Nancy warns:
IF you take a vehicle to the Roosevelt Ave TJ’s note that the paid parking has been extended to 8pm (the little number 6 has been changed to a little number 8 way up high on the way up in the sky sign, no notice anywhere). The parking ticket police vehicle is LURKING and they are issuing tickets at $44 each at a fast clip. What a gig harsher and basically entrapment.
We dunno about entrapment, but definitely a gig harsher. We got stung by the same change up on Capitol Hill a couple weeks back.
Of course, the obvious solution is to bike everywhere.
another solution is to talk to trader joes management and ask them to put up signs in their store
and to complain to corporate
the big bad city is goign to continue to try to get money from people and we need to work together
another thing is to complain to city
or to ask store to extend hours.. they are well aware of the prarking prolems
TJ corporate 626-599-3700
Sorry about your ticket. Be sure to tell the court about the mitigating factors, and maybe they will reduce your ticket. Worked for me.
This isn’t entrapment or a money grab. The city’s goals in extending parking hours are generally sound–to have an average 1-2 open spaces per block face throughout that time. Although I don’t know whether it is specifically necessary in that block. Feel free to e-mail SDOT to ask.
Additionally Trader Joe’s has their own parking garage, which you can park in instead of using street spaces that people can then use for other things.
I appreciate reasonable parking prices because they create open spaces for those who are willing to pay for them. Free parking creates a situation where demand outpaces supply, and people drive in circles looking for spaces. The inconvenience of a few dollars and a minute to buy parking are worth it to me.
There needs to be information at eye level that such a change has occurred. 30-something years of walking/car driving and owning a business on Roosevelt for a decade, one gets used to the old rule that paid parking ends at 6pm. That’s what felt like entrapment, and the tickets were flying as the pissed-off recipients drove off and the next lucky driver found a parking space.
That garage is a nightmare, designed on a computer screen.
I am completely uninterested in taking the bus downtown to plead my case so I am throwing $44 at the city (at least we weren’t towed with an $800 tab). The TJ’s manager was fabulous and I would characterize my demeanor as fit to be tied . . . I have not heard back from an e-mail sent to TJ’s corporate (or the Mayor’s office or the city council).
On that grouped errands run the happy idea was to stop at TJ’s for some appetizers for Oscar-watching fare. What a downer.
Next time I’ll walk, ride a bike or take a taxi . . .
It may seem a little unfair, but that’s not what “entrapment” means.
Do we no longer have the option of pleading for mitigation by mail? Oh, well.
picky. picky. Pissed off people can be inarticulate now and then. Whatever it is called there was a tiny sign up in the sky in tree branches behind where the automobile parked. No clue. And unfair is the right word for the above comment. Wallyhood already addressed it in the post.
that parkign garage is a mess, scary. i will no longer park ther eunless its at 930 pm.. I have a scratch on my car from parking there and also was trapped from getting into it from a fellow parker at anotehr time.
I called corporate and they said they would have a manager call me back.
TJ could easily have a sign onentry with a friendly info note..” Dear Customers,
If you parked on the street between 6 and 8 Pm, plese be aware that the City of Seattle has changed the times when payment is required extended to 8 PM. We love our customers. But we don’t love having you get parking tickets.”
…or just go to the one in Ballard.
It never hurts to attempt to ask a company or store to deal with a situation in a positive friendly way. Ballard is an option with its own parking vagaries and is farther away than the U one.
My conversation with a manager did nto result in a good sense , but maybe there will be a different outcome later.
The manager of the UDistrict TJ’s was great. She accepted that I was upset and walked outside to see the scope of what I was reporting. By then there were some pedestrians who parked themselves on a railing and were warning unsuspecting drivers. It is not like we thought “well we’re only here for a second,” it is that we had no clue. I appreciate the suggestions and sympathy and could live without linguistic correction. My goal was to both vent and inform. Done.
I’m here to inform too.
Didn’t these parking time changes go into effect quite a while ago? Haven’t we known about them for over a year? Doesn’t Trader Joe’s have it’s own FREE parking garage? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then why are we discussing this?
Not everyone wants to park in their parking lot- it is a major headache an dan invitation to have a melt down from fear of being hit.
many people do nto know about this time change.
No need to be rude about it.
TJ’s can help their customers.
I think the same guy who designed that garage also designed the layout of that Trader Joe’s.
architorture!
For the record, I think it would be helpful for Trader Joe’s to put up a sign (although most people probably won’t read it), and think informing people via Wallyhood is great.
Yes, M and tha tis what I asked them to do
I see this as a non issue. I’ve known for quite some time that the hours were extending to 8PM. And I rarely pay for street parking because I am happy to deal with the ‘headache” of their garage because its free. Please stop blaming other people for your ignorance.
Wow. This is one of those non-rewards for rarely rarely rarely using an automobile. @19 is being so harsh really getting anyone anywhere? I am being genuine: I didn’t see the up-in-the-air sign, have never parked in front of TJ’s before, had NO IDEA and $44 is criticism enough.
wow 19!
no need to be so rude.
Not everyone uses a lot of street parking.
FYI, you may also get a ticket if you move your car and repark in the same block. If you are, for instance, parked in a 2 hour zone along a street, move your car to avoid running past the limit, and repark on the same block, you could get a ticket. I did!
I know people who have gotten tickets for being parked on the same block for more than 72 hours, although they moved their car.
Sara @ 19 isn’t being rude. There is no need to get defensive. We now all know to pay better attention to posted signs. Simple enough. You missed the sign. A simple mistake. You complain about missing the sign and then go on to say that you refuse to park in the FREE garage … well, then nothing anyone can do for you really. That’s your decision.
I think it is a scam by the city to get more money. It is some arbitrary neighborhoods that have the 8 pm extension and others are still at 6 pm. So every time you park you need to check. As people learn not to park in some areas until 8, business has been hurt by that. There is an article in the Seattle Times about International district restaurants loosing 50% of their business. As we learn to avoid these 8 pm areas, we must remember to vote out the mayor Mcshwin in the next election.
Nancy M learned a painful lesson, but perhaps there is another solution. In principle, I believe that the pay station may not accept money when no parking payment is required. At least that was true some months ago when I repeatedly tried to feed the beast, until a kind soul came along and told me that I need not try because it was a holiday and no payment was required. If that applies to the 8 PM curfew, then one might always try to feed the pay station when parking and not fear that it may be a waste money. Of course, that’s something of a nuisance, but better than contributing $44 to a cash-starved city.
I missed something–what do people expect the store to do? I understand suggesting to the management of this location that they post a sign reminding people that the street parking is paid until 8, but why is anyone contacting the corporate office? What are they going to do? This is a city regulation.
Nancy, you can respond to the ticket in writing, either for mitigation or to contest (although you’re stuck with the ruling if you’re contesting.) http://www.seattle.gov/courts/hearings/hearinginformation.htm
It will also give notice that the signs in this particular area are unreadable. At the very least, you could notify parking enforcement that the signs are unreadable, rather than just telling Wallyhood. (Wallyhood is wonderful, but doesn’t actually run the city government.)
@25 There’s a convincing rebuttal to the “ID restaurants bankrupted by parking change” article here: http://daily.sightline.org/2012/02/27/is-metered-parking-killing-chinatown-no/
Cliff’s notes:
– Business is *not* down 50%, it’s up since the parking rules went into effect
– Perhaps the 6pm-rush doesn’t happen, anymore, but that’s not required, and probably not actually what you want as a restaurant.
– People are maybe no longer using ID parking as a free place to stash their car and head off to (say) a Mariners/Sounders game, which should be a good thing for restaurants there.
I look at the parking regulations whenever I park my car. I do that because I am a responsible person who does not want to pay parking tickets. This method, which I call “Personal Responsibility,” is extremely effective. I haven’t ever gotten a parking ticket in the city of Seattle.
Parking regulations are an important part of city living. They are not a “scam.” without the, you would not be able to park your car, because nothing would prevent people from parking their vehicles on public property indefinitely.
Used to be you can do a hearing by mail for parking tickets. My recollection is you have to plead guilty and request a hearing. When your hearing date arrives in the mail you can submit your request for mitigation by mail. Saves your and the court’s time. Typically a reduced penalty results. Good Luck!
The extended pay times are a mixed bag. I understand the reason, but there are many places where it just does not work. My experience was at Seattle Center, wishing to go out to dinner and an event at the Center. Meters were set for 2 hour max and extended until 8pm. Only way to attend a play, movie, show, etc (which usually require more than 2 hours) is to feed the meter at intermission, which is what we did. Drag. Nothing like making parking a major part of the evening’s entertainment!
We saw plenty of on street parking available because anyone attending the show (and not willing to risk the parking ticket) was pushed into a private lot.
Seems a better solution would be to have meters kick up to 4 hour max after 5pm so that you can park and enjoy walking to your evening entertainment. Similar for downtown and other places we wish to encourage evening patronage of our city’s entertainment and eating establishments.
Drop a line to City Council and the Mayor. They are looking at this now.
So, if you live in Wallingford, why would you drive to Seattle Center?
The 16 goes right there, and runs ’till 1am.
It even does an inconvenient-for-people-not-going-to-Seattle-Center loop just to pick you up and take you home…
@Jeff: It costs $18 for four people to bus downtown for the symphony. Along with a host of other reasons I can think of offhand, sometimes it’s more economical to drive. Our family loves the bus and we use it far more often than we use the car, but there are times when it makes sense to drive yourself.
I understand and agree about the bus. However, I do not agree with the implication that parking rates were jacked up and extended to encourage bus use.
A thriving downtown entertainment district requires available and economical parking at night. Look at how well Pacific Place parking worked after hours when it first opened and cost $3. In the case of Seattle Center, the parking is available but not useable because of the duration. We were told the reason for the higher rates and extended hours was to keep a few places available, not to line the pockets of private lots and leave the street parking empty. Current policy ain’t working quite right!
Followup to the parking after 5:00 downtown and at Seattle Center, received from Mayor McGinn yesterday:
“Thank you for writing to me about our parking policies. I’ve heard your concerns, and this year we will be extending the time limit to three hours after 5:00 p.m. in neighborhoods where parking goes to 8:00 p.m. In the core business district of Uptown, near Seattle Center, parking time limits will be two hours until 5:00 p.m., and three hours after 5:00 p.m. In the rest of Uptown, time limits will be four hours at all times.”
When did they apply this extension to the meters on Roosevelt? I parked last fall and the time was still 6PM. I checked because I had heard of possible changes.