Cars parked by the curb at paid parking stations in downtown Seattle. Photo: SDOT Blog stats: 1200 words | 6-minute read
At-a-Glance:
- We’re updating street parking rates on Monday, March 18 as part of our regular seasonal adjustments, using parking occupancy data from January 2024.
- Click here to view the new parking rates shown below. The new rates will also be posted on our paid parking rates web page on March 18.
- These new rates are based on recent parking data and will help people more reliably find parking spots near businesses throughout Seattle.
- Parking rates generally increase in times and places where it is currently challenging to find an open parking space and decrease where parking spots are easier to find.
- Overall, around half of the rates will decrease or remain the same. Rates that change will either increase or decrease by $0.50 per hour.
- We’ll update rates again this summer and fall based on the latest seasonal parking data.
- Lastly, we’re updating event parking rates on streets around the Climate Pledge Arena.
On Monday, March 18, new street parking rates will take effect in Seattle. We determine street parking rates based on data we collect and analyze from each paid parking area in the city. We compare this real-world data with our performance metric targets for parking occupancy.
Our goal is to have 1 to 2 parking spaces available on each block at any given time. This translates to a parking occupancy rate of 70 to 85%. Occupancy above 85% signals high demand for parking, and a rate increase can help make more spaces available. Occupancy below 70% indicates lower demand, allowing for decreased rates.
There are 32 distinct paid parking areas in Seattle, most with specific morning, afternoon, and evening parking rates. This recognizes that parking demand varies in different parts of the city, and also by time of day, and allows us to adjust rates to better manage parking demand at the curb.
In total, there are almost 90 location and time-of-day combinations, as shown in the chart below. About half of these time-of-day areas will either decrease by $0.50 per hour or remain unchanged (please note: two parking areas in Uptown are being combined into one – using the rate of the former ‘Uptown Edge’ area).
Our January 2024 data suggests several trends that informed the planned rate changes. First, evening parking demand was high in several areas where nightlife activity appeared strong, which led to a rate increase. Second, we are making more rate decreases than in prior rate adjustments. This may be due to lower daytime demand in some areas as return-to-work trends continue to evolve, and due to fewer people driving and parking for end-of-day activities such as shopping and dining.
This parking rate update is consistent with the Seattle Municipal Code requirements and guidance that have informed our rate adjustments since 2011.
Parking rate details:
The March 2024 adjustment includes several changes noted below:
- 22 area/time of day combinations – rates remain unchanged.
- 25 area/time of day combinations – rates decreasing by $0.50 per hour.
- 40 area/time of day combinations – rates increasing by $0.50 per hour.
- 24 of these area/time of day combinations are changing from the prior minimum rate of $0.50 per hour to $1.00 per hour. This change is based on the Seattle City Council’s approved changes in the 2024 City Budget adopted last fall.
- 3 area/time of day combinations are increasing to $5.50 per hour.
- Event parking rates around the Climate Pledge Arena in the Uptown neighborhood will change to $4 per hour for the first 2 hours and $10 per hour for the next 3 hours (they were previously $3 per hour for the first two hours and $8 per hour for the next 3 hours). Event rates in the Uptown Triangle area will remain at the $3/$8 structure.
- These changes are being made in response to parking data that shows very high demand on event days on paid parking blocks.
- These rates will only be in place on event days – before and during large Climate Pledge Arena events.
New parking rates as of March 18, 2024:
| Area | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
| 12th Ave | $1.00 | $2.50 | $4.50 |
| 15th Ave | $1.00 | $2.50 | $2.50 |
| Ballard (Core) | $1.00 | $5.50 | $5.00 |
| Ballard (Edge) | $1.00 | $3.50 | $4.50 |
| Ballard Locks | $1.00 | $1.00 | N/A |
| Belltown (North) | $1.00 | $2.00 | $1.50 |
| Belltown (South) | $1.00 | $4.00 | $1.00 |
| Capitol Hill (North) | $1.00 | $3.50 | $3.00 |
| Capitol Hill (South) | $1.00 | $4.00 | $5.00 |
| Cherry Hill | $2.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| Chinatown/International District | $1.00 | $5.00 | $5.00 |
| Columbia City | $1.00 | $4.50 | $5.00 |
| Commercial Core (Financial) | $1.00 | $2.00 | $1.00 |
| Commercial Core (Retail) | $2.00 | $3.50 | $1.50 |
| Commercial Core (Waterfront) | $1.50 | $5.00 | $4.00 |
| Denny Triangle (North) | $1.50 | $5.00 | $2.50 |
| Denny Triangle (South) | $1.00 | $5.00 | $5.00 |
| First Hill | $2.50 | $5.00 | $4.50 |
| Fremont | $1.00 | $5.50 | $5.50 |
| Green Lake | $2.00 | $5.00 | $4.00 |
| Pike-Pine | $1.00 | $4.50 | $5.50 |
| Pioneer Square (Core) | $1.00 | $4.00 | N/A |
| Pioneer Square (Edge) | $1.00 | $2.50 | N/A |
| Roosevelt | $1.00 | $2.50 | $1.50 |
| South Lake Union (North) | $1.00 | $1.00 | N/A |
| South Lake Union (South) | $1.00 | $4.50 | N/A |
| University District (Core) | $1.00 | $5.00 | $2.50 |
| University District (Edge) | $1.00 | $1.00 | N/A |
| Uptown | $1.00 | $4.00 | $3.00 |
| Uptown Triangle | $1.00 | $1.50 | N/A |
| Westlake Ave N (North) | $1.00 | $1.00 | N/A |
| Westlake Ave N (South) | $1.00 | $1.00 | N/A |
Key:
- N/A: No evening hours (free to park)
- Black: Rate remains unchanged
- Blue: Rate decrease by $0.50/hour
- Orange: Rate increase by $0.50/hour
Parking around Climate Pledge Arena during concerts and sports events
For large events around the Climate Pledge Arena, we have charged special event rates since the arena opened in 2021. Starting March 18, these rates will increase due to the high levels of parking demand on game days (Go Kraken and Seattle Storm!) and during concerts:
Parking rates will be $4 per hour for the first 2 hours and then $10 per hour each for the next 3 hours. People can buy up to 5 hours maximum of parking, as is the case today. The event rates are changing for the Uptown area only, and not in Uptown Triangle. Event rate information is available here.
Attention employers – help your team take transit to work!
Are you a business owner located in a paid parking zone? Our partners at King County Metro and Commute Seattle have programs to help your business support employee transportation options.
ORCA Business Programs allow an employer to help staff get to work with public transit passes and first-time employer customers are eligible for King County Metro’s ORCA Business Incentive. The ORCA Business Incentive can pay up to 50% of your program’s cost in the first year, leading to even larger savings while giving your employees fully paid transit passes that they can use 24/7.
You can visit our paid parking rates web page for more information about rates in all our paid neighborhoods (to be updated on March 18). All street parking rates are also shown on this interactive map on our website. Thank you for your time and interest.
