Twice a month, we ask the experts at the Museum of History and Industry for a tidbit about Seattle’s history. This week, MOHAI’s Phyllis Franklin takes a look back at the history of paid street parking in Seattle.
Was it ever easy or cheap to park on Seattle streets?
If you, like me, are balking at paying upwards of $4 or $5 dollars per-hour to park downtown on the street, you might be interested to know that the controversy swirling around rate increases for parking on Seattle city streets isn’t new.
There was a time when parking downtown was a free-for-all. Double parking, overlong parking, and the congestion they created made it even more challenging to drive downtown than it is today. The findings of a 1936 WPA report indicated that unless the City of Seattle addressed these issues, it would decentralize the downtown business district.
In response, the City planned for parking meters in 1940, figuring their income into the 1941 budget. But it wasn’t until January of 1942 that Seattle’s Traffic Division finally got around to installing 1600 parking meters in the Central Business District.
The meters, according to newspapers of the day, were objects of curiosity, and public reactions to parking fees were mixed. It was reported that one observer pronounced paying to park “unconstitutional” because “automobiles are already taxed and you can’t tax them again.” Some objected to paying for time they didn’t use.
One man wanted to know why “regular guys” had to pay when trucks and public vehicles didn’t. Another was glad for relief from parking congestion. A man from Minneapolis assured Seattleites, “We have them and we like them – now that we’ve gotten used to them.” And a local newspaper boy saw them as a boon to business, “We’ll sell ’em a newspaper, take a dime, then they’ll have a nickel to park with.”
Parking enforcement by Seattle cops began February 6 and continued as installation progressed southward. Parkers struggled to accept that only correct change worked in meters — they took only dimes, nickels, and pennies for half hour and hour increments. The revenue from parking violations – set at a $1 “bail” – was, according to the newspapers, an afterthougtht to the City. In 1957, the City hired the “meter maids” we see today to take over parking patrol.
According to the City, the primary purpose of installing the meters in 1942 was to eliminate parking woes, but local newspapers held that City Council was actually motivated by the revenue – sound familiar? Back then, the City estimated $150,000 in revenue from parking. Today, according to the Seattle’s proposed 2011- 2012 budget, total parking revenues for 2011 are expected to be 35.8M and 41.1M for 2012. My, how times have changed!
Whether I’m paying for parking or not, I still think good parking karma has something to do with finding a decent parking spot. It’s obvious that managing traffic and budgets has been a head-ache for the City for nigh-on 75 years.
Find out more about how Seattle’s streets have changed by visiting MOHAI, open seven days a week from 10am-5pm.
Got a question for next time? Send it here.
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