Does downtown Seattle have any free parking? (to rent, live)

[blueshogun96]

One thing I realized quickly after I returned here was that it's feels virtually impossible to find free parking in this city. Plus it appears to be rather expensive at times. I can understand 2 or 3 bucks for a few hours, but 10 and up? Wow, that really steep! Now the reason I'm asking is because I plan on starting a business soon, and if I ever have any employees, I don't want them to pay an arm and a leg just to park for a few hours. I really can't have something like that on my conscience. So until I can afford my own office building, I'll have to rent office space. So, do you know of any areas that have free (or cheap parking)? Thanks.

[Inkpoe]

Well, do what every employer in DT Seattle expect of their employees: Take public transportation.

Unless you own a parking lot, its not happening. Even if you are just outside of DT Seattle (north in particular), the competition for parking space is supremely fierce and people have their car dinged and dinked by other idiot drivers.

[rmkiefer07]

They are very few and very far between and chances are, your employees will end up taking the bus or paying any way. On those days I do have drive in, I look for the "early bird specials" where it's 10-12 bucks for ten hours, and those tend to be in outskirts of downtown (Olive/Boren/Stewart near I-5).

[UnusualSuspect]

As others have noted, public transportation is the way to go. Not only is it cheaper, it's easier. Why deal with the hassle of driving downtown when you can relax on the bus? When I worked downtown, the only times I drove in were when I was going to need my car right after work and when I needed to get in before my bus started running (5 a.m., which only happened once). Buses go into downtown Seattle from all over the metro area; your employees shouldn't have any trouble. I don't know much about the light rail, but look into that too.

If you really, really want free parking, there's free street parking in lower Queen Anne. From there, walk to the free ride zone and take a bus in if you don't want to walk the whole way. Good luck finding spots during a weekday, though.

[sean98125]

You can find rent a lot cheaper in the outlying areas than in downtown Seattle, and there will be ample free parking to boot.

[AlohaHuey]

Not in downtown proper. Sundays and holidays are free, other than that, it's a matter of finding the cheapest garage.

When I worked downtown, I always took the bus. A car is nothing but a hassle.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by blueshogun96

One thing I realized quickly after I returned here was that it's feels virtually impossible to find free parking in this city. Plus it appears to be rather expensive at times. I can understand 2 or 3 bucks for a few hours, but 10 and up? Wow, that really steep! Now the reason I'm asking is because I plan on starting a business soon, and if I ever have any employees, I don't want them to pay an arm and a leg just to park for a few hours. I really can't have something like that on my conscience. So until I can afford my own office building, I'll have to rent office space. So, do you know of any areas that have free (or cheap parking)? Thanks.

Sorry to add on...your employees will not have any expectation that you will provide for their parking. Anyone who accepts a downtown job, especially with a small company, will realize they are responsible for this. Make it clear to whomever you hire in the interview process, too.

You might be able to work out a deal with a close lot on discount parking, and partially subsidize the employee parking.

[Jennibc]

Free Parking? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.......

[jinj]

Cars are evil in Seattle, unless its a Zipcar of course. hahaha

[Twitch2]

There is one spot I know of. It's a block east from the Mc Donalds by the space needle that has free parking. That is, when I was there last year.