I just got a ticket for being parked directly in front of my house with an RPZ sticker that the city just sold me last month for my street. But now there are no signs saying RPZ 1 on the street anymore and I want to see a map and why this has changed.

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/parkingrpz.htm

The direct link to the pdf is:

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/docs/RPZmapApril2008updated.pdf

The signs state you can park for two or four hours on that street without a RPZ permit. If you have an RPZ permit for that zone, you can leave your car parked all day without fear of a ticket.

As for the way parking zones are designated, I have to say they are pretty haphazard — I used to live in Capitol Hill, surrounded on all sides by a parking zone, but my block wasn’t part of the zone, so I couldn’t get a permit. I didn’t drive much (took the bus to work, walked to everything else), but had to move my car a lot to avoid getting tickets during the day.

But the article’s headline is: “City proposes limits on residential parking permits”

Sensationalize much?

With that said, the thing that I find a bit annoying is that some cars take up more space than others, yet all the permits are the same price. As an extreme example, there’s someone in Zone 8 that actually owns a limousine, which easily takes up 2 full parking spaces (and I’ve never even seen it move). I’m willing to bet they paid the same price I did for their permit. There used to be a second limo that parked in the area, but I haven’t seen it in quite a while.

Anyway, if I’m reading the above correctly, it sounds like they’re moving toward renewing permits every year instead of every two years. If that’s the case, I at least hope they start up an online renewal process.

The one-day guest permit is a stupid idea though. Say you have a significant other, but they don’t live with you. They can’t provide “proof of residence” so you’d be forced to buy guest permits anytime they came over. Dumb.

I am amazed repeatedly about how emotional and really irrational many people become over the issue of parking. Everyone insists that no one will ever pay for parking. Then they insist that parking fees will not deter people from driving. They are going to drive and park no matter what you do.

Let me reiterate: free park and rides are a bad idea. Park and rides that cover their costs with user fees are a great idea. It’s pretty simple: the public will pay for the train, the user pays for the parking. Maximize access to the transit station, and still provide the appropriate incentives to walk or take a feeder bus rather than drive (you avoid the parking fee).

These sort of well placed, well designed and properly priced parking garages also help spur TOD. The developer now doesn’t have to provide parking because access comes in a number of ways: the parking garage, feeder buses, walking, biking and the train. All the pieces have to fit together.

To really take advantage of an integrated parking and transit system, you would extend the same exact rates to the street parking. That is, meter every block, and of course allow for any one who want it (not just residents) to purchase a monthly pass.

A comprehensive, integrated transportation system is what we need rather than a patchwork of isolated ineffective policies.

For LINK, this requirement is being waived, as it’s fairly self-evident that a failure to introduce an RPZ will immediately turn station neighborhoods into park-and-rides.

The bureaucratic process to establish RPZs is well underway all along the route.

Let’s abolish zoning restrictions, allowing maximum development and getting rid of silly height restrictions and parking requirements that increase housing costs.

If you’re in favor of that, then I’ll sympathize with your “nanny state” concerns.