The Seattle Department of Transportation has drafted a plan to add two-hour paid parking to the busiest stretch of Upper Queen Anne starting in early 2027. Meters would run Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Queen Anne Ave N between W Galer and McGraw, plus parts of Boston and Crockett. The rate schedule charges $1 an hour in the morning and $4 an hour from 11 a.m. on. Its own surveys show who drives in during those later hours. In the in-person survey, most people said they get to the Ave on foot, by bike or by transit, and visitors drive at almost twice the rate of residents. The draft puts its cost mostly on people coming from somewhere else, and that's why the pushback so far has come from the businesses that depend on those visitors.
None of this is final. SDOT's project page still calls these draft recommendations. The city plans to refine them this winter and install any changes in 2027.
What a week on the Ave would cost under the draft
SDOT's FAQ sets the hours and prices. You could pay by card, coin or phone, in 15-minute increments, and paid spaces would keep a two-hour limit.
| When you park on a metered block | Proposed cost |
|---|---|
| Weekdays and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. | $1 per hour |
| Weekdays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | $4 per hour |
| Weekdays and Saturdays, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. | $4 per hour |
| After 8 p.m. and before 8 a.m. | Free |
| Sundays and City holidays | Free |
The table shows who the plan is aimed at. An early coffee run costs a quarter for 15 minutes. A Sunday grocery stop costs nothing. A two-hour Saturday dinner that starts at 6 p.m. would cost $8 under the draft, and the same dinner starting at 8 p.m. would be free.
The $4 rate covers the hours when the street is fullest. In SDOT's April 2026 parking study, about 80% of blocks were mostly or very full at midday on a weekday. Between 5 and 8 p.m., most studied streets were more than 86% full. The Urbanist reported that 11 of the 22 Upper Queen Anne blocks studied topped 85% occupancy. Several were over 100%, which means cars were parked in spots that aren't legal spaces. The city's stated goal is one or two open spaces per block. SDOT says it raises rates when blocks stay too full and lowers them when spaces sit empty, so the opening prices could change.
The people driving in at $4 an hour are mostly visitors
This is where SDOT's numbers start to answer the question of who pays.
SDOT ran an in-person intercept survey on the Ave in April 2026. In that survey, 61% of people said they usually walk, bike or take transit there, and 49% said they walk. Only 38% said they usually drive and park. The outreach summary from the larger summer online survey shows a different mix. There, 53% of resident and visitor respondents drove and 36% walked. The two surveys used different methods, so their numbers shouldn't be blended into one.
The same outreach summary has the most useful split for the question of who pays. Visitors were far more likely to drive than residents, 80% compared with 42%. Among visitors, 56% said easy parking was an important factor in deciding to come.
In the outreach survey, the drivers who would pay $4 an hour were mostly visitors, and parking matters to more than half of them when they decide whether to come at all. The dispute over the plan follows that line.
Why the business district is asking for other fixes first
On September 23, business owners and residents along Queen Anne Avenue sent a letter asking the city to keep curb parking free. The Urbanist reported that the signers included the owners of Queen Anne Book Company, Betty Restaurant, Aluel Cellars, Bounty Kitchen and Stuhlberg's, along with the director of the Queen Anne Farmers Market. According to KING 5, the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce helped lead the letter, and Susan Short of the Chamber said 43 residents and businesses had signed.
The letter, as quoted by The Urbanist, is about visitors:
"Free and accessible street parking is an attractive feature of the Queen Anne business district for visitors, customers, and neighborhood residents. It makes it easier to stop for a meal, run an errand, visit a local shop, attend an appointment, or spend time in the neighborhood."
The signers agree that turnover needs to improve. Their position is that the city should try other tools first, including better enforcement of existing time limits, well-placed loading zones, short-term pickup spaces and more accessible parking. KING 5 reported that the letter also asks for better visibility at intersections and fresh curb markings to replace faded ones. City figures show why merchants are paying attention. On SDOT's project page, 61% of businesses said parking is difficult for their customers, and 63% said customers often complain about it.
KOMO spoke with Queen Anne Book Company owner Krijn De Jonge. He said the plan could hurt some businesses, especially quick-stop coffee shops, and he supported adding and improving loading zones. The draft already does some of that. SDOT plans to add 5-, 15- and 30-minute load zones, and the 5-minute zones would be free. The FAQ says the agency will use business feedback to decide where those zones go. The July existing-conditions report counted 32 loading spaces out of 302 curb spaces in the study area. Most loading-zone tickets were written on Queen Anne Ave N between Crockett and Boston, in front of Safeway. That block is a likely place for the loading-zone discussion to focus.
Where cars would go instead
The draft keeps several nearby blocks free, with time limits extended to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday:
- W Galer St between Queen Anne Ave N and 1st Ave W
- 1st Ave N from Boston St to Crockett St
- Howe St from 1st Ave W to Queen Anne Ave N
- Blaine St, north side, from Queen Anne Ave N to the alley just west of 1st Ave N
- Garfield St, south side only, from Queen Anne Ave N to 1st Ave N
These free blocks matter more to anyone who lives on them than the metered ones do. Spillover from Queen Anne Ave onto residential streets already came up as a problem in SDOT's outreach. One survey response mentioned people using the Safeway or Trader Joe's lots when street parking ran out. The draft materials don't describe new measures for the residential streets beyond these free blocks. Anyone living a block or two off the Ave has a direct stake in the next round of revisions.
Time limits on the free blocks would run until 8 p.m., so a car left on Howe or Galer for a long dinner would need to move sooner than it might today.
Saturday, November 7, on the same eight blocks
On Saturday, November 7, from 4 to 7 p.m., the Queen Anne Fall Wine Walk runs along Queen Anne Avenue N between McGraw and Galer, with check-in at Bethany Presbyterian Church, 1818 Queen Anne Ave N. That is the stretch the draft would meter, during hours it would price at $4. This year that stretch has no meters. Under the draft rates, a Saturday afternoon event on that stretch would fall inside the $4 window.
Events like this one bring in people from the rest of the city, and they're the visitors the merchants' letter wants to keep coming. It's also when the curb is fullest, which is the problem SDOT's plan is meant to fix.
How to weigh in before the plan is finalized
SDOT plans to refine the recommendations this winter, and the project page has no posted comment deadline. If you want to comment, the agency lists these options:
- Fill out the online comment form on the project page.
- Email [email protected].
- Call (206) 684-7229 or ask for a meeting.
The Queen Anne Chamber's summary walks through the proposal from the business district's side. SDOT's existing-conditions report breaks down occupancy block by block for the study area.
Curb rules affect how a block works day to day, from where guests park for an open house to how a moving truck finds space on Crockett. If you'd like to talk through what the 2027 changes could mean for a home near the Ave, Angie Holmstrom is glad to help. Let's Connect.
