Northgate Park and Ride gets more spaces … for now

There’s good news and bad news for drivers who use the Northgate Park and Ride in Seattle.

The good news is that a new parking lot is opening Monday, but dozens of parking spots are eventually going away.

A section of the Northgate Park and Ride is going to be closed sometime this fall to start construction on a Sound Transit Light Rail Station. There are roughly 300 parking spots there.

Across the street, a new interim lot of about 120 spaces is going to open as early as Monday.

Those are all additional parking spots, which will come as a relief to commuters.

But once a section of the 300-space lot closes, there’s probably going to be a net loss of parking spots.

Currently, drivers often circle, looking for places to park, just like at many King County Park and Rides that fill up fast.

Drivers who spoke to reporter Jeff Dubois said if they don’t get to the lot by 7:45 a.m., their chances of getting a spot drops dramatically.

The station for Northgate Link will connect commuters to the new University of Washington Station, and all the way south to Sea-Tac Airport.

When the station is done, there will be more parking spots, but that won’t be until 2021.