New street parking changes proposed near Judkins Park – take our survey & learn more

Visualization of the future Judkins Park Station at Rainier Ave S and I-90 in southeast Seattle. Graphic credit: Sound Transit

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At-a-glance:

We’re proposing two new Restricted Parking Zones (RPZs) around the future Judkins Park light rail station, which is scheduled to open in 2025. When the new station opens, more people are expected to travel to and through the area.
Our proposal prioritizes parking for residents and provides 2- or 4-hour parking options for people visiting non-residential destinations like businesses, schools, churches, and parks.
This would minimize all-day light rail commuter parking on neighborhood streets when the new station opens.
We want to hear from you. We’ve launched a new public survey – please take a few minutes to share your feedback on our proposal.
We’re reaching out to residents, schools, businesses, churches, and other organizations in the area to share updates and gather feedback.
This blog post highlights several of our other projects underway in the area.

Managing on-street parking where there is limited curb space is an ongoing effort all across the city, and a key reason we have a Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) permit program.

As we prepare for the new Judkins Park light rail station to open in 2025, we’re seeking feedback on our proposal to install two new Restricted Parking Zones (RPZs) and new parking time limits in the area around the future station. This would help minimize all-day light rail commuter parking and prioritize on-street parking for neighborhood residents while providing 2- or 4-hour parking options for people visiting businesses, schools, churches, parks, and other nearby destinations.

We want to hear from you. We hope you can take our brief survey to share your thoughts. Thank you for your time and feedback.

Proposal details:

We are proposing two new Restricted Parking Zones (RPZs), one north of I-90, and one south of I-90. RPZ signs would be placed next to residential addresses, limiting parking to a maximum of 2 hours from 7 AM to 6 PM, Monday to Friday, unless you have an RPZ permit.
We are proposing 2- or 4-hour parking limits between 7 AM and 6 PM, Monday to Friday, next to non-residential places like businesses, schools, churches, and parks.
We also plan to establish new load zones where they are needed, for easy loading and unloading of people and goods.

Anticipated benefits:

Minimizes all-day light rail commuter parking on neighborhood streets near the station.
Prioritizes parking for residents and provides short-term parking options for businesses, local organizations, schools, and parks.

How do Restricted Parking Zones work?

Restricted Parking Zones (RPZs) help ease parking congestion in residential neighborhoods while balancing the needs of all people to be able to use the public streets. Residents in the zone can obtain permits to park during all hours. Non-permitted vehicles can still park in the area but must obey the posted time limits.

RPZs are usually in effect on weekdays from 7 AM to 6 PM.

During RPZ hours, short-term visitor parking is allowed for up to 2 hours.

Residents can purchase permits to park for longer than the posted time limit.

Parking is unrestricted when the regulations are not in effect, such as on weekends and overnight.

Businesses and employees are generally not eligible for RPZ permits.

RPZ permits cost $95 each for a 2-year cycle.

You can learn more on our RPZ program website.

Below is a map of the proposed RPZ areas, which would extend to the north and south of I-90, around Judkins Park and Rainier Ave S.

Map of two proposed areas of street parking changes to the north and south of I-90 in Seattle. The north area is shown in blue, and the south area is shown in orange. The entrances to the Judkins Park Station are shown with black circular dots. — *Map of the two proposed areas for changes, shown in light blue and light orange, to the north and south of I-90. Graphic: SDOT.*

Next steps:

We’ll continue to collect feedback through the spring of this year. We’ll evaluate all the feedback we receive, revise our proposed plan, and send out a mailer with an updated plan and schedule a public hearing for summer 2024.
After refining our plan, we will send another mailer to people in the vicinity notifying them of the final decision.
If the proposed RPZs move forward, we will also send instructions on how to apply to residents and organizations that are eligible, based on their street address location.

Other SDOT projects in the area:

We’re building a new and improved Hiawatha Place Staircase, as well as improved lighting in the area, via the Judkins Park Station Access Project.
We’re improving safety and creating new bike connections as part of the MLK Jr Way Safety Project which broke ground in fall 2023.
We’re installing safety upgrades, enhancing bike connections, and managing parking in North Beacon Hill as part of the Beacon Ave S & 15th Ave S Safety Project.
We’re extending the existing bus-only lanes on Rainier Ave S via the Rainier Ave S Bus Lane project.

Thanks for your interest. Please stay tuned for additional updates on our website. If you have additional questions, you can reach us by email at JudkinsParkLR@seattle.gov or by phone at 206-491-9775.

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