SDOT has published the “draft findings” of the Junction Parking Review – one and a half years in the making (here’s our coverage archive) – on its new “blog.” Quote: “SDOT doesn’t think paid parking is the right approach for The Junction at this time.” More as we continue reading this. Excerpt:
The parking study examined how full the parking spaces were and how many people were staying longer than the allowed two hours. In the Junction’s commercial area, about 56 percent to 71 percent of parking spaces are generally full. When 75 percent or more of the spots in an area are full it gets hard to find a parking space. That’s our threshold for making significant changes to existing parking regulations, like the use of paid parking. Compliance with the two-hour time limit signs was also high, meaning that the signs are working well to create customer turnover and paid parking isn’t needed at this time.
ADDED 1:12 PM: Here’s the full document with the “preliminary findings” including the full chart of what was discovered during the study. It’s been 17 months since SDOT first announced it would study parking in The Junction (here’s our first report from February 2008) – other West Seattle neighborhoods are to be studied in the future, including Admiral, Alki and Morgan Junction. Today’s announcement doesn’t necessarily mean “no change” in The Junction – other possible “parking management” options have been discussed along the way – any such proposals will be in the final report later this year.
ADDED 3:12 PM: Official reaction from West Seattle Junction Association executive director Susan Melrose: “Junction merchants will be thrilled with the results. We’re pleased to see that the city process worked here in The Junction … also it’s nice to know that the West Seattle community is using Junction parking in the way that we want it used – come in, shop for a couple hours, and move on … I think it represents a good relationship with the West Seattle community and Junction merchants, and it works both ways and that’s what we want in our little neighborhood of downtown West Seattle.” We also have a followup out to SDOT, asking if there’s been any change in the timetables for reviewing parking in the other neighborhoods, and will let you know what we hear back.
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