Seattle parking rates reach new high limit of $5 an hour

SEATTLE — The limit for street parking prices just increased after city officials approved upping the limit for Seattle parking by $1.

The Seattle City Council unanimously approved new street parking limits at its Monday meeting. The new upper limit for city parking is now $5 per hour– up from the previous limit of $4. The lower limit was adjusted as well — dropping from 75 cents to 50 cents.

Seattle aims to extend Capitol Hill parking hours to 11 p.m.

The council approved legislation that raises the limit but does not effectively raise the current prices on street parking. The city now has the ability to raise Seattle parking prices in the future — something it assesses each year.

Seattle recently adjusted parking rates around town, hitting the previous upper limit of $4 per hour in many neighborhoods. With the new $5 limit, the city could raise those rates during similar adjustments in the future.

Neighborhoods where pricing will change

These five areas will have new maximum rates of $5 an hour:

• Capitol Hill North
• Commercial Core – Financial
• Commercial Core – Waterfront
• First Hill
• Pioneer Square Core

These five areas will have new minimum rates of 50 cents an hour:

• Ballard Edge
• Ballard Locks
• Chinatown/International District Edge
• Green Lake
• Roosevelt

Seattle parking changes

The city uses a “performance pricing” model when considering Seattle parking prices. This means the city hopes to keep a couple parking spaces open on each block by having prices that encourage people to use other forms of transportation. Basically, use transit or ride-sharing instead of feeding the meter.

The new rate limits come during a budget season where the council is also considering upping the limit on paid parking times in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. If approved, drivers would have to pay for parking until 11 p.m. along the Pike/Pine corridor, in Capitol Hill north and Capitol Hill south areas. Among those considerations are whether to turn currently free street parking spaces in South Lake Union to paid ones.

Additional paid parking in South Lake Union is expected to create a 9-percent increase in Seattle parking revenue, according to the mayor’s budget that is currently under consideration. It would boost the revenues from the 2016-17 budget of $38.8 million to $42.3 million. The mayor’s office is projecting 2018 revenue for on-street Seattle parking to be around $44.8 million.

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