The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is proposing to improve customer service for users of Residential Parking Zones (RPZs), but some customers in areas such as Lower Queen Anne, Capitol Hill and the Pike-Pine corridor may not appreciate the effort.RPZ permits allow users to legally park in restricted areas covered by the zones, typically at night but also for unlimited times in areas in the parking zones with time restrictions. There are currently 27 RPZs in Seattle, and more than 17,000 motorists have RPZ permits, according to SDOT figures.LIMITING THE NUMBER OF PERMITSUnder current rules, household members are allowed to have one RPZ permit for each of their vehicles. That would change under the proposal because "there are people who have a pretty substantial number of permits," explained SDOT spokesperson Rick Sheridan. The problem is, a growing population in Seattle means there are often more people with vehicles in a given RPZ than there are parking places, he said. There's also a broader issue involved. "Seattle is committed to building communities where people can live closer to the places they need to go and where living without a car is not only possible but a desirable lifestyle," according to a briefing paper about the proposal.Bottom line is that - no matter how many vehicles are associated with a household - only one RPZ permit per household would be allowed in dense residential areas such as the neighborhoods mentioned above, where there are two or more RPZ permits for every RPZ parking space, according to SDOT figures."I don't understand how that's going to work," said Queen Anne Community Council chairperson Helen Monrad. "It's just going to move the parking problem three blocks down the street." What happens to people who have roommates in a home or apartment in an RPZ, she wondered: "Who's going to give up their car?""I think that's overreaching," said Chip Wall, of the one-permit-per-household proposal. A steering-committee member of the Pike-Pine Urban Neighborhood Council, he said SDOT is jumping on the P.C. bandwagon "contrary to the realities of the moment."Wall is also unsure what to make of SDOT's contention that going carless is a desirable lifestyle. "I find that rather curious," he said. What about people who want to drive to Snoqualmie Falls or Bellevue - or the grocery store for that matter, he wonders.SDOT is also proposing restrictions for RPZ permits in areas such as Wallingford, University West and North Beacon Hill, where there is currently one permit for each parking spot for the most part. Still, SDOT wants to limit that to two permits per household, according to the briefing paper.For RPZs in less-dense areas such as Magnolia, Mount Baker, Madison Valley and North Capitol Hill each household would be limited to a maximum of four RPZ permits.Residents in RPZs are currently eligible to buy one guest parking permit that would be good at all times, but the proposal would change that to multiple guest parking permits that would each be good for only one day.INCREASING FEESFees for RPZ permits currently cost $35 for one or two years, depending on the location, but the fees have not increased for several years and no longer cover administrative costs of the program, according to the briefing paper.One thing the city has heard from focus groups is that there should be a modest fee for the first permit, and that the costs for multiple permits per household should be very high. So the costs are going up, but just how much will be determined by the Seattle City Council, which also has to approve the new RPZ policy, Sheridan said.The RPZ proposal is currently in draft form, and the public can comment on it until Oct. 20. Copies of the proposal can be found on SDOT's website or obtained by calling SDOT's Mary Catherine Snyder, at 684-8110.Staff writer-at-large Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.[[In-content Ad]]
