SEATTLE \u2014 More than 30 Queen Anne residents fiercely defended their street parking within their neighborhood to city officials at a public meeting after a plan was put in motion this year to ban parking due to reported issues with the fire department accessing their road.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, residents along 14th Avenue West \u2014 between West Barrett Street and Gilman Road \u2014 were notified that the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) would be banning parking on the street.<\/p>\n
The move was prompted by SDOT after the Seattle Fire Department reported that it could not pass through the avenue while trying to respond to a call for service. Residents along that stretch of the avenue organized letters to the city and pushed back on the decision, which was reportedly set to begin in April had they not intervened.<\/p>\n
The decision didn\u2019t require public comment because it was due to an issue with emergency services. However, a meeting was arranged for public feedback \u2014 with the fire department, an SDOT representative, and a team member from Seattle Councilmember Bob Kettle\u2019s office \u2014 at the Queen Anne Library.<\/p>\n
It was there that the fire department further explained its situation.<\/p>\n
Fire Station 20, the closest station to the neighborhood, says that from Jan. 1, 2022, to March 31, 2026, it responded to 73 incidents on 14th Avenue West between West Barrett Street and Gilman Road. Officials say there were six documented instances of delays caused by vehicles blocking the space.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo imagine someone\u2019s having a medical issue and we\u2019re having to hop out of our fire engine and look at inches to see if we\u2019re going to be able to get by,\u201d a Seattle fire captain explained at a meeting at the Queen Anne Library on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The meeting began, however, with the clarification that the parking ban remains a standing decision by SDOT, meaning the parking spaces will no longer be allowed. However, officials said they still wanted public input to alter their plan, potentially.<\/p>\n
SDOT says its decision to eliminate street parking was the quickest and most cost-effective solution for first responders, as widening the road into the sloped median that separates 14th Avenue West would require a much more expensive project.<\/p>\n
The reality of what it would mean for those living in the neighborhood was explained loud and clear on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are we supposed to park? At the end of the day, that\u2019s the real question here,\u201d one man said, frustratedly to the three officials.<\/p>\n
Many echoed that the ban would force those without designated spots at their residences to park quite a ways away and up the hill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already park sometimes five minutes away as it is, so imagine all of those cars being displaced,\u201d Aaron Price told KOMO News after the meeting, after he repeatedly waited in line to speak numerous times before city officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only going to bubble up \u2014 and I really do mean it \u2014 it\u2019s only going to bubble up to the higher part of Queen Anne,\u201d another resident, Juan Cornejo, said to KOMO News.<\/p>\n
Multiple longtime residents in the neighborhood wondered why this problem had seemingly arisen only recently, when emergency vehicles had been driving on the narrow road for decades. A fire department representative at the meeting explained that their apparatus has gotten bigger in recent years.<\/p>\n
In the same breath, some residents questioned whether other narrow streets nearby, such as Ninth Avenue or 11th Avenue, would face a similar fate in the name of public safety. However, SDOT confirmed it has no current projects planned within Queen Anne neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s just 14th [Ave.], then you all need to be looking at Ninth [Ave.] and half this city,\u201d said one longtime homeowner near the corner of Gilman Drive and 14th Avenue West.<\/p>\n
Many residents brought forth various suggestions about what SDOT could do, cheaply, to keep the parking spots.<\/p>\n
For instance, several asked for a painted line within the road to mark the width needed for fire apparatus to get through, which could then be used as a mechanism for fines if someone parked improperly within their space. Residents added that they already park on the curb and sidewalk and are never ticketed by the city.<\/p>\n
The SDOT staffer, while reiterating he would never accept an idea that suggested someone park illegally, added that he did not believe a painted road line was a viable option.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I could make cars fit in the space that\u2019s available and know that the mirrors aren\u2019t going to hang over and stop a fire response,\u201d he said. \u201cAt this point, I\u2019m not confident that is a successful path.\u201d<\/p>\n
At times, the meeting grew tense, with some residents getting frustrated by the answers they were receiving \u2014 or not receiving \u2014 to their questions. A handful of residents circled back in line to speak multiple times, with only one minute allowed per question.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever that solution may be \u2014 a line in the road, clearing up a curb, whatever it is \u2014 we are talking about inches here, and we would not be having this debate,\u201d Cornejo said after the meeting.<\/p>\n
Those frustrations mounted as most answers from Councilmember Kettle\u2019s team member and the SDOT staffer returned to the same roadblock: budgeting.<\/p>\n
They cited that ideas would need to have a low price tag, as most of SDOT\u2019s projects are already accounted for through levy funding and grants, while the city budget itself is tight. Despite those comments, concerned neighbors believed they were bringing those kinds of ideas to the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of the solutions that we threw out are within the budget,\u201d Aaron Price said.<\/p>\n
Others grew more patient, such as one father who was present with his wife and baby, earnestly suggesting ideas such as eliminating some parking spots but carving out spaces within the sidewalk to serve as proper places for people to park. The SDOT staffer said he appreciated the idea and made note of it.<\/p>\n
With the possibility that no changes to the plan will be made, many also braced for the reality of an open one-way road.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the very least, we want to feel safe on our street. A long street like that leaves a lot of room for people to be going pretty fast,\u201d Price said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE \u2014 More than 30 Queen Anne residents fiercely defended their street parking within their neighborhood to city…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225254,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-225253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}