EDMONDS – Ferry and Sound Transit commuters, residents and visitors here will start noticing some changes in parking options near downtown.
Sound Transit, in the midst of finishing a multi-modal commuter center downtown, recently purchased the south parking lot between the old Safeway property and the railroad tracks. The agency also purchased the lot south of Main Street, east of the railroad tracks and north of the Amtrak station, city officials said.
In addition, city officials received a letter July 6 from state ferry officials stating that the agency will take over the management of the commuter parking lot by Skippers restaurant effective Aug. 2. The city has managed the ferry-owned lot under a 1980 agreement, said Edmonds city clerk Sandy Chase.
At the Sound Transit lot, officials said the changes will be positive.
“When all the construction dust settles, there will not be a net loss of parking spaces,” said Sound Transit spokesman Lee Somerstein.
The area, previously a public pay lot owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, was purchased for just under $2 million to provide parking for Sound Transit and Amtrak commuters in Edmonds, Sound Transit officials said. Use of the lot will be free to those riders, Somerstein said. Others, including ferry commuters, can pay up to $8 or $12 per day to park. According to Somerstein, plans for the lot include reconfiguration to fit in 150 parking spots.
“Our normal policy is that parking is free, but (the parking cost ) is because some ferry users like to park overnight, and this isn’t fair to our users who understandably should have the spots,” Somerstein said.
A parking management company will most likely manage the lot when it is finished, Somerstein added.
“We’ll be running four trains round trip,” Somerstein said of the future. “The lot will be well used.”
As for the commuter parking lot near Skippers, Chase said the letter sent to Edmonds city officials said the ferry system “now desires to directly manage the lot as a new strategy for system-wide parking lot management,” and did not include any possible changes to the lot. Chase said city officials will address the issue within the next few weeks.
In the past, ferry commuters have had the option of paying $35 a month for one of the 110 spots available in the lot, although many on the waiting list have waited up to 10 years, city hall office assistant Vicki Barokas said.
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