Should Sound Transit Charge To Park At Their Facilities?

Would you be willing to pay to park at a Sound Transit parking facility?

Ever try to find a spot during the day in a Sound Transit parking lot? Forced to park on the street and walk a distance to the train?

If you have, you probably already know how difficult it is to find a spot to park during the work day. In some cases, it's nearly impossible.

It's clear the Sound Transit parking facilities are wildly popular, so popular, in fact, that it has prompted the agency to examine access to its parking system.

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That discussion includes whether to give priority to carpoolers, stricter monitoring of parking facilities and, yes, whether to charge to park.

Spokeswoman Kimberly Reason says discussions about pay-to-park are early. It would likely be a year or two before the agency even begins to entertain the idea. It has no idea how much parkers would potentially pay.

Still, local governments have already begun talking about it. 

In Puyallup, tensions ran high at Tuesday's City Council meeting, when members debated who should represent the city on Sound Transit's board and make sure local issues are heard. 

There are 364 parking spaces in Puyallup's Sound Transit station, with overflow slots available at the Eagle's Lodge and Puyallup Fairgrounds parking. Sound Transit authorities say commuter parking in Puyallup has reached its capacity.

Sumner's Transit Center is a hub for commuters and has 298 public spaces available, with 41 spaces available in the lot at State St. & Hunt Ave. Sumner does not have a parking garage and is surrounded by residential zone parking. 

Nearly 80 percent of Sounder riders drive to the station and park, which causes congestion on Sumner's roads. 

improvements at both the Sumner and Puyallup transit stations is a top priority but a timeline has not been cemented. 

In Lakewood - where the 3-year-old, 600-space Sound Transit garage started reaching about half capacity shortly after Sounder commuter service began last year - City Coucilwoman and Sound Transit Board member Mary Moss has brought the issue up a few times over the last month.

In Tacoma, where the garage are full on a daily basis, officials also are aware about the problems facing their parking facilities.