Bellevue considering getting rid of free street parking

Free street parking could be going away in Downtown Bellevue, as the city struggles to meet the growing demand for spaces.

You might have better luck finding that needle in the haystack than finding an open-street parking spot in Bellevue. There are only about 350 spaces to begin with. The issue was created years ago when the downtown core was set up.

“Our streets are very different from Seattle’s because we have the super blocks here,” Chris Long, the assistant director for mobility operations for Bellevue, said. “Our blocks are twice as long so we have fewer streets to even have parking on. And then, on top of that, many of them are designed just to carry vehicles.”

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The city is exploring whether charging for those spots will help keep a few open.

“Part of what we’re hoping to do through paid on-street parking is just improve the accessibility of the curb to create more turnover and create more space for these different users,” Long said.

The fight for those limited spots has increased over the years with the explosion of on-demand delivery businesses and ride-sharing. It’s common to see delivery trucks or ride-sharing cars blocking the road because there is nowhere to go.

The city has launched a public outreach campaign to float the idea to Downtown Bellevue users.

“We really want to hear from people to understand what they’re experiencing when they come downtown,” Long said. “Why they’re parking on the street, how long they’re staying and are they having trouble finding parking.”

The public feedback will continue through March. Then, it will be up to the transportation commission to put it together for the city council by the end of the year.

“This is certainly not a foregone conclusion,” Long said. “We are working with our transportation commission for them to ultimately make a recommendation to council on what direction we go and if we even do paid on-street parking.”

The city hasn’t even gotten to the point of pricing yet, but Long said it would be close to the paid parking garages. That’s below the $4 to $8 private garages charge for two hours.

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And this isn’t just about the downtown core. The city continues to expand, and parking is a key part of the puzzle.

“As we build out more on Bel-Red Road, we could have almost double the number of parking in the Bel-Red areas as we do downtown over the next 20 years,” Long said. “We need a program that can actually keep up with that increased demand.”

In addition to the online survey, there is a virtual town hall about this on Monday.

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