form (pdf) or Zone Removal Request form (.docx) Questions? Contact Ruth Harper at (206) 684-4103 or ruth.harper@seattle.gov Station Area off-street parking rules In early 2010, Mayor McGinn directed the Department of Planning and Development to draft legislation that would allow temporary use of existing off-street parking lots in the station areas for long-term parking. Learn more on DPD’s website. Helpful Contact Information
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Please share your comments on how the RPZ is working in your neighborhood. Click on one of the languages below take a quick online survey to share your feedback. Thanks for your help!
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