SEATTLE — There are claims that Seattle’s parking signs are confusing, costly to drivers, and that some World Cup visitors are finding this out the hard way.
Driver Lynne Easterly firmly believes that.
Easterly, who’s visiting from Colorado, says she thought she could park along a street near Pike Place. “This machine said two hours on it,” Easterly said as she gestured to a parking Kiosk near 1st Avenue and Union Street.
Then she pointed to a nearby sign that appeared to contract it. “You’ve got that one - you can barely (see) that says three to seven- right? No parking from three to seven?” She continued, “And there was a portable sign - which I’m not seeing right now - and I don’t remember what it said.”
She says another family, visiting for the World Cup from Egypt, also parked along the street.
“And when we came out the door, the car was up and they were towing the Egyptian family’s car away already. It had been like five minutes.”
A tow truck driver had lifted Lynne’s car up but dropped it after she agreed to pay about $175.
Parking in Seattle at any time is a challenge, but during the World Cup it’s a whole new ball game.
A large pedestrian area is in effect around Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field) on the days the World Cup Matches are being played there.
View the map at the link here.
You can’t drive or park in the pedestrian zone starting at 2 AM on match days and the stadium parking garages and lots are off limits, too.
Driver Showcat Chy agrees that parking is becoming more of a challenge because of the World Cup.
“Yeah of course it is. Maybe the next whole month it’ll be difficult,” he said as he idled in a loading zone while using an app to try and locate a spot he could legally park in.
A spokesperson says the Seattle Department of Transportation is looking at what they can do to make parking signs less confusing, but you should always note if the signs warn not to park there at a certain time of day.
For more information, check out this link:
Can I Park Here? - Transportation | seattle.gov
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