(This article is part of a series I am writing to help ensure voters have as much information as possible before the August 7 library election. Like all my other entries, these are my personal views. I am never speaking for the Renton Council or the City of Renton as a whole in this privately-funded website. Please scroll down for other library entries. Thanks for reading)
This photo was taken last Thursday, about 100 feet from the site proposed for the Piazza library. Highland resident Jennifer came out of a downtown Renton restaurant after a one-hour lunch to find her car hooked up to a tow truck. She had to give the towing company $137 to get her car unhooked, even though she was in a marked parking spot and the lot does not appear to be correctly posted for immediate towing. Jennifer is now involved in a dispute to get her money back, and there are two Renton businesses (the lot owner and the towing company) she will never do business with in the future. If the library is moved to this location, library patrons would be encountering a worse situation daily as they jockey to find spots where they can dash in and pick up or drop off books, while customers of downtown business, apartment visitors, and parents dropping kids for daycare will face new competition for existing spots.
The parking plan for the proposed new Piazza library is not clear. Proponents of the move say that there will be sites on the street dedicated to the library, and that the parking garage will easily handle all the rest of the need. But there are numerous problems with this.
First, if we dedicate existing public parking in the downtown to a new library, we take it away from nearby businesses including restaurants, shops, and even a daycare. And by posting it specifically for library patrons, we take away the number one reason that some downtown business owners have given for wanting us to move the library downtown– that library patrons will visit other businesses on their library outings. In other words, if a patron drives up to the library, and sees a spot marked “For library patrons only– others will be ticketed”, there is virtually no chance of seeing that patron stop into a restaurant for lunch before getting back into his or her car. And once in their car, they will head to their favorite lunch spot, whether that is three blocks or two miles away.
On the other hand, if anyone expects library visitors to readily use the downtown Renton garage, they are in for a disappointment. This garage, which Diamond Parking has overseen for Renton since 2008, is a distance from the library and requires that users register their vehicles even when parking for only a few minutes. Anyone who fails to register their vehicle even for the first two hours of free parking is subject to a $30 fee, which goes to $60 if not paid within 15 days. For parents already juggling kids and books, this step will be an additional frustration on top of the two to three block walk — not to mention the stairs in the garage. And patrons and business owners won’t be happy about another detail. If a library patron decides to walk a few blocks for cupcakes or coffee after their library visit, they will have to anticipate this BEFORE they leave the parking lot. This is because the parking fee for stays longer than two hours must be paid in advance– overstays are subject to a 30 dollar fee, rising to 60 dollars if not paid in 15 days. This will certainly discourage lingering in downtown Renton after a library visit.
Diamond Parking rules posted within the City Center Parking garage. Hourly users must pay in advance, and not overstay, or face a $30-$60 fee. (The parking garage works better for monthly users and transit riders, who bypass the hourly meter and park at higher levels with window permits)
Note that this is in stark contrast to the existing Cedar River Library, which has generous free parking of unlimited duration. Patrons with only a few minutes can make a quick dash in for a convenient pick-up or drop-off. Visitors with more time available can browse the library, play at the playground, and then walk down the street for coffee, cupcakes, or lunch if they feel so inclined. No tow-truck drivers will be stiffing them $137 for a one-hour overstay, nor will Diamond Parking be billing them $60 for failing to respond to the first notice that they forgot to register their car when the parked for 15 minutes to drop a book off. In addition, downtown restaurant owners won’t have to post awkward signs asking library patrons not to park on their property, or even worse having patrons’ cars towed. (Each time a business has a car towed or confronts a library patron, they should plan on losing about 20 customers for life thanks to the tell-a-friend effect)
When we built the city center parking garage in 2003, it cost Renton taxpayers about $18,000 per parking spot. We did this to get transit users and employees cars out of the way, so that businesses had ample parking for their customers. At 18,000 dollars per parking spot, Renton is providing an additional gift worth 1.2 million dollars to KCLS if we turn over sixty-five parking spots for free in this high-density area (in either the garage or the street). This should be booked against the cost of the Piazza library, driving its cost up from 9.3 million to 10.5 million dollars, exceeding the 10.1 million dollar cost to remodel the Cedar River Library.
With Cedar River library parking north and south of the river, and generous overflow at the City’s 200 Mill Building (pictured above) and the east side of liberty park, library patrons never have any issues with parking at the present site.
Just like in Issaquah, my hometown. KCLS came in with big promises…local downtown business are today left with NO street parking that was previously available and loss of customers to strips malls and Costco.
I’ve already been a victim of Diamond Parking. I overstayed one minute during the Farmer’s Market in the downtown parking garage and got a ticket for $60.00. Now you can bet that I’m one of those Renton residents jockeying for free spots! I really think a downtown library would hurt merchants who already suffer from the one-way streets and few free parking stalls. I go to the library to browse so my 2 hours of parking is 2 hours that someone who’s going downtown to spend money is not going to get.
Not only that, the touted “45 on-site parking spots” said to belong to the Big 5 site are actually on-street or in-alley spots that belong to the City. As shown on the schematic design, the Big 5 site really has no parking of its own. The alley behind the Big 5 site is shown as dedicated library parking on that design. It’s currently used by the church, daycare, condos, Farmer’s Market patrons, patrons of local merchants and the merchants themselves. Deeding or leasing it exclusively to KCLS to provide parking has already received push-back from the church and condos. It certainly won’t help local merchants or the Farmer’s Market to lose those parking spots to the library. It will just discourage casual shoppers afraid of parking in paid or posted lots downtown.
If only from a parking and traffic flow standpoint I think the City should remodel the current library. It has 65 parking stalls that are off-street, steps from the library door, and free. The other parking around the old city hall and on the Bronson Way side provides even more free backup parking. Both lots are owned by the City and have been used by library patrons continuously.
Contrast Cedar River Library with the Diamond parking garage, which is easy to miss if you’ve never been in it. You only get one shot at Diamond, then you have to do the loop-de-loop in the one-ways. You can’t miss Cedar River Library coming from Maple Valley Highway, down Sunset, or via Park from the Landing. You have to go right by it. If you miss Mill Ave. S. you just turn left at the light up the next two-way street, S. 2nd, and there’s the parking lot entrance in front of you. In fact, since Cedar River Library is right off I-405, Maple Valley Highway and Sunset (SR 900), and at the crossing of 3rd and Park, you might say it’s at the hub of Renton. The only one who can’t seem to find it is the director of KCLS. And, since he’s such a fan of digitization, I say: Google it or Mapquest it!
The 60.00 ticket is only for those that are unwise enough to pay it. Simply do not reply, not by phone, mail, letter, nothing. Throw the tickets in the garbage and forget about it. It is not a part of the police or government.
It never ceases to amaze me how people think they can park their cars anywhere that suits them. I’m not sure where you get your numbers from ( 20 customers lost, really?) but I would be more apt to visit a business that actively tows vehicles that are illegally parked on their private property. It shows that the owners are interested in keeping their precious few slots available for actual paying customers and not car storage welfare recipients.
And the parking at the current location is not “free”. It’s unproductive property that could be put to better use. Use that actually generates tax revenue.
Tis a capitol idea my friend! I say each one of these Renton rabble rousers needs a good towing for their own good. Make them appreciate the laws and regulations of the land. No mercy for these scofflaws – one minute is one minute too long.
(In response to Gregg’s comment)
If anyone was associated with downtown merchants and they openly referred to restaurant customers as “car storage welfare recipients” they would harm the business district.
I have no objections to businesses posting their parking rules and legally enforcing them. However, there is nothing honorable about failing to properly post, or doing a confusing or insufficient job of it, or relying on obliterated signs, or signs on other people’s property, and then towing cars. The law can be found by anyone typing “RCW” and “towing” into Google. RCW 46.55.070 tells businesses to place signage ON THEIR PROPERTY, near the entrance of their parking lot, explaining that the property is private and WHAT HOURS cars will be towed. Any property owner who won’t make the effort to post proper signage does not get my sympathy when they are unhappy about downtown customers parking in their lot. Failure to post a couple signs before towing costs ALL OF US money, as police, the court system, the attorney general’s office, and other public agencies get activated by questionable towing practices. (The police even get called for legal tows). On the other hand, a sign on the owners property at the entrance to the lot which says “this parking reserved for _____ customers only, all others will be towed 24 hours per day, followed by the name, phone number and address of the towing company” is simple and effective, and saves all of us taxpayers from paying to clean up the mess.
As more businesses feel the need to dedicate parking to their business only, it prevents customers from walking from one business to the next. So to build a pedestrian friendly downtown, it becomes important for either merchants to band together to provide downtown parking that can be used by all customers, or for the city to provide such parking. Any existing city parking spots that get dedicated to a new library will take away from spots that can be used by visitors who want to walk to multiple downtown destinations.
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RCW 46.55.070
Posting requirements — Exception.
(1) No person may impound, tow, or otherwise disturb any unauthorized vehicle standing on nonresidential private property or in a public parking facility for less than twenty-four hours unless a sign is posted near each entrance and on the property in a clearly conspicuous and visible location to all who park on such property that clearly indicates:
(a) The times a vehicle may be impounded as an unauthorized vehicle; and
(b) The name, telephone number, and address of the towing firm where the vehicle may be redeemed.
And I actually have a problem with the law because it reinforces an entitlement that has spoiled people into thinking they can park anywhere. I don’t have a sign on my front yard saying “No Pickup Soccer Games” but I have yet to see anybody start one up. My statement would only bother people to those who knew it was true.
The merchants don’t need to get together to create shared parking and the city doesn’t need to provide it. If it needs to be there – and that need becomes less as the city becomes more dense -, then we need a for-profit business that provides it. We already have one, maybe it’s time for another. But the underlying problem may very well be the suburban train of thought that everybody needs to drive a huge car everywhere. I know I don’t. I can patronize every business in downtown Renton without getting into one. A denser downtown with less cars and more people would be more walkable.
If you had a big field in front of your house that LOOKED like a soccer field but was your own private property, would you expect that if kids did play on it you could take the kids away, lock them up, and charge their parents to release them? Also, Please don’t tell businesses to put in LESS parking. As a family on a budget, we will not visit anywhere where we have to pay to park. It would hurt those downtown businesses.
Shoot, who would have thuoght that it was that easy?
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loved the line " dry red rivers ran along the tanned skin." so evocative and desolate at the same time. This sets things up beautifully Icymarc nash
Overflow parking at the City’s 200 Mill Building? I thought this was private property, subject to towing? There is a tow sign in your photo.
Good question. Below I have attached a section from chapter 10 of our city ordinances, “Parking Regulations” When I went by the library on Sunday I saw no time limits in the library parking lot, south of the library. Note the very last line of the ordinance below, which mentions the library and city hall parking lots. I’m not a lawyer, but they sound like they are considered contiguous. If the city hall lot can not be used for overflow, we should clarify this ordinance.
By the way the tow sign is standard in parking lots as a way to removed abandoned cars, but one must wait 24 hours to remove a vehicle unless very specific posting conditions are met under state law. These conditions do not appear to have been met in the case of the photo I took above.
Again, read the last couple lines of the ordinance below, and tell me how you read it. Let me know if you think it needs to be clarified. I’ll raise this issue with city staff as well. Do you know of anyone who has been cited for using this as overflow?
Thanks
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10-10-4 PARKING PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY TIME LIMIT, DURING CERTAIN HOURS, OR LIMITED TO HANDICAPPED PERSONS:
A. Overtime: No person shall park a vehicle upon a street or public property for a longer period of time than the limit that is sign posted except as provided in this Chapter.
B. Overtime-Repeated: Each subsequent period of time, as sign posted, lapsing following affixation to a vehicle of a notice of overtime parking shall constitute a separate offense except as provided in this Chapter.
C. Moving Vehicle in Same Block: No person shall move and repark a vehicle within the same block or public property to avoid a time limit regulation specified in that particular area except as provided in this Chapter.
D. Parking Prohibited During Certain Hours: When official signs are erected in each block giving notice thereof no person shall park a vehicle between the hours specified. (Ord. 3552, 6-8-81)
E-F. (Rep. by Ord. 4271, 6-18-90)
G. Parking Restricted to Handicapped Persons: The unauthorized use of the special card, decal or special license plate, shall include, but not be limited to, its use in or on a vehicle when not actually transporting a disabled person. (Ord. 4271, 6-18-90; amd. Ord. 4396, 4-5-93)
H. Permit Parking: The City may designate certain areas in the City for parking by permit only. Said permit parking may regulate parking by day and/or time in the area and/or vehicle occupancy. The regulations shall be designated by signs or markings on the ground or similar method that will communicate the restrictions to drivers intending to park in a restricted area. (Ord. 4517, 5-8-95)
1. No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle in any area designated for permit parking unless that person displays on his/her vehicle the appropriate permit for that designated permit parking area.
2. No person having obtained a permit for parking in a designated area for permit parking shall transfer said permit to another individual for use in a vehicle other than the vehicle registered with the City on the permit application.
3. Permit parking may require a specific permit for a particular area. A person seeking a permit for parking in a designated area for permit parking must register with the City as follows: City employees register with the Personnel Department; residents register with the Customer Services Division of the Public Works Department. Obtaining a permit by any other means shall be an infraction. (Ord. 4271, 6-18-90; amd. Ord. 4396, 4-5-93)
4. Permit parking may require a specific permit for a particular area. A person seeking a permit for parking in a designated area for permit parking must register with the City as follows: City employees register with the Personnel Department; residents register with the Development Services Division of the Department of Community and Economic Development. Obtaining a permit by any other means shall be an infraction. (Ord. 4517, 5-8-95; Ord. 5450, 3-2-09)
5. Parking permits for residential street parking shall be limited to one per residence or as authorized by the Public Works Department.
6. No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle in any area designated for permit parking and display on his/her vehicle the appropriate permit for that designated permit parking area unless that vehicle is registered to the permit displayed.
7. Only passenger vehicles and vanpools shall qualify for a permit. (Ord. 4271, 6-18-90; amd. Ord. 4396, 4-5-93)
8. No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle displaying a City employee general or carpool parking permit, in a time restricted stall of any parking lot of the Municipal Campus, Liberty Park (including the pool) and the Community Center, for any length of time between the hours of eight o’clock (8:00) A.M. and four thirty o’clock (4:30) P.M., with the exception of thirty (30) minute time restricted stalls. Doing so will subject the vehicle owner to a parking infraction and monetary penalty, according to the fee schedule in effect for parking time restriction violation. Thirty (30) minute stalls may be used by vehicles with City employee parking permits, provided the time limitation is not exceeded. If the time limitation is exceeded, the owner of the vehicle is subject to a parking infraction and monetary penalty for exceeding the thirty (30) minute time restriction. (Ord. 4442, 3-14-94)
I. Moving Vehicle in Same Lot: In parking lots where parking is limited to a period of time, no person shall move or cause to be moved, a vehicle from one such stall to another, where said stalls are in the same lot.
For purposes of this Section, the lot south of and contiguous to City Hall, and the lot south of and contiguous to the City Library are considered as one and the same lot.
I knew there was a reason I got a bike.
Seriously, though, there is a problem with this culture being too dependent on cars, and not enough good public transportation, not enough bike paths, not enough reasons for people to feel safe walking…but that’s going to take a while to fix, and parking hassles aren’t going to help make the Piazza location viable. It’s easy for you or me to growl that folks should ditch their cars, but some find that their jobs, home locations and so on make that not feasible. And it’s not their fault that some places are short on parking spots.
There are enough cyclists, by the way, that seem to like the river building–sometimes I have to hitch to the railing because the bike rack is full. I don’t know how far they pedaled to get here, but a community study from 2011 that I got to look at the other day said that people from Skyway and Fairwood sometimes came to our library. They might not be so eager to do so, and then spend their money on downtown eateries and so on, if they found only a dinky little library here with no river or big trees, and not enough parking spaces if they drive.
Yes! Punish personal vehicle owners with more taxes, fines, penalties, and high hourly parking fees! Without a doubt, this will encourage mothers to ride King County Metro buses to downtown Renton carrying diaper bags and strollers with kids in tow. Yes, yes, yes. Get these people out of their cars! I’m sure that Mom with 2 kids will love to visit the transit center to use the downtown library and then, of course, she will be happy to visit the businesses and spend her money on ????
I’m not a rocket surgeon (or brain scientist) but I am extremely fearful of dealing with finding where my car was towed (or stolen!) should I have exceeded my parking time by one minute. Just that thought negates ever wanting to park downtown.