MILL CREEK — When the parking lot outside the Mill Creek Library is full, chances are there’s an open space in the smaller lot for Library Park just a stone’s throw away.
There’s just one problem — the lots are not connected.
To drive to the small parking lot about 20 feet away, patrons of the library at 15429 Bothell-Everett Highway must get back onto the highway and drive about half a mile, mostly along residential streets.
It’s a serious problem, considering the 7,000-square-foot library is now the third-busiest in the Sno-Isle library system, Mill Creek Library manager Eric Spencer said.
“Very often, people will be jockeying for a spot out there throughout the day,” said Spencer, who’s managed the library for the past four years. “The other lot is nice to have, but a lot of people don’t even know it’s there.”
The library has signs and pamphlets instructing people how to reach the Library Park lot. The recommended route is south along the highway, east on Mill Creek Boulevard and then west on 156th Street SE.
However, people have to be able to park and enter the library to see the signs and brochures.
The Mill Creek City Council is aware of the problem and has been considering options.
One plan would combine the main parking lot’s 33 spaces with the park lot’s 14 spaces, as well as add an additional four spaces for a total of 51.
Mayor Donna Michelson said the parking problem is an annoyance as well as a safety issue.
“There are so many people who love using our library, but once they drive around, they leave because they can’t find a place to park,” Michelson said.
Florida resident Mauricio Torres, who visits the Mill Creek area every few months to work at a Catholic church, said he never has much of a problem finding parking. He questions the need to connect the two lots.
Meanwhile, Donna Elmstrom of Mill Creek said she sometimes drives straight to the Library Park lot because she knows the library’s main lot will be full.
“I’ve had only a couple instances when both lots have been full, and then I’ve waited and come back,” Elmstrom said.
The problem is worst during the school year, especially just before and after school hours, Spencer said. Parking also grows scarce whenever the library holds an event.
“If we have a story time for kids, that parking lot is filled up with those folks,” Spencer said. “Then other folks can’t get into the library.
“We would like to see some relief on that front,” he said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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