5 ms·

As a non-american, I am stunned - if ridership is only 20%, how on earth are all these people parking their cars in downtown Seattle? Carpark skyscrapers?

xyzzyz 11y ago
There's quite a lot of $10/hour parking in downtown Seattle -- almost every high-rise building has multiple levels of publicly available parking. Also, if you take a taxi/Uber, you don't need parking.
- slagfart 11y ago
  What are the incentives at play here? Is it mandated that buildings need carparks, or is space genuinely so plentiful that this is economic? I can't imagine a carpark-sized area of office space goes for $10/day, even after the cost of carpet and coffee.
  - timthelion 11y ago
    $10 per hour not per day...
  - dionidium 11y ago
    "Is it mandated that buildings need carparks" Yes. Most towns have zoning rules that include minimum parking requirements for new construction.
  - mulmen 11y ago
    Most of the car parks are underground, it's not like they are taking up viable office space.
- mjevans 11y ago
  The problem with the region is that geographic constraints spread everything out; if you look at the terrain a giant sound, a bay, and Lake Washington divide what should be one nicely sloped set of density across narrow strips of hilly land. The region is plagued by horrid traffic steaming from several interacting issues. * There are four large cities, each of which also has numerous suburbs and even un-incorporated areas. Urban planing across these regions sure seems like it doesn't occur. * 'The Rent is Too darn High'; because there needs to be /far/ more supply side control of the market. * Housing near jobs (and near quality education for workers with children) is consequently very expensive; contributing to workers living far from their jobs. * Jobs are no longer permanent lifetime things, with a single 'bread winner' able to easily support their family; contributing to workers living far from their jobs. * Moving is a PITA; contributing to workers living far from their jobs. * Transit isn't laid out in a mesh, thus doing anything other than suburb to downtown (a model that worked in the era of big companies and lifetime employment) takes many transfers and a lot of time; encouraging workers to /drive/ (for freedom). The best solution that I see is making it possible for at least the major bus lines to be run as self-driving systems. A 'car pod' version of bus transit with point to point automated driving, particularly if those pods could link up and/or draft for improved efficiency on the long hauls looks like a far better solution.
curtis 11y ago
I think 20% is system-wide. The percentage is probably higher specifically for people who work downtown. Also every new building in Seattle starts out as a large hole in the ground which will become underground parking once the building is completed. So kind of like carpark skyscrapers, just in the opposite direction.
- frankus 11y ago
  The mode share for downtown proper is 45% transit (31% drive alone). https://www.theurbanist.org/2015/02/25/commute-seattle-study-shows-only-31-of-downtown-commuters-drive-alone/ https://www.theurbanist.org/2015/02/25/commute-seattle-study...
hinkley 11y ago
The geology of downtown Seattle is interesting, essentially it starts on a tidal zone and goes up to a bluff. In between is basically fill dirt and/or glacial deposits, and so you have to go down quite a ways before you hit bedrock for your foundation. Any place east of 1st (about 3 blocks from the water) and north of Pioneer Square has plenty of space for parking garages below grade but above sea level. At 6th and Pike you've got space for at least 6 levels of parking, and there are a few areas higher than that.
jsolson 11y ago
Giant parking garages for one, yes (which mostly go below ground). Also, many people who work in Seattle live in Seattle. Probably not a majority, but not a small minority either. The rate at which new housing is being constructed in the downtown area (including Capitol Hill, SLU, etc.) is staggering[0]. Much of the job growth the city is experiencing has corresponding housing growth within walking distance to work. [0]: Which I view mostly as a good thing -- late last year they hit a saturation point that resulted in the first month-to-month decrease in rent for new leases; my hope is that this will alleviate some of the upward rent pressure on the lower end of the market and make the city livable for a broader range of incomes. Whether that will actually happen remains to be seen, but it's far more likely if rents for the new construction face downward pressure from inflated supply.
- mrep 11y ago
  I live in SLU across the street from work and i love it! 4 minute door to desk commute.

xyzzyz 11y ago

There's quite a lot of $10/hour parking in downtown Seattle -- almost every high-rise building has multiple levels of publicly available parking. Also, if you take a taxi/Uber, you don't need parking.

slagfart 11y ago
What are the incentives at play here? Is it mandated that buildings need carparks, or is space genuinely so plentiful that this is economic? I can't imagine a carpark-sized area of office space goes for $10/day, even after the cost of carpet and coffee.
- timthelion 11y ago
  $10 per hour not per day...
- dionidium 11y ago
  "Is it mandated that buildings need carparks" Yes. Most towns have zoning rules that include minimum parking requirements for new construction.
- mulmen 11y ago
  Most of the car parks are underground, it's not like they are taking up viable office space.
mjevans 11y ago
The problem with the region is that geographic constraints spread everything out; if you look at the terrain a giant sound, a bay, and Lake Washington divide what should be one nicely sloped set of density across narrow strips of hilly land. The region is plagued by horrid traffic steaming from several interacting issues. * There are four large cities, each of which also has numerous suburbs and even un-incorporated areas. Urban planing across these regions sure seems like it doesn't occur. * 'The Rent is Too darn High'; because there needs to be /far/ more supply side control of the market. * Housing near jobs (and near quality education for workers with children) is consequently very expensive; contributing to workers living far from their jobs. * Jobs are no longer permanent lifetime things, with a single 'bread winner' able to easily support their family; contributing to workers living far from their jobs. * Moving is a PITA; contributing to workers living far from their jobs. * Transit isn't laid out in a mesh, thus doing anything other than suburb to downtown (a model that worked in the era of big companies and lifetime employment) takes many transfers and a lot of time; encouraging workers to /drive/ (for freedom). The best solution that I see is making it possible for at least the major bus lines to be run as self-driving systems. A 'car pod' version of bus transit with point to point automated driving, particularly if those pods could link up and/or draft for improved efficiency on the long hauls looks like a far better solution.

curtis 11y ago

I think 20% is system-wide. The percentage is probably higher specifically for people who work downtown. Also every new building in Seattle starts out as a large hole in the ground which will become underground parking once the building is completed. So kind of like carpark skyscrapers, just in the opposite direction.

frankus 11y ago
The mode share for downtown proper is 45% transit (31% drive alone). https://www.theurbanist.org/2015/02/25/commute-seattle-study-shows-only-31-of-downtown-commuters-drive-alone/ https://www.theurbanist.org/2015/02/25/commute-seattle-study...

hinkley 11y ago

The geology of downtown Seattle is interesting, essentially it starts on a tidal zone and goes up to a bluff. In between is basically fill dirt and/or glacial deposits, and so you have to go down quite a ways before you hit bedrock for your foundation. Any place east of 1st (about 3 blocks from the water) and north of Pioneer Square has plenty of space for parking garages below grade but above sea level. At 6th and Pike you've got space for at least 6 levels of parking, and there are a few areas higher than that.

jsolson 11y ago

Giant parking garages for one, yes (which mostly go below ground). Also, many people who work in Seattle live in Seattle. Probably not a majority, but not a small minority either. The rate at which new housing is being constructed in the downtown area (including Capitol Hill, SLU, etc.) is staggering[0]. Much of the job growth the city is experiencing has corresponding housing growth within walking distance to work. [0]: Which I view mostly as a good thing -- late last year they hit a saturation point that resulted in the first month-to-month decrease in rent for new leases; my hope is that this will alleviate some of the upward rent pressure on the lower end of the market and make the city livable for a broader range of incomes. Whether that will actually happen remains to be seen, but it's far more likely if rents for the new construction face downward pressure from inflated supply.

mrep 11y ago
I live in SLU across the street from work and i love it! 4 minute door to desk commute.