It’s a sign of dysfunction that 15 years have passed since city council last took serious action on our perennial parking problem. Even then, the easy recommendations were the only ones adopted from the costly 2004 “Downtown Parking Management Plan.” Meanwhile, the situation has progressively worsened while study’s most effective recommendation continues to be ignored.

We love the dense, inviting, walking-friendly historic district built to human-scale before cars existed. Though downtown is the most valuable land in Jefferson County, our unoccupied cars get it for free. Even though for $1.50, one could use the Park & Ride to take transit downtown. But why would anyone if one can drive downtown and try to park for free?

The solution of a parking structure would require financing with our money; there are no grants available. Multi-level parking structures costs roughly $20K per space to build. But if one can park more conveniently for free on the street, where will the millions come from for its construction, maintenance, and operations?

Three years ago, the Transportation Lab proposed a pilot project for the parking spaces on Taylor Street: Number the spaces, install kiosks and find the sweet-spot parking cost that creates enough turnover to keep one or two spaces available. We’d then learn if available parking was more valuable than free parking. The project could have provided about $80K/year income, covering costs and enforcement, with enough left over to expand the plan. In addition to creating space turnover, full implementation with modest parking fees would generate about $1.5million/year.

Mayor Stinson rejected the proposal.

Parking policy is the ugly step-child of most planning, but has serious consequences for business, housing costs, climate impacts, personal health, and all our budgets. It is way past time the city rectified our perennial parking problem. We could start by fully implementing our 2004 Downtown Parking Management Plan.

Scott G. Walker
Port Townsend