Seattle council raises street parking rates in Uptown to as much as $12 for large events

Seattle Kraken fans or anyone attending an upcoming concert at Climate Pledge Arena will soon have to pay up to $12 for street parking in the Uptown neighborhood, after city councilmembers unanimously approved an increase in street parking rates during events.

Seattle officially changes neighborhood name from Lower Queen Anne to Uptown

The city’s transportation department previously asked the Seattle City Council Transportation Committee to increase the cost of on-street paid parking by more than double, up to $12 an hour near arenas and large venues holding 10,000 people or more during events.

The city says they will not charged drivers to park $12 per hour when the Climate Pledge Arena opens in October. Rather people would be charged $3 per hour for the first two hours, then $8 for more time.

The new parking rates would only apply on weekends or on weeknights from 5-10pm, when events are expected to draw more than 10,000 people to the area.

Seattle council committee OKs plan to raise parking rates near Climate Pledge Arena

The committee voted to move the rate increase to the full council, with an amendment that limited it to the 1-mile area surrounding the new Climate Pledge Arena. Councilmembers supporting the amendment opted to downsize the bill in order to do more outreach to those living and working near other stadiums and event venues in the Chinatown-International District and Pioneer Square areas.

The purpose of this legislation is to make street parking rates more comparable to private lots in order to encourage public transportation, and to reduce the impact on the neighborhood streets during big events at the arena. Additionally, the city aims to make sure there are one or two parking spaces open to drivers throughout the day.

The Seattle Department of Transportation says the $0.50 to $5 an hour that street parking currently costs hasn’t been enough to ensure that.

SDOT said the current maximum parking rates is $5, but SDOT hasn’t charged that in any neighborhood since March 2020.

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