(WSB photo, west side of California south of Alaska, Tuesday afternoon)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Two months after we first reported that SDOT had launched a new review of whether to charge for street parking in West Seattle’s main district, the recommendation is in and it’s different from the last two:

This time, the city is recommending paid street parking in The Junction, and a bit beyond. This map shows exactly where:

The recommendation is going public right now, with a briefing for area businesspeople. We talked in advance with SDOT reps working on the project as part of the department’s Community Access and Parking Program.

They say the review has been under way since “early this year”; they decided to “revisit The Junction” to see how “10 years of development” had affected the parking situation: “The world has changd a lot since we last studied parking.” That includes more people visiting The Junction during the day, as the increase in people working from home meant more people with flexibility to do some local shopping or dining during the day. Pickups for food delivery also have affected curbspace usage.

They looked at the parking situation on a Thursday and Saturday in late April, between 8 am and 8 pm both days, and found that “parking was very full – above 85 percent.” On the same days, they did an “intercept survey … roaming around The Junction talking to folks,” speaking with more than 500 people. In July, they announced that the city was considering paid street parking and other changes, and released reports about what they’d found, That kicked off a feedback period including multiple versions of an online survey as well as conversations with dozens of local businesspeople. We reported results of that survey earlier this month.

“This project is rooted in a lot of data,” SDOT reps say. They also note that they heard a lot about the need for “pedestrian improvements” so some are part of the recommendations. Details on those are below, but first, more about the paid parking recommendation.

As shown on the map, here’s where you would be charged, Mondays through Saturdays, 8 am to 8 pm (except for citywide “parking holidays”):

*California SW between SW Dakota and SW Edmunds
*44th SW between SW Oregon and SW Edmunds
*42nd SW between SW Oregon and SW Edmunds
*On SW Alaska, the few free city-owned spots on the north edge of the lot behind KeyBank will become paid, possibly keeping one five-minute spot for ballot-box use
*SW Genesee between California SW and 42nd SW
*SW Oregon between 42nd SW and 44th SW
*Fauntleroy Way SW between SW Alaska and SW Edmunds
*SW Edmunds between 40th SW and Fauntleroy Way SW

A few other stretches will remain free but time-limited to 8 pm rather than the current 6 pm:

*South side of SW Genesee, 44th SW to California SW
*California between SW Erskine and SW Hudson
*40th SW and 41st SW between SW Alaska and SW Edmunds

There will be loading zones – 5-, 15-, 30-minute zones – but the locations have not yet been determined; that would be done in consultation with businesses.

SDOT says there would be pay stations that will accept cards and coins, as well as a pay-by-phone option. (Signs would be largely in the same spots as current signs.) You can choose options in 15-minute increments, up to two hours (unlike the Junction’s paid private lots). If you choose less than two hours and pay by phone, you’ll have the option to add more time by phone – but only up to two hours total. Since the rates would start at $1 per hour, that means the cheapest parking would be 25 cents, for 15 minutes in the morning. Here are the rate recommendations:

8 am to 11 am – $1/hour
11 am to 8 pm – $4/hour

Here’s how that compares to other parts of the city:

Rates are assessed periodically, SDOT says, to see if they’re working toward the desired goal of always having some spots available. After reviews, they could decide to lower, or raise, rates in 50-cent increments.

So where does the money go? “To the city’s general fund,” according to SDOT, not a specific fund. There’s no specific “revenue target.” And while they note that paid parking should make enforcement easier – parking-enforcement officers will have access to vehicles’ payment status – they also note that SPD isn’t adding any new PEOs to go with this potential paid-parking launch (they’ve been reviewing Queen Anne too and are making similar recommendations.) They also expect that paid street parking would be something of a traffic-calming improvement – “less circling” if more spots are available.

Speaking of street safety – we promised information on the “pedestrian improvements” that would be part of this plan. Nothing dramatic at this point, SDOT says, though its surveys showed interest in changes such as wider sidewalks and more permanent outdoor dining. Here’s what they do plan to do, or are considering, mostly on SW Oregon:

We learned while writing this story that one planned “pedestrian improvement” – a “hardened center line” adjacent to crosswalks at California/Oregon – is being installed today:

(Photo courtesy Chris Mackay, WSJA)

Here’s the full PDF from which the pages above are taken.

So now that the recommendations are out, what next? SDOT is accepting comments here. They’re also planning to table in front of the Junction QFC (42nd SW and SW Alaska) next Tuesday (October 6), between 10 am and 2 pm. Whatever the final decision is, it would take effect early next year.