Parking woes lead Sound Transit to consider permit program
Aug 23, 2015, 9:41 PM | Updated: Aug 24, 2015, 8:58 am
The Sound Transit board is considering a system-wide permit program that could start as early as next year. (Sound Transit)
(Sound Transit)
Transit riders know all too well there are not enough spots to be found at park-and-rides.
The problem has become so bad that Sound Transit is considering a permit system so frequent users won’t have to get to the lots at the crack of dawn to find a space to park.
Sound Transit tinkered with a permit program last year during a small pilot project. The board liked what it saw, and now it is considering a system-wide permit program that could start as early as next year for carpoolers. It would be available to solo drivers a lot later.
The agency is currently conducting a rider survey to decide the best way to roll out the potential changes, according to Sound Transit spokesperson Bruce Gray.
“All of our parking lots are full every day,” he explained. “There’s no way you can build enough parking for everybody. And it doesn’t make sense to try and build 50,000 parking spots at each transit station, so we’re trying to figure out how to use what we have the most efficiently.”
Riders with ORCA cards would be able to apply for the permits. They would be guaranteed a spot in the parking lots until 9:30 a.m.
The number of park-and-rides to be included is one of the details still being hammered out, as well as the permit cost.
“It’s pretty well excepted if you’re someone who comes to a lot in a carpool, that permit is free,” Gray said. “It’s going to be a pretty minimal charge for single-occupancy users.”
Gray says there would still be spaces for non-permit parking.
“At least 50 percent of all of our lots will be first come, first served,” he said. “Any permit spot that is still open after 9:30 a.m. is fair game for everybody.”
The renewal process would ensure that people are actually using the spaces. So someone who rides Sound Transit once a week wouldn’t be able to hoard a permit.
“You’re going to need to have an ORCA card tied to your permit,” Gray said. “As renewals come up, we’ll be able to see how often people are coming to the state. So they can make it available to someone else.”
Sound Transit is out at the park-and-rides this week talking to users about the program. It will be up to the board to decide whether they’ll move ahead with the idea.
