There will be some changes coming to the paid parking rates and times in Capitol Hill and along 12th Avenue. CHS covered SDOT’s study of parking in the area a while back.
Changes are happening soon though! From SDOT’s website:
Coming Soon – New Pre-Payment Options: Coming in February and March 2011, with deployment of the new rates, the hours that pay stations collect payment will change. Pay stations will close at 6pm as they do now, but they will re-open at 10pm to allow pre-payment for the first two hours the next morning.
(Author note: This was recommended as part of the Mayor’s new Nightlife Initiative so that when someone realizes they have had too much to drink, they can leave their car overnight and pre-pay for a couple hours of parking in the morning, allowing them to sleep off their hangover until 10am instead of having to get the car at 8am when the meters start running. Brilliant.)
Coming Soon – Evening Rate: Seattle’s center city and many neighborhood business districts are active destinations for customers and visitors well into the evening. Charging in the evening will enhance parking turnover and access in areas with an active nightlife and other evening businesses. Extended paid parking into the evening until 8pm is coming to the Commercial Core, Belltown, Pioneer Square, Chinatown/International District, Broadway, Pike-Pine, Uptown, and the University District. This effort will roll out starting in April 2011 and continue through September 2011.
Street parking on 12th Avenue and around Swedish Cherry Hill went up to $1.50 per hour with the hours of 8am to 6pm remaining the same. Parking rate changes began in January so they should be effective currently.
Street parking in Pike/Pine increased to $2.00/hour and around Broadway to $3.00 per hour. In April, you’ll need to feed the meter until 8pm. (The later hours starts in April but implementation looks like it’ll take some time and continue to roll-out throughout the summer.)
Check the posted hours on the meters closely when parking!
Here’s the parking map from SDOT.