Where should I park downtown? (Seattle, Everett: rental car, rental, how much)

[mrsincredible]

I know I was recommended to go downtown on Sunday when street parking is free, but we probably will be downtown on a Friday. I need some ideas of where to park. Here's my general list of what we're doing and the order in which I think we'll be doing it:

Jade Garden in the ID - is it reasonable to think I can find coin street parking nearby?

Westlake Center - poke around, take the monorail to the Seattle Center, check out the Space Needle. Walk to...

Pike Place Market - poke around, be gawky tourists

Ferry to Bainbridge Island - Just wanted to go for the ferry experience. Not sure how much time we'll spend on the other end. Any suggestions?

These are the major things we wanted to experience and we'll be taking a 10 month old baby with us so we're trying not to be too ambitious with a packed schedule.

[Redline]

I think the parkade at Bed Bath & Beyond is reasonable so it might be worth checking.

[mrsincredible]

Originally Posted by Redline

I think the parkade at Bed Bath & Beyond is reasonable so it might be worth checking.

Thanks for the tip! I googled it and someone mentioned paying $5 for 3 hours for a theater show at the Moore. Sounds pretty cheap to me!

[hotzcatz]

Ditch the car and take the bus in and out of downtown Seattle. It's free in the downtown area and the buses are clean and on time. We just spend two weeks vacationing in Seattle and all we had was an ORCA card to get around with. There are vending machines at various places which sell them, we got ours at the airport. They also sell them at the Westlake Tunnel, too. And at the Ferry terminals, too, I think. The cards are $5 each can be loaded with however much money for transportation fares you want to put on them and they work on the metro buses, the light rail, the ferry system, Amtrak out to Everett and the Sounder rail, too. The cards also keep track of transfers for you, too. If you can use a transfer the card reader just states "xfer" and doesn't debit your ORCA card. You can add more money to the cards when they run low by going to one of the service counters at the bus or ferry terminals. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't recharge them at the vending machine, too, but I'm not certain of that. It was an excellent way to get around the city. We were able to look around and see things instead of paying attention to driving and no parking hassles, ever.

[mrsincredible]

Thanks for taking the time to write all that about the bus. But we're traveling with a baby and a grandma so I think a car is just going to be easier all around. We're bringing her car seat and we'll have a stroller and giant diaper bag. I don't want to be one of "those people" trying to bus it with the equivalent of a kitchen sink. I can already imagine the looks - both dirty and of sympathy.

[Inkpoe]

Keep in mind we have the electronic coin meter for streetside parking. Its 2 hours for 5 dollars and you can expect the meter maids to be around writing up tickets if your time expire. One good thing about the electronic/digital meter is that it picks out a sticker for you to put on a window; it list the time it expires, and you can park anywhere else in the city as long the time doesnt expire. Just make sure your husband check on the time and run back. I think on week days, street side parking becomes free after 6 or 7pm-- someone else can correct me on that.

[DanLerJoh]

I absolutely hate paying for parking. When I go downtown I usually park on Alaskan Way near the waterfront. South of the Ferry terminals there is parking on the street thats free every day and theres always spots when I go. Its not bad unless your afraid of a little walking. It's pretty close to the ferries:

[hapawahine]

On a Sunday, street parking free in all areas of the city; but on a Friday, it’s not free until after 6pm. There is street parking in the ID, but you may have to walk a couple of blocks. You can also pay to park at Uwagimayas (a very cool store & Seattle institution you must go inside to see!) then sightsee the shops along the way, five blocks to the restaurant.

After leaving the ID, drive north up 4th Ave. Jog over on Pike St. to 6th Ave & park in the Pacific Place shopping mall (Pottery Barn, Tiffany’s, etc). You can walk to both Westlake and the Market, that’s my advice, especially on a Friday! Westlake parking garage is harder to navigate & more expensive. You can also park at the Market but with Friday traffic, some streets also closed to cars from 3-6pm, confusing one way intersecting streets, people walking everywhere, navigating your way will be a bit challenging. If you do choose to park at the Market, there’s a public lot on Western Ave., a private pay garage on Lenora between Western Ave & 1st Ave., a few open air lots here & there, or you might get lucky & find a street space. Street parking max’s out at 2 hrs. so you’ll need to go back & feed the meter if you stay out longer (easy to do).

I’d advise bypassing Westlake until the end, as it’s indoor & just a shopping mall. Go straight to the Pike Place Market. Take Pike street to walk to the Market, it’s the most scenic way. It’s not that far, 6 short, level blocks. Market vendors start closing shop around 5pm-ish depending on how busy it is. Also, they often sell out of the best stuff much earlier. You can easily lose yourself & time meandering around the market & if you’re there too late, by the time you get from one end to the other, it might be all closing up. So don’t rush yourself, go first. Then, go back to Westlake & immediately take the Monorail to Seattle Center, as it‘s mostly outside & you want to take advantage of whatever sun is left. After the Space Needle, go back to Westlake & now, at the end of your day, you can browse the shops at Westlake, Pacific Place & 5th/6th Aves. Just south of Pike St. Shops stay open later & it’s nice not to have to carry your purchases around all day. I guess I’m assuming this is all in one day?

Ferries are packed on Fridays & weekends! Many locals bring cars to town on Monday & drive back on Friday. It’s also a heavy tourist route, as they head out to all the tourist towns & the other side of the state. You might have to wait in line for up to 2-3 boats, in your car. But, you can walk on with no car, it’s cheaper & waaaay less hassle. Parking at lots under the Viaduct area are worth it, since if you walk on, you save the cost of the vehicle fare & hassle. You can just ride back & forth for the fun experience, or walk to town when you get there. But with a child, you’ll be doing a bit of a mild trek from ferry to town. It’s a cute town, though & you can have lunch there. It’s all very kid-friendly, too. If you have a car, you can spend a whole day driving around sightseeing the island. You’ll mostly find many parks, scenic vistas & of course the small town. I suggest timing your ride back so you get to see Seattle just as the sun starts to set, because it’s so beautiful with the colorful sunset reflecting off the skyline & buildings.

I’d say it is too much for one day, unless…. The only way is to start very early & do the ferry first. If you take the car option, you’ll have a better chance of driving on the ferry, reverse commute style, but I‘d still walk on to save the hassle. Then, get back in time for dim sum lunch at the Jade Door & finish the rest of the day as usual. It will be a long day but you will have seen all you wanted to see!

[mrsincredible]

Originally Posted by hapawahine

On a Sunday, street parking free in all areas of the city; but on a Friday, it’s not free until after 6pm. There is street parking in the ID, but you may have to walk a couple of blocks. You can also pay to park at Uwagimayas (a very cool store & Seattle institution you must go inside to see!) then sightsee the shops along the way, five blocks to the restaurant.

After leaving the ID, drive north up 4th Ave. Jog over on Pike St. to 6th Ave & park in the Pacific Place shopping mall (Pottery Barn, Tiffany’s, etc). You can walk to both Westlake and the Market, that’s my advice, especially on a Friday! Westlake parking garage is harder to navigate & more expensive. You can also park at the Market but with Friday traffic, some streets also closed to cars from 3-6pm, confusing one way intersecting streets, people walking everywhere, navigating your way will be a bit challenging. If you do choose to park at the Market, there’s a public lot on Western Ave., a private pay garage on Lenora between Western Ave & 1st Ave., a few open air lots here & there, or you might get lucky & find a street space. Street parking max’s out at 2 hrs. so you’ll need to go back & feed the meter if you stay out longer (easy to do).

I’d advise bypassing Westlake until the end, as it’s indoor & just a shopping mall. Go straight to the Pike Place Market. Take Pike street to walk to the Market, it’s the most scenic way. It’s not that far, 6 short, level blocks. Market vendors start closing shop around 5pm-ish depending on how busy it is. Also, they often sell out of the best stuff much earlier. You can easily lose yourself & time meandering around the market & if you’re there too late, by the time you get from one end to the other, it might be all closing up. So don’t rush yourself, go first. Then, go back to Westlake & immediately take the Monorail to Seattle Center, as it‘s mostly outside & you want to take advantage of whatever sun is left. After the Space Needle, go back to Westlake & now, at the end of your day, you can browse the shops at Westlake, Pacific Place & 5th/6th Aves. Just south of Pike St. Shops stay open later & it’s nice not to have to carry your purchases around all day. I guess I’m assuming this is all in one day?

Ferries are packed on Fridays & weekends! Many locals bring cars to town on Monday & drive back on Friday. It’s also a heavy tourist route, as they head out to all the tourist towns & the other side of the state. You might have to wait in line for up to 2-3 boats, in your car. But, you can walk on with no car, it’s cheaper & waaaay less hassle. Parking at lots under the Viaduct area are worth it, since if you walk on, you save the cost of the vehicle fare & hassle. You can just ride back & forth for the fun experience, or walk to town when you get there. But with a child, you’ll be doing a bit of a mild trek from ferry to town. It’s a cute town, though & you can have lunch there. It’s all very kid-friendly, too. If you have a car, you can spend a whole day driving around sightseeing the island. You’ll mostly find many parks, scenic vistas & of course the small town. I suggest timing your ride back so you get to see Seattle just as the sun starts to set, because it’s so beautiful with the colorful sunset reflecting off the skyline & buildings.

I’d say it is too much for one day, unless…. The only way is to start very early & do the ferry first. If you take the car option, you’ll have a better chance of driving on the ferry, reverse commute style, but I‘d still walk on to save the hassle. Then, get back in time for dim sum lunch at the Jade Door & finish the rest of the day as usual. It will be a long day but you will have seen all you wanted to see!

Hi HapaWahine - thanks for the long post. I'll need to take some time to digest all of this information and decide how to order my day. We are meeting up with my mom Friday morning. She is staying Thursday night at an airport hotel and then taking the light rail up to downtown. We'll pick her up in our rental car. Dim sum will probably be our breakfast - we're looking forward to it! We were planning on taking the ferry on foot.

Thanks again

[mrsincredible]

Thanks for the parking help! I grabbed street parking for breakfast in the ID and paid for street parking. Then we moved the car over to the parking garage where the Bed Bath & Beyond is located. We got in at 9:55 am - just in time for the $10 unlimited parking if you arrive before 10am! We clocked out at 4:30pm so it was totally worth it! Thanks so much for the tip Redline!

Oh - also wanted to add that I'm going to update my main post with the details of what I did today!