
As first reported here in February, the city’s planning a formal “parking review” for the Junction area. When we covered the first briefing, the start date wasn’t set; we have since checked with Mary Catherine Snyder from the Seattle Department of Transportation, and she tells WSB the Junction parking review is scheduled to begin in September. But with the rising tide of Junction development, it’s clear that parking concerns are rising too, and fast. West Seattle Junction Association president Dave Montoure talked with WSB about that, and asked us to solicit your opinion on related issues – read on:

That’s one of many signs behind the businesses that are immediately west of where the Petco parking lot used to be. And a bit farther south, some of the pay lots are starting to show the type of rates longtime West Seattleites might never have expected to see here – up to $5:

Meantime, the Junction Association continues to provide free parking lots, marked with signs like these:

Montoure says the updates to those signs is finally under way — a graphics designer has been hired. He also wants to make sure that West Seattleites understand exactly what those lots are all about – they are owned by a holding company and have been there for half a century.

The Junction Association works with the lots’ owners to maintain them so they can continue to provide up to 3 hours’ free parking for shoppers and other visitors (by covenant, employees are not supposed to park in those lots).
Now, the questions Montoure would like you to answer — to help the Junction Association develop its position as the city parking review approaches.
-What do you think about the prospect that city street parking in The Junction might stop being free, if pay-station kiosks result from the upcoming parking review?
-How’s the Junction-provided parking in those free lots working for you? Anything you want to say about the lots themselves?
-Do you want more parking or less parking in The Junction?
-Are you worried about the parking situation as it relates to “sustainability” and other environmental concerns?
The Junction Association will read and consider all comments here as it prepares for the city’s parking review – and of course you’ll hear more about it in the months to come, too. To find out more about the type of process the city expects the parking review to follow, check out this section of the city website.
By the way, there’ve also been questions (especially from the Junction Neighborhood Organization; March coverage of a JuNO meeting discussion here) regarding whether neighborhood residential parking around The Junction will be part of this review; SDOT’s Snyder tells WSB, “We will look at the possibility of a residential parking zone around the Junction area. Whether we have enough parking information and community input to decide to install one through the parking assessment process remains to be seen, recognizing that there are likely to be many opinions on the question of putting in an RPZ.”
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