Parking. Whether it’s on the street or in a garage, it’s something that many people do on a regular basis. While people certainly don’t drive for the sole purpose of parking, the act of finding a spot is inevitable. We want to hear about your experiences.

At SDOT, we manage the on-street parking network – all those pay stations, meters, and related signs. Right now, we’re working on a project that outlines different strategies to make paid parking in downtown and neighborhood business districts more available. The technical term is performance-based parking pricing. Other cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C. are testing out new strategies too.

We’d like to get a better sense for business owner needs, understand the customer parking experience, and look for ways to make it better. Take a survey! You can find the survey here – it should take about 10-15 minutes. Thanks!

SDOT crews install new CityPal pay stations (click for larger image)

More than 2,200 pay stations line our city streets in neighborhood business districts and the downtown core making it easier for people to pay for parking.  Most people have become accustomed to using these high tech parking tools that enable parkers to use cash or credit to pay for on street parking.  These “smart” meters have enabled the city to allow pre-purchased parking and implement multiple parking rates throughout the city.

On Tuesday, June 21, SDOT installed two new “CityPal” pay stations on Western Avenue, just north of the Pike Place Market.  The CityPal is the newest version of the pay station and these are the first two CityPals installed in the United States.

The new units feature a 7-inch color touch screen that has been called an “iPad for the street,” capable of displaying not just parking pricing information, but also maps, wayfinding, and customer service messaging.  The CityPals also feature improved web-based maintenance and programming capabilities that can better handle multiple rates of parking pricing.  Despite the energy demanding features that CityPals provide, these units are fully powered by the sun through a top-mounted solar panel.   The international standard symbol for parking, an upper case “P”, is mounted high on the unit for visibility and the side panels are customized for Seattle with an image of the Space Needle.

The CityPal screen (click for larger image)

SDOT is renting and installing ten total CityPals to try them out during the next year.  Staff will test the functions and capabilities of this new generation of parking equipment and determine whether these units are a good fit for the city.

In Seattle a number of on-street parking pay stations recently experienced some technical problems. A cellular tower operated for our pay station provider, Parkeon, had signal strength trouble that intermittently prevented the stations from processing credit card transactions. The tower typically broadcasts a signal for eight to ten miles but sporadically had its signal strength drop to two miles.  

At any time from several dozen to 100 stations, out of 2,200 citywide, in the Pike/Pine, waterfront, Belltown and University District areas were affected by this cell tower problem. As SDOT worked with Parkeon to resolve the issue, parking enforcement officers in these neighborhoods were asked to be lenient in issuing citations, especially if there was any indication that the machines are not working appropriately.

Parkeon and its cellular service provider resolved the tower’s technical concerns early Wednesday morning, allowing the impacted pay stations to return to full service. As of Friday morning, only five stations were still experiencing issues, primarily because of their need to cycle through all the attempted transactions. 

If you were charged for parking but did not receive a receipt, have discovered multiple credit card charges or received a parking ticket in error, please call SDOT at 206-733-9241. SDOT will have those credit card charges and parking citations dismissed.

Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee members host a roundtable to discuss public health, mobility issues and Seattle’s transportation system.

 

Everybody has an opinion about transportation.  What’s yours?  Now’s your chance to be heard!  For details, please see our website.

Last fall, the City Council adopted Resolution Number 31240 which states the City’s intent to convene a Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) III to advise the Mayor and City Council on transportation funding alternatives and priorities. The 14-member CTAC III was appointed by the Mayor and Council and is hard at work developing recommendations for new approaches to funding improvements to Seattle’s transportation system.

Key to the process is guidance from the city’s engaged stakeholder communities. The goal is to develop a framework and shared vision of what is necessary to address the city’s commitment to affordable, safe and efficient movement for people, goods and services.

Read more »

The Seattle Department of Transportation invites you to an Open House for the “West Mercer Place” portion of the Mercer West project to be held Tuesday, March 15th, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Seattle Center.   The purpose of the Open House is to:

• Provide the preliminary results of the study regarding  the “West Mercer Place” segment (Elliott Ave. W.  to 5th Avenue W)
• Get feedback from the public on all parts of the study
• Provide an opportunity to answer any questions about the overall Mercer West project.

A list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the “West Mercer Place” study is available here.

The Open House will be in the Seattle Center’s Rainier Room in the Northwest Rooms Plaza  (Approximately 500 Warren Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98109 if you are using a GPS).  Due to the current budget, we are not able to provide any snacks, but we will have water available.

Getting to the Open House:
Walking directions
Bicycle directions
Bus trip planning
On-street parking and parking lots

We hope to see you there!

Work is going well on 15th Avenue NE, especially considering crews are completely reconstructing a street that commonly carries 16,000 vehicles daily while maintaining car, truck, bicycle and pedestrian traffic!

Pedestrians will be well-served by the end result, with new curb ramps and curb bulbs; widened sidewalks at bus zones; a new marked crosswalk at NE 41st Street; and better lighting.  Of course, all traffic will see smoother days ahead and probably then be thankful for the efficient construction convoys – hauling material out as fast as crews can dig it up. 

Recent work on Phase I (NE Pacific to NE 45th streets)  includes:

• A single weekend paving effort that included 66 truck trips, 149 concrete trucks, and a 24-hour continuous paving operation of nearly 1000 cubic yards
• Demolition and repaving of 3,000 feet of existing roadway in the southbound two lanes and the intersection approaches at Campus Parkway, Ne 42nd St, and NE 43rd St
• Continued work on the electrical system that now boasts 8,900 linear feet of new conduit and 14 new electrical hand holes.  

Bravo crew! 

With the entire project stretching from NE Pacific Street to NE 55th, remember there are some breaks: the intersections at NE Pacific Street, NE 45th Street, and NE 50th Street were repaved prior to this project so they will NOT have to go under the hammer again.

To complete construction efficiently crews rebuilding 15^th Avenue NE in the University District are going all out, night and day! 

The work schedule is quite the balancing act with very little wiggle room on such a highly utilized roadway.  Despite that, in just the first four weeks crews have installed about 2,500 feet of conduit; installed 11 new storm water filters; and demolished more than 2,500 square yards of existing roadway while reconstructing the southbound curb lane from NE Pacific Street to NE 43^rd Street. 

The contractor is rebuilding the entire street, curb to curb, and improving sidewalks from NE Pacific to NE 45^th streets.  Work this next month includes:

• Completion of both southbound lanes between NE Pacific and NE 45th streets
• Demolition of existing roadway and reconstruction of new concrete pavement on additional lanes between NE Pacific and NE 45th streets
• Sidewalk replacement in areas along the west side of 15th Ave NE between NE Pacific and NE 45th streets
• Installation of new electrical conduit behind the curbs

In June, when the summer break begins at the University of Washington, the contractor will work on the piece of 15^th NE between NE 45^th Street and NE 50^th Street. The last work will be to resurface 15^th NE with asphalt from NE 50^th to NE 55^th.

Want to see more photos of this fast-moving project?  Visit Flickr.

If you travel in SODO you’ve likely noticed that Airport Way South is looking better and better (see pretty pics below!).  That’s because hard-working construction crews completed phase one of improvements to Airport Way South (South Spokane Street up to South Royal Brougham Way) this year and just about completed Airport Way South phase two improvements (South Royal Brougham Way to South Dearborn Street) this month.

You might remember weather wasn’t its most cooperative in early December, when some Airport Way final elements were to be completed.  These highly weather-sensitive tasks that now await dry moderate days next year include asphalt resurfacing at the Dearborn intersection and final pavement markings.  Some final electrical work is part of the mix.  But why focus on a couple of weeks of remaining work when we have so much to celebrate??  What crews completed on Airport Way phase two this year includes:

• Full roadway reconstruction of Airport Way South between South Royal Brougham and South Dearborn Street
• Repaving of approaches at intersecting streets
• Sidewalk repairs in several areas
• New and upgraded pedestrian curb ramps
• Rebuilt driveways along Airport Way South
• New storm drainage infrastructure

Photos of that completed work in progress are shared here, along with a wish for a very happy new year!

The annual Figgy Pudding caroling event is this Friday night.  The event features more than 40 teams singing through the downtown core and 1,000s of shoppers and spectators. It always brings good cheer.  This year, SDOT is participating in two ways to make your holiday travel even better.

The City of Seattle Safety Singers will be located on Fourth Avenue near Pine. Singing new hits like ”See you in the crosswalk downtown”.  Here is a preview on King 5.

In addition, our new e-Park program, which provides dynamic signs with real-time short-term parking information to guide you to participating parking garages, will give you hot chocolate to go with this great information. e-Park will be hosting 2 hot cocoa stands to keep downtown shoppers and carolers warm throughout the evening.

We’re trying to make everything easier, safer and merry, Downtown for the Holidays.

Crews will be working this weekend to remove old pavement and rebuild Airport Way South between 6th Avenue South and South Dearborn Street. To do that, the intersection of Airport Way South and 6th Ave South must be completely closed. Planned work hours are from 7 p.m. tonight to 7 p.m. October 31st (happy Halloween to this hard working bunch!). Traffic detours and restrictions are as follows:

Airport Way S
Northbound closed at 6th: 7 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Sunday
Southbound closed at Dearborn: 7 a.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday
6th Avenue S
Closed at Airport Way: 7 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Sunday
Local access maintained
S Plummer St
Closed at Airport Way South to westbound traffic
Local access off of 7^th Avenue South

Remember, S Charles Street from Maynard Avenue South to Airport Way South remains closed until November 5th for ongoing work!