Phinney Ridge Community Council to discuss city’s proposed parking and transit changes on Tuesday

The Phinney Ridge Community Council will discuss the city’s proposed parking and transit changes, which will impact every neighborhood, at its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N.

Gordon Clowers, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections’ senior planner, will explain the Seattle City Council’s proposal, which also would change the meaning of “frequent transit service.”

Livable Phinney, a group of Phinney Ridge neighbors who organized to oppose the no parking requirement for the Phinney Flats housing project proposed for 6726 Phinney Ave. N., appealed the city’s decision to allow no parking based in part on the fact that the city used Metro’s scheduled bus service to calculate how frequent transit service was, as opposed to how often buses actually arrived. The city’s Hearing Examiner agreed with Livable Phinney on that part, but the city recently overruled that by issuing its determination that frequent transit service must be determined by scheduled, rather than actual, service.

On Tuesday, PRCC will discuss many parking issues, including:

Do the proposed policies take into consideration the steep hills on Phinney/Greenwood that can affect mobility?

Do the policies work toward the City’s stated goal of becoming an “age-friendly city” (One that works to maintain and improve livability for seniors)?

Are these policies realistic given the region’s rapid growth?

Why does the proposal want to change the definition of “Frequent Transit Service” to allow for longer intervals between buses?

Which types of buildings will be exempt from providing parking under the proposal and how does that differ from current regulations? Additional questions for the discussion may be directed to phinneyridgeccouncil@gmail.com. Neighborhood residents who would like to communicate with the Mayor and City Councilmembers on the topic can submit comments in writing and/or attend the City Council meeting on March 7, 9:30 a.m. and speak during the public comment period. We encourage you to help shape this policy as it will impact transportation, commerce and quality of life across the city.

You can find more information on Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections’ Neighborhood Parking webpage.