Changes to Residential Parking

A group of residents has been meeting with the Olympia City Parking Services Department and the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services to bring about improvements in residential parking. Following are minutes of the last meeting held on September 20, 2024. The major changes you will see are:

1. Reducing the number of parking zones on the west side of Capitol Way from 3 zones to 2 zones.
2. Proposed increase in overtime parking violation fees to discourge “chain violations” and increase turn over in on street parking. This must be approved by the full city council.
3. Implementing paid parking on 15th Street SE, east of Maple Park.
4. Increased enforcement during times of high demand for on-street parking.

Here are the full notes from the meeting with many more details:

Summary of September 20, 2024 Triad Meeting

Triad Meetings are for representatives of the State, the City and residents of the South Capitol Neighborhood (SCN) to deal with issues jointly affecting all three groups. The September 20^th meeting was the second such meetings in 2024. The first meeting was held on January 26, 2024, which was the first such meeting since before the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Previously, each of the three parties had made certain agreements, and the September 20^th meeting was to report on the status of these agreements.

The City had 6 agreements to report on. First, it was finally implementing physical changes to the signage related to Zone 3 that had been promised for several years. Zone 1 will now be only in the area east of Capitol Way. The portion of Zone 1 that previously had been west of Capitol Way will now be part of Zone 3.

Second, the City was confused related to what SCNA wanted related to electronic paid parking on the 500 block of 16^th Avenue SE and will take another look at what SCNA wants to occur there.

Third, the City is in the process of amending its ordinance to increase Overtime parking violations in all 3 SCN zones from $20 to $25 and from $40 to $50 for Chain violations. The proposed amendment currently is under review by the City’s legal staff before being present to the City Council.

Fourth, in 2024, the City increased parking enforcement when events occur on the Capital campus, which was noticed in Zone 2 by residents, but not very much  on Maple Park in Zone 1. The city promised to increase parking enforcement there.

Fifth, City representatives will attend SCNA’s November 2024 meeting to participate in a discussion of reasons for the parking program, the permit application process, and registering guests.

Sixth, the city staff has collected 2024 data on non-resident use of SCN pressure points in Zone 2 and along Maple Park. Their objective is to have an analysis of the data completed prior to the 2025 Legislative session.

The State had 3 agreements to report on. First, DES will be meeting with staff at campus parking booths to provide them with updated maps for parking on the Capitol Campus along with information on rules for parking in the SCN. Second, the State will coordinate between DES and the State Legislature to avoid inconsistencies related to campus parking as as both the Executive and Legislative branches control varying parts of campus-related parking.  Finally, DES will work with SCNA to identify and close gaps in how visitors to the Capitol Campus find Visitor Parking areas using street signage.

SCNA has agreed to several items. First, it will work with the City to develop appropriate educational materials for SCN residents participating in the Permit Program. Second, SCNA, as promised, has  included a link in its website that directs residents to the appropriate City website for parking information and permit application. Third, once the City or DES provide data regarding on-street parking demand, SCNA will review and comment on the findings. Fourth, SCNA will work with DES  on strategies for increasing utilization of the East Plaza parking garage to reduce on-street parking demand. Finally, SCNA will continue reviewing with the City on an ongoing basis ways for making the residential parking permit system more efficient and less error prone for residents and city staff.

The next scheduled Triad meeting will be on February 21, 2025 from 10 AM – Noon at City Hall in room 207.