From WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli: SDOT crews are putting up 2-hour signs along a stretch of 41st SW this afternoon – part of the Junction parking plan recently finalized, almost two years after first word of the city review. (You’ll recall, the review resulted in a decision for NO pay stations, and NO “restricted parking zones” – just some new 2-hour-zone signage; see the map in our most recent story.) ADDED 6:26 PM: In e-mail this evening, SDOT project manager Dante Taylor confirms the sign installation and included a reminder that there will be a meeting later this year open to anyone who wants to hear and talk about how the changes are working.

That’s the finalized map from SDOT showing the end result of the two-year West Seattle Junction parking review, posted online yesterday and mailed to Junction-area businesses and homes. (Click the image or here to see the mailer full-size.) The review began in February 2008 (here’s our first report), elicited mostly sighs of relief five months ago when SDOT announced no pay stations were forthcoming, then ended in November (WSB coverage here) with a recommendation of signage changes along several blocks in the “study area.” They’re the same ones announced at the November meeting – on the map above, the ones marked in green will be posted as 2-hour zones, and the ones marked in dark blue will change from 1-hour to 2-hour zones, with the signs going up “in early 2010.” Here’s the official city infopage for the Junction parking review – that’s where you can read the background documents including evaluations of the Junction parking situation as surveyed during the review. Also worth noting if you missed our November report – though the city’s original plan was to study another West Seattle neighborhood’s parking situation in 2010, SDOT said that plan’s now changed, and there won’t be another survey here (Admiral, Alki and Morgan Junction are on deck, eventually) before 2011.

Two headlines out of tonight’s meeting of the West Seattle Junction Parking Project Committee: First, 21 months after first word of the then-impending review, it’s all over. Results: A relatively minor set of changes in the works – anticlimactic since the city announced in July that the Junction study would NOT result in pay stations. Second, while the city’s original plan called for the 2009 Junction review to be followed up by a 2010 Morgan Junction review, Community Parking Program boss Allison Schwartz confirmed tonight that only 2 neighborhoods in the city will be studied next year (down from 5) because of budget cuts, and neither will be in West Seattle. So, back to the conclusion of The Junction’s parking review – read on for details on the changes, and what happens now:Read More

From last night’s meeting of the West Seattle Junction Parking Project Committee (photo left): 19 months after first word of the parking study in the greater Junction area, SDOT has one more recommendation (besides the announcement two months ago that pay stations would NOT be suggested: The city is now proposing adding 2-hour zones in several spots, including most of California SW between Edmunds and Dawson, 44th SW between Edmunds and Alaska, a section of California north of Genesee, much of 42nd between Alaska and Oregon, the south half of 41st between Alaska and Oregon, and the south side of Alaska between 40th and 41st. In addition, two blocks of 1-hour zones on Alaska between 36th and 38th would be changed from 1-hour zones to 2-hour zones. A rough-draft map was shown at last night’s meeting as well as a West Seattle Junction Association meeting earlier in the day; project manager Dante Taylor says an official version of the map is in the works right now so it can be shared publicly as soon as possible. He told the group that the message emerging from the Junction parking study was a need for consistent time limits on parking – and this would be a way of achieving that. The city found that most people who come to The Junction are there for no more than three hours. This still doesn’t address the major concern of residents in the residential zones along 41st and 42nd between Alaska and Oregon – daytime parking taken up by workers from nearby construction projects, for example – so they remain interested in Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) deployment; the Junction Neighborhood Organization and Junction Association will need to discuss possible boundaries and hours, it was noted. Next step: The proposal is scheduled to be presented at the Southwest District Council‘s next meeting, 7 pm October 7th, board room at South Seattle Community College; more background info is available on the project’s official website.

Though it seemed to have a ring of finality, remember, the July 23 announcement that the city wouldn’t recommend paid street parking for The Junction was NOT the end of the year-plus-long city parking review of the area. Full findings and recommendations are yet to come – will some areas see more restrictions? fewer? or? — and if you want to be part of the process, here’s your next chance: The West Seattle Junction Parking Project Committee‘s next meeting is now set for a week from Thursday – 6 pm August 20th, at the Ginomai arts center (southwest corner of 42nd/Genesee; map). Dante Taylor, who’s heading the parking review for SDOT, explains, “At this meeting we will discuss the findings from the parking study and available parking management tools for WSJ.” You don’t have to be a committee member to be at the meeting. Need to catch up on what’s been reviewed and studied so far? Here’s our archive of Junction parking-review coverage; here’s the official project page on the SDOT website.

The city is studying Junction-area parking right now – but area businesspeople and residents are worried the study’s results will be out-of-date as area developments (like almost-done Mural, above) start to open. That’s one of the issues that emerged at midday today during the second — and likely final — walking tour offered as the city Transportation Department‘s Junction parking study begins in earnest. The dozen-strong tour group included the project manager, Dante Taylor (at center in the photo above), his SDOT colleague Mary Catherine Snyder, Junction businesspeople, residents, and leaders of two Junction churches.

As did the first tour on February 28 (WSB coverage here), this one focused on the blocks away from California Avenue SW – read on for photos of what was seen, and toplines on what was discussed:Read More

(looking north along 42nd from Jefferson Square during the 1st walking tour, February 28)
Reminder: If you can spare the time at midday tomorrow, it’s your next chance to get directly involved with the city’s review of parking in The Junction – a review that will eventually lead to a decision on whether the city will install pay stations, Residential Parking Zones, new time-limit signage, and/or other parking-management “tools.” At 11 am tomorrow, you can join the group rendezvousing outside Cupcake Royale at California/Alaska – as reported in our coverage of the first tour Feb. 28, the city reps want to hear about your observations and concerns. (Though the posted time is 11 am-1 pm, most of the first tour was done in about an hour.) If you can’t make the tour, you can have your say in other ways – contact info is on the parking review’s website. (Archived WSB coverage of the ongoing Junction parking review can be found here, newest to oldest.)

(WSB photo from 2/28/08 Junction walking tour)
Last Saturday, we reported on the first SDOT Community Parking Program walking tour of The Junction, gathering information about the parking situation, not just on the main business-district blocks, but also the surrounding area, as the next step in the city review that will decide — among other things — whether pay stations and Residential Parking Zones will be installed. This afternoon, the time and date are now finalized for the next one, 11 am March 18; you can still RSVP to be part of it — junctionparking@seattle.gov.

That’s Dante Taylor from SDOT, project manager for the city’s West Seattle Junction parking study, announced almost exactly a year ago (here’s our 2/21/08 story) but not really launched in earnest till a walking tour this afternoon. The open invitation was accepted by fewer than a dozen people:

Taylor and a fellow SDOT manager, Mary Catherine Snyder, say what was seen and said today will help their department prioritize which blocks of The Junction will be studied most closely before any proposals for possible changes (new restrictions? pay stations? or?) can be made – read on for more details of today’s tour, and what happens next:Read More

Almost every time we report on this, it draws a mini-crowd of people worried about the prospect of city-managed pay parking in The Junction. Here’s your big chance to have a say directly in person: The first “walking tour” of the study zone has just been set. And it’s on a weekend, to maximize your chance of participating. Just RSVP, and then show up. Here’s the announcement we just got from Dante Taylor, who’s working on the West Seattle Junction parking study for the city Transportation Department:

SDOT will conduct a walking tour of the West Seattle Junction next Saturday, February 28 from 12 pm to 2 pm. This is an opportunity for you, community members and me, the project manager, to meet and identify parking concerns in the Junction area. We will walk around parts of the Junction that are within the outreach boundary and make note of any areas where you feel the parking study should focus. I will have maps of the outreach area so that you can take notes. Please note that we may not need the full two hours, but it would be helpful if you were available during this time just in case.

Let’s plan to meet at the Cupcake Royale at the northeast corner of Alaska and California. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

E-mail Dante at dante.taylor@seattle.gov or call him, 206-684-8186. To catch up on the Junction parking-review background, check out our coverage archive (newest to oldest).

New information from Dante Taylor, who’s managing the upcoming Junction parking review that may — or may not — lead to signs like the one at left. Our last update was January 13th, when Taylor appeared at the Junction Neighborhood Organization (JuNO) meeting and said the first phase would involve both informational mailers and walking tours. If you live in the area that’s being studied (Dakota to Brandon, 47th to 39th, plus the Triangle area) you should receive a mailer within the next week. As for the walking tours – Taylor would like to hear from you if you are interested in participating – it’ll involve scheduling a time to join a small group walking around the area and discussing the reality of the parking situation, good and bad, and whether any specific “tools” might be needed to improve the situation – e-mail him at JunctionParking@seattle.gov ASAP.