FOLLOWUP: New permanent ‘no parking 11 pm-5 am’ signs going up on Harbor Avenue

(WSB photo, Thursday evening)

12:22 PM: Thanks for the tip! The residents’ group that’s been long campaigning for changes on Harbor and Alki Avenues is getting another of their requests granted: SDOT has started installing “No Parking 11 pm-5 am” signs on Harbor. The request was reiterated at a community meeting with city officials back in June (WSB coverage here), and one of the group leaders, Mike Gain, says he’s been in continuous contact with the city in the ensuing months. According to his correspondence with SDOT, the department sent notices of the impending sign installation to 500 residential/business addresses “along the Harbor Avenue SW corridor” in late August. Gain says SDOT plans to put up the signs in four “segments” and what’s up now, toward the southern end of Harbor, is just the start. He says, “Hopefully this will eliminate the overnight parking of the RV’s, trailers, and vehicles that have been parked and lined up on Harbor Avenue for years.” (Last time we checked, just a few remained.) We have an inquiry out to SDOT to find out more about the signage plan, including locations – in his collaboration with the city, Gain had recommend the signs be “strategically placed.” We’ll add whatever we hear back.

8:18 PM: Here’s the postcard SDOT says it sent to nearby addresses. It says the restrictions won’t affect areas adjacent to commercial/residential properties but does not specify exactly where that’s referring to.

41 Replies to "FOLLOWUP: New permanent 'no parking 11 pm-5 am' signs going up on Harbor Avenue"

  • Alex September 15, 2023 (12:27 pm)

    How will it be enforced?   Is Parking Enforcement working at night now?

    • hj September 15, 2023 (12:41 pm)

      It’s a tow zone. The city’s towing contractor, Lincoln Towing, works 24/7.

      • Odd son September 15, 2023 (2:16 pm)

        HJ they can only tow if there’s a ticket on the windshield.

    • Duwamesque September 15, 2023 (1:24 pm)

      Alex, say what you will about the effectiveness of City governance, the one thing Seattle always excels at is writing parking tickets.

      • Robert Schmidt September 15, 2023 (3:51 pm)

        And they’re quite effective on people with something to lose…

  • Pat Cattin September 15, 2023 (12:51 pm)

    Parking enforcement has a patrol working in the city 24/7.  

  • WSMAP September 15, 2023 (12:57 pm)

    Lately the RV dwellers on Harbor have been few, and when Parking Enforcement was making  them move every 72 hours they complied.  Generally that kept things fairly tidy. Since none of these folks (some of whom are working and/or have some income) can afford rent, where, exactly should they go?  I know many folks simply don’t care what happens to these neighbors, but everyone deserves a roof, some autonomy and some privacy.  I won’t be reading replies, so you can keep your  NIMBY snark to yourself.

  • Kevin September 15, 2023 (1:08 pm)

    A big thanks to Mike Gain for his efforts on this matter. I believe he serves as an excellent role model for how civic minded West Seattle residents can help to reverse some of the negative issues (car theft, business burglaries, robberies, homelessness, etc.) plaguing the best community in Seattle.

    • Rhonda September 15, 2023 (4:06 pm)

      What’s Mike Gain going to do when there’s RVs parked right next to the NO PARKING signs for weeks?

  • bill September 15, 2023 (1:17 pm)

    Enforcement is the missing link

  • sna September 15, 2023 (1:35 pm)

    There’s already a law against parking over 72 hours that’s rarely been enforced, so how is this any better for stopping RVs from parking indefinitely on Harbor Ave?  One RV/trailer has been on Harbor for almost 2 years now and moves every couple of weeks. 

    • Brian September 15, 2023 (2:34 pm)

      Sounds like a relatively stable neighbor. You should reach out and talk with them. 

  • DC September 15, 2023 (2:22 pm)

    This is ridiculous. Some busybody can now ban parking at nights just because they don’t like homeless people? No more midnight strolls down the avenue. No late night visits to friends who live in the area. Not everyone lives on your schedule.  I get that there is a problem with people parking beyond the 72 hour limit, but this is not the answer. I hope this gets reversed quickly. 

    • April September 18, 2023 (10:06 am)

      @DC I agree with you. This is just ridiculous. If I want to go for a late night walk. I’m going to park there. City punishing the good because of a few bad. Maybe enforce the 72 hour rule that’s already in place and stop wasting our tax money on signs!!

  • John Bennett September 15, 2023 (3:42 pm)

    The 900 block of South Harney street in Georgetown has no parking signs 11pm -2am. There are a dozen motorhomes that have been parked there for months. No use putting up signs or making laws that don’t get unforced. 

  • East Coast Cynic September 15, 2023 (3:44 pm)

    Just when the party is getting started, you gotta drive home?

    So no sleeping over at a friends house if you’ve had too much to drink and you don’t want to drive:/?

    • D-Ridge September 15, 2023 (7:50 pm)

      Yeah that seems pretty intense; in summer the water taxi runs to 11 pm, will suck to come back from dinner downtown and find a ticket on your car

      • sgs September 16, 2023 (11:12 am)

        Good point

  • WSEnvionmentalist September 15, 2023 (4:03 pm)

    Intersting.  WSMAP does not want to receive any NIMBY replies.  Obviously, WSMAP does not live in the Alki or Harbor Ave SW neighborhoods as the stated observations are incorrect.  We applaud Mike Gain for his tenacity and service to our community.  Thank you Mike!!!!!

  • John Bennett September 15, 2023 (4:04 pm)

    Bottom line is that parking signs and parking laws are rarely enforced…. But that might just be I Georgetown. 

  • PotKettleBlack September 15, 2023 (4:32 pm)

    Weird. We have the money to buy and install brand new signs. We have the money to buy and install miles of chain link fence under the bridge. We have the money for clean ups. We have the money for towing. We even have the money for big wooden art trolls. But, gosh dang it, we just don’t seem to have the money for housing. It’s almost like we’re not really trying…

    • Resident September 15, 2023 (6:01 pm)

      You are not comparing the cost of chain link and signs to housing are you?Seattle spent over $100M on homeless programs last year. Budgets are not a bottomless pit my friend.

      • Twoshoes September 15, 2023 (9:59 pm)

        That money wasn’t spent on “programs”….much of it was spent on sweeps, which just move unhoused folks from one block to another. El Centro de La Raza has built, and is continuing to build, low income housing. Chief Seattle Club has built, and is continuing to build, low income housing. Every sweep involves many hours of cops on OT and contractors (like Fresh Family) that the city pays $110/hour per worker….but the city hasn’t built a single stick of new low income housing. 

        • PotKettleBlack September 15, 2023 (10:29 pm)

          Twoshoes – when you put it that way, it almost seems like refusing to invest in a permanent solution guarantees the continued hours of overtime for cops and contractors. The cash will keep flowing as long as people are outdoors. Almost like their budgets (our taxes) are a bottomless pit.

          • st September 16, 2023 (1:41 pm)

            People who do not pay into the system i.e. impoverished, homeless, addicts, chronic mental health issues etc are even less than valued. They are worthless and disposable to the system we live within. The only value a person has is what government, big corps etc can make and take off of their very existence. Hence, as they have zero value for the system, the system can and will  find a way to profit off of unprofitable human lives i.e.  “Every sweep involves many hours of cops on OT and contractors (like Fresh Family) that the city pays $110/hour per worker….but the city hasn’t built a single stick of new low income housing. “

          • Mark H September 18, 2023 (3:15 pm)

            but the city hasn’t built a single stick of new low income housing. “That’s not at all true.  Though the City, or anyone else,  will N-E-V-E-R be able to meet the demand for a valuable good we all need (housing) at a below market price.  By definition, demand for that is infinite.  It’s why we are stuck in crazytown. 

  • Liz September 15, 2023 (4:45 pm)

    Whatever the tool used tickets, signs, cameras, any of it it HAS to be ENFORCED! 

  • Alki Jack September 15, 2023 (7:35 pm)

    Thank You Mike Gain for all your efforts. I have seen a vacation type trailer parked on Harbor Ave for several weeks now. From time to time there is a black SUV parked in front of it. The vehicle appears to be a BMW, but it’s not hooked up to the trailer. It is illegal to have vehicle parked at the curb with no brakes. I have mentioned this to several parking cops and they say they know it’s illegal and they have talked to the person and they said they were going to move anyway. Well several weeks have went by and nothing, Still illegally parked. We need parking enforcement NOW.

  • Kyle September 15, 2023 (7:49 pm)

    Did I miss the public comment period for this? As a taxpaying citizen who lives in a not as ritzy area of West Seattle this essentially reduces my access to a public and beautiful part of West Seattle. I understand the residents frustration, but this is a blunt tool that hurts many instead of just focusing on the rv problem. I can’t park my legal and tab paying vehicle during those hours now. Can’t think of anywhere else in Seattle where this is allowed.

    • WSEvironmentalist September 15, 2023 (9:18 pm)

      The No Parking is only for overnight, 11 PM to 5 AM.  Not sure what you will miss by not parking during those hours.  There is no impact to parking in front of residences if you staying with friends or relatives.   The gates of Jack Block Park are closed at 10 PM and opened at 7:00 AM, Don Armeni Boat Ramp closes at 10 PM and opens very early for sport boating, and Alki Beach closes at 10:00 PM.  The WS Ferry that does not operate overnight.  Slaty’s has its own parking lot.Since your concerns are about taxpayer dollars, ask SDOT, SPD, Seattle Parks, NW Port Alliance, Transwest, BNSF, SFD and insurance companies how much has been spent in clean up and on security in dealing with the transient RVs and cars that leave piles of stinking debris, tie their dogs to trees, cook drugs, catch fire, deal in stolen property, break into cars of residents, park over the SDOT street parking lines so they block traffic, and repair for sites after squatters are in buildings under construction.  One of our neighbors has lived in her house since the 1960s and only portions of the area are upscale due to the across the board trends in all of Seattle not just Harbor Ave SW/Alki.  Come here in the day time, rain or shine, to walk on the beach, enjoy the views, grab a bite to eat or drink.  Bring your bike, your roller blades, your dog, your kids and your friends.  

      • April September 18, 2023 (10:10 am)

        Not everyone is a day person!!!! I prefer walking after midnight!! And I will continue to park there and walk at night! This is just a waste of tax money. They need to just enforce the 72 hour rule they already have!!!

    • Pdavis September 16, 2023 (9:53 am)

      When idea might be to get together with your neighbors and get residential parking permits for people that actually live there.  

  • WSB September 15, 2023 (8:18 pm)

    What SDOT sent me on request, the postcard that went to nearby businesses/residences, says the signs will only be installed in “non-residential, non-commercial” adjacencies. Otherwise there’s a fairly generic map that doesn’t show where the stretches of non-installation will be. I’m linking the postcard above.

  • Dierdre September 15, 2023 (8:22 pm)

    Oh, great…just in time to NOT accommodate overnight street parking for  he new  hideous 5-story building with 115 apartments and only 65 off street parking spaces on Harbor. Wth kind of city planning is that. Now there’s no overnight street parking around that bldg.  Also That bldg is a gross eyesore….too big, too tall blocking the downtown view, the water, the needle coming in and out of west seattle off of Admiral.  

    • Mark H September 18, 2023 (10:53 am)

      If all street parking in the City (that’s every single space) required daily payment, we wouldn’t have any of these problems.  Ask your council member for that. Or ask them why it’s free anyway?  Where else can your personal property be stored for free?

  • WTF September 15, 2023 (8:29 pm)

    Since when did that stretch of road become a residential street?!  All these dilapidated RVs and cars are going to do is move to (real) residential streets. No one see a problem here?! 😠

  • jim September 15, 2023 (8:36 pm)

    give  Mike Gain a packet book of parking tickets….and of course get him  a tow truck….and away they GO!

  • 26er September 15, 2023 (9:47 pm)

    How do we get these signs posted on the east side of 26th ave SW along the delridge playfields? RVs set up camp here often.

  • Admiral-2009 September 15, 2023 (10:32 pm)

    Dierdre – good point.  If only the City would have strictly enforced the 72 hour parking regulation!  

    As a side bar:  as a bicyclist that rides this street that is marked as a shared bike lane, vehicle’s that park over the parking stripe and encroach into bike path are a safety concern especially in sections with the raised median.  

  • Taxpayer September 16, 2023 (10:14 pm)

    Mike, you have accomplished what I have wanted for so many years. Thanks for working hard to help make it happen. RV dwellers need a place to be ….Alki beach isn’t it.

  • BP September 17, 2023 (7:49 am)

    Well done Mike Gain!  We Harbor Ave residents are celebrating the installation of the signs. Thank you!

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