Cars in downtown (Seattle, Vancouver, Bellevue: 2013, credit, tax)

[Seattle4321]

What is up with seattle trying to make it impossible to park in seattle? Maybe some people don't want to ride the bus for a hour to get downtown. Or maybe I don't want to bike up and down all the hills in downtown or live close enough to ride my bike there. Or maybe some people like the comfort of their car vs the bus. And the bike lanes who uses those? a select few will use the bike lanes was it worth it I think not.

[Hemlock140]

That started with the previous mayor, a big proponent of bicycling. The current city council has continued that trend toward anti-car. They also like the stiff parking tax (12.5%) that adds to the cost of paring garage and lot fees. Thankfully some of the outlying areas like Ballard still have free on-street parking in the residential areas, but for people living downtown it's even worse than for shoppers/tourists if they have a car.

[JBVirtuoso]

Seattle's downtown is actually incredibly parking-friendly compared to most major US downtowns. You can easily find spots for $20/day or less, and many of the meters allow 10 hour stays instead of the usual two. If you don't want to take the bus or bike and like the comfort of your car, be prepared to pay for that. Cheap parking is not a right.

And your view on bike lanes would quickly change if you ever tried cycling downtown. The political atmosphere in Seattle (and nationally) has now shifted toward prioritizing safety over speed and convenience of travel for drivers. Expect to see more cycling and pedestrian infrastructure downtown within the next ten years - there have already been numerous visible changes over the last year.

[Steve Bowen]

Given how bad traffic congestion is already, and given how rapidly people are moving to Seattle, and given that it is virtually impossible that we will see another major north-south thoroughfare on par with SR 99 or I-5 anytime soon even though it's desperately needed, I think discouraging driving is a defensible urban planning decision, provided that the city also increases its investment in transit, which it is.

[Kayela]

There are far more people living and working downtown than there were even a few years ago. It's not just the previous mayor at work (although to be fair he kinda put himself out there, but he also didn't work alone). All those people seem to want to drive, and park, their cars DT as well....

[JBVirtuoso]

Originally Posted by Kayela

There are far more people living and working downtown than there were even a few years ago. It's not just the previous mayor at work (although to be fair he kinda put himself out there, but he also didn't work alone). All those people seem to want to drive, and park, their cars DT as well....

Yes, McGinn definitely gets too much credit for pushing the pro-walking, cycling, and transit agenda. He was vocal about it, but many of the changes we've seen over the last five years have come as a result of shifting demographics and demand, both locally and nationally. The federal government is now much more willing to cough up funds for safety improvements than it was ten years ago, which allows many of these changes to happen. In fact, Murray's administration has been responsible for a number of high profile changes, like the 2nd Avenue cycletrack and the bus lane on Pike Street. And there are a number of cities nationally that are rolling out similar initiatives (New York, Chicago, DC, Minneapolis, Denver, even Phoenix) - so this is hardly something specific to Seattle and its politics.

[mike62pp3]

Originally Posted by Seattle4321

What is up with seattle trying to make it impossible to park in seattle?.

Do you have any examples of how it is impossible to park in DT? I've lived in Seattle for over 5 years now and never had trouble finding parking (day or night). In addition to street parking, you have numerous parking lots and garages that offer either a similar or better rate. Plus the parking garages have better security, they are covered parking, can park more than 4hrs, and there's a lot of them.

If you've lived in Seattle long enough, you will realize why this city has placed such a huge emphasis on bicyclists, transit, and car-sharing services. The city is not getting bigger and there are more people moving here.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

That started with the previous mayor, a big proponent of bicycling. The current city council has continued that trend toward anti-car. They also like the stiff parking tax (12.5%) that adds to the cost of paring garage and lot fees. Thankfully some of the outlying areas like Ballard still have free on-street parking in the residential areas, but for people living downtown it's even worse than for shoppers/tourists if they have a car.

what kind of joke is this? Bicycles are 99% for fun and not for commuting. If they want real transit, they should build a light rail everywhere (like Vancouver), not bike lanes.

[strad]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

what kind of joke is this? Bicycles are 99% for fun and not for commuting. If they want real transit, they should build a light rail everywhere (like Vancouver), not bike lanes.

According to the latest US census, 4.1% of Seattlites regularly commute to work by bicycle and nearly 10% walk. In fact, in the US only Portland has a larger percentage of commuters who get to work by bicycle. The number of bicycle commuters in Seattle has nearly doubled in the past decade too.

[Hemlock140]

Crossing the I90 bridge every morning I always see a few bikes with commuters from Bellevue to Seattle on the right side bike lane, and that increases in spring-summer. Almost every bus has 1-2 bikes on the front. Driving alone, however, is still the most common commute by far.