Seattle City Council could approve steep parking rate hikes for major events at Climate Pledge Arena

Parking for large sporting events and concerts in Seattle's Uptown neighborhood could soon become more expensive.

Last week, the City Council's Transportation & Utilities Committee unanimously approved of a plan from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) which would raise the cap for paid on-street parking to $12 for events at Climate Pledge Arena with over 10,000 estimated attendees. The arena is on track to open sometime in the fall and host the city's National Hockey League team, the Kraken, for their inaugural season.

Councilmember Alex Pedersen, who chairs the committee, encouraged more residents heading to the arena to use available public transportation to avoid paying the higher rates.

"We just want to encourage all the fans to take light rail and then get on the monorail," Pedersen said during the July 7 meeting. "Sound Transit is working really hard to open those extra light rail stations to time with the opening of Climate Pledge Arena."

The current plan is specific to the Uptown neighborhood, and the hikes would only apply to the area within a mile of Seattle Center. More outreach is expected to occur in the Sodo, Pioneer Square and Chinatown-International District in the future to see if a similar program is warranted for events near the stadiums.

But just because the cap is set to $12 does not mean that is what will be charged.

"Our intent in October when the arena opens is not to charge $12 an hour," said Mike Estey, Manager of Curbside Management for SDOT. "Our plan is to start with a progressive rate structure. For those that are just staying in the Uptown area for a couple hours, they would only pay $3 an hour. It's for those final three hours, if you were to stay for three or four or five hours, we're proposing to charge $8 an hour."

Estey also dispelled some narratives that residents and business owners in the Uptown neighborhood had not been advised of the change in parking rates, saying that the department mailed plan documents to 10,000 people on four separate occasions and received support. Councilmember Andrew Lewis, who represents the neighborhood but is not on the committee, has also expressed support for the increases.

The bill is expected to be up for a full council vote on July 26. If passed by the council, the rate increases would not take effect until October, the same month three new light rail stations in the University District, Roosevelt and Northgate neighborhoods are set to open.

Sound Transit service is set to expand exponentially in the coming years, even expanding into Snohomish County. The East Link extension, set to open in 2023, will bring a total of 10 new stations and 40 miles of tracks to Judkins Park, Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond. The Federal Way and Lynnwood extensions will open in 2024.