What are the Ave's shop owners and SDOT still arguing about? Read the business letter, the Chamber's requests and the city's draft side by side and the list is short. Both sides want more loading space, more accessible parking, clearer crossings and better enforcement. The Seattle Department of Transportation's draft already contains nearly all of it. What's left is whether roughly eight blocks of Queen Anne Avenue North, Boston Street and Crockett Street start charging for parking in 2027.
That makes this the last holiday season on the curb layout the Ave has used for close to two decades. SDOT says it last reviewed parking in Upper Queen Anne in 2008. Its project page, updated November 5, 2026, says the department is going through public feedback, will share a final plan in December 2026, and will install the changes in 2027.
The curb is already past the city's own target
Seattle sets street parking prices against one benchmark. As The Urbanist explains it, SDOT aims for 70% to 85% occupancy, which works out to about one or two open spaces per block. Since 2010, metered neighborhoods have had their rates moved up or down twice a year to stay in that range.
Upper Queen Anne is above that range for much of the day. SDOT counted parking on Thursday, April 23, 2026. On that day about 80% of blocks were mostly or very full between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., and most of the studied streets were more than 86% full between 5 and 8 p.m. The Urbanist's reading of the same study found 11 of 22 Upper Queen Anne blocks over 85% full. Some blocks went past 100%, which means cars were parked in spots that aren't legal spaces.
Demand is also rising. SDOT says on-street demand has grown since its 2022 count, and the biggest increase came in the morning and early afternoon. The busy stretch on Queen Anne Avenue North now starts with the coffee run, well before dinner.
Very few people dispute the numbers. Businesses agree the curb is crowded. SDOT's September 2026 outreach summary reports that 76% of surveyed businesses said it is hard for customers to find parking, and 61% said customers often complain about it. The disagreement is about the fix.
What the critics asked for, and what the draft already includes
On September 23, business owners and residents sent SDOT a letter asking it to keep street parking free. The Urbanist reported that the signers included Queen Anne Book Company, Betty Restaurant, Aluel Cellars, Bounty Kitchen, Stuhlberg's and the director of the Queen Anne Farmers Market. The letter asked the city to improve enforcement, loading, pickup and accessible parking before adding meters. KOMO reported that Susan Short of the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce described a similar list of alternatives covering safety, accessible parking, loading, curb markings and enforcement.
Put those requests next to SDOT's draft and most of them already have a match.
| What critics asked for | What SDOT's draft proposes |
|---|---|
| Better loading and pickup | New and improved load zones for deliveries, takeout, quick stops and passenger drop-off, in 5-, 15- and 30-minute limits, with the 5-minute zones free |
| More accessible parking | Free four-hour parking for people with disabilities |
| Safer crossings | Keeping the areas near crosswalks clear so people walking, biking and driving can see each other |
| Keep parking free | Free, time-limited parking stays on Galer, Howe, Blaine, Garfield and part of 1st Ave N, with hours extended to 8 p.m. |
| No paid parking | Two-hour paid parking on the busiest blocks |
Loading is the clearest overlap. SDOT's summer outreach found that 51% of surveyed businesses had trouble with loading, and residents described delivery trucks blocking traffic. Queen Anne Book Company owner Krijn De Jonge told KOMO that he supports better load zones, even while he objects to the fees.
The disagreement is now about price and hours
Here is what the contested part of the draft would do. These blocks would become two-hour paid parking from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday:
- Queen Anne Ave N from W Galer St to McGraw St, both sides
- Boston St from Queen Anne Ave N to 1st Ave N, both sides
- Boston St from Queen Anne Ave N to the alley just west of 1st Ave W, both sides
- Crockett St from Queen Anne Ave N to 1st Ave N, both sides
The proposed starting rates are $1 an hour from 8 to 11 a.m. and $4 an hour from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. SDOT says it would raise rates on blocks that stay too full and lower them on blocks with many empty spaces. The cheap morning rate and the full $4 afternoon rate follow SDOT's own occupancy curve, which is lighter early and fills from late morning on.
Each objection to the meter comes from a different group. For businesses, the concern is the short visit. De Jonge told KOMO he worried a fee would discourage browsing and quick coffee stops, and he wished SDOT had asked for input earlier. KING 5 reported that the Chamber is asking the city to drop paid parking and keep working with local businesses before the plan is final.
For residents of the avenue, the concern is the overnight car. A Change.org petition started in October says some apartment residents on the Ave have no on-site parking. It asks SDOT for a resident impact analysis and for alternatives such as stronger enforcement and fewer paid hours. When it was last checked, it showed 1,023 verified signatures.
Both groups end up at the same lever, which is the hours. A meter that runs until 8 p.m. covers both the evening dinner crowd and the hours when residents of the avenue come home. Fewer paid hours are one of the petition's requested alternatives, so the most likely place for a compromise is the clock, with the meter itself staying in the plan.
Most trips to the Ave don't end at a parking space
The meter debate is about drivers, and SDOT's surveys suggest drivers are a smaller share of the people on the Ave than the argument implies. In April 2026, SDOT interviewed more than 340 people in Upper Queen Anne and found that most had arrived on foot, by bike or by transit. In the summer survey, 44% of residents said they usually walk to the business district.
For that group, the parts of the draft nobody is fighting over are the ones that change their day. Clear crossings, free five-minute zones where the takeout driver can pull in without double-parking, and new bike and scooter parking all affect someone walking down from Galer to Boston. The $4 hourly rate does not. Accessible parking also matters well beyond the regular drivers. In SDOT's summer outreach, one resident said there was only one disabled-parking space on Upper Queen Anne. The draft's free four-hour accessible spaces respond directly to that kind of complaint.
Between now and the final plan
SDOT received more than 750 comments, emails, letters and phone calls on the draft this fall. The Chamber's own October 4 overview said it expected to work with the department to refine the draft. The Urbanist called the combined Upper Queen Anne and West Seattle Junction proposals the largest expansion of paid street parking in Seattle in at least a decade, so the outcome on the Ave will likely set the pattern for other business districts.
Here is the calendar from now until the changes arrive:
- Friday, December 4, 5 to 6 p.m. The Queen Anne Chamber's Grand Tree Lighting, listed near Trader Joe's on the Ave, takes place on the current free-parking layout.
- December 2026. SDOT shares the final plan and an update on what changed from the draft.
- Early 2027. Signs, load zones and any meters go in.
Comments still go to the project team at [email protected] or (206) 684-7229. The rates and hours above come from the draft and may change in the final version. Before relying on any of them, check SDOT's project page for what was adopted.
If you'd like to talk through how the December plan affects a property on Upper Queen Anne, The Greely Group is glad to walk through it with you. Schedule Free Consultation.
