Town Center Parking Plan Implementation

The Mercer Island City Council will conduct the Second Reading of Ordinance No. 25C-03 regarding Town Center parking regulations, and be presented with Resolution 1676, amending the Fee Schedule, at their meeting on May 6, 2025.

The bullet points below provide a summary of the changes to parking regulations in Town Center established in the ordinance and resolution.

• On-street parking in Town Center will become two-hour parking. A user will not be required to register their vehicle with a mobile application. These parking regulations will be in effect from 8:00AM to 10:00PM Monday through Saturday.
• In time limited parking spaces, a vehicle will need to move to another block to be considered reparked. In other words, when a user has reached the two-hour time limit, they are unable to repark on either side of the same block and must move to a new block to be legally parked.
• To park at the future Town Center Parking Area, located at the end of East Sunset Highway, a user will register their vehicle for two hours of free parking and have the option to extend their parking up to a fourteen-hour maximum for a paid fee. The City will charge $2.50 per hour for parking beyond two hours, up to a daily maximum rate of $12.50. These parking regulations will be in effect from 8:00AM to 10:00PM every day.

Implementation of the new parking regulations can be expected this summer.

Agenda materials for the meeting are available here (Agenda Item #8). The May 6, 2025 hybrid meeting will be broadcast live on MITV Channel 21 and live streamed on the City Council’s YouTube Channel.

The Mercer Island City Council will conduct the First Reading of Ordinance 25C-03 at its meeting on April 15, 2025.

On March 18, 2025, the City Council directed staff to implement an on-street parking system in Town Center where a user would receive two hours of free parking upon registration with a mobile application. These regulations would be in effect from 8:00AM to 10:00PM Monday through Saturday. This parking program would standardize the time limits for on-street parking in Town Center and increase the capacity of the Police Department to conduct parking enforcement.

Additionally, the City Council directed staff to implement parking regulations for the new Town Center Parking Area where a motorist would register their vehicle for two hours of free parking and have the option to extend their parking up to a fourteen-hour maximum for a paid fee. Under this system, the City will charge $2.50 per hour for parking beyond two hours, up to a daily maximum rate of $12.50. These parking regulations will be in effect from 8:00AM to 10:00PM every day.

Ordinance No. 25C-03 would establish the framework for this parking program. Agenda materials for the meeting are available here (Agenda Item #17). The April 15, 2025 hybrid meeting will be broadcast live on MITV Channel 21 and live streamed on the City Council’s YouTube Channel.

At their meeting on March 18, 2025, the City Council directed staff to implement an on-street parking system in Town Center where a user would receive two hours of free parking upon registration with a mobile application. This parking system would be in effect from 8:00AM to 10:00PM Monday through Saturday.

Additionally, the City Council directed staff to implement parking regulations for the new Town Center Parking Area where a motorist would register their vehicle for two hours of free parking and have the option to extend their parking up to a fourteen hour maximum for a paid fee. Under this system, the City will charge $2.50 per hour for parking beyond two hours, up to a daily maximum rate of $12.50. These parking regulations will be in effect from 8:00AM to 10:00PM every day.

Staff will return to the City Council seeking approval of an ordinance establishing the new parking program in the Mercer Island City Code, and of a resolution amending the Fee Schedule.

The Mercer Island City Council will receive a presentation about the parking regulations for on-street parking in Town Center and at the new Town Center Parking Area at its regular scheduled meeting on March 18, 2025.

The Sound Transit Light Rail Station is anticipated to open in late 2025. Parking demand in Town Center will likely increase when the Station opens. Managing the parking supply to ensure parking is available for both commuters and patrons of Town Center businesses will be crucial to the success of Town Center.

Last year, the City Council directed staff to an on-street parking system in Town Center where a user would register their vehicle for two hours of free parking and have the option to extend their parking to a four-hour maximum for a paid fee. Staff are hoping to confirm this approach and the recommended rate of $2.50 per hour.

Additionally, staff are seeking City Council feedback on the regulations and rate for the new Town Center Parking Area. Staff recommend providing a user with two hours of free parking upon registration and having the option to extend their parking to a twelve-hour maximum for a paid fee. Staff recommend using a rate of $2.50 per hour and instituting a daily maximum rate of $12.50.

This agenda item is discussion only and no formal action will be taken by the City Council. Staff will incorporate feedback and return to the City Council for approval before implementation.

Agenda materials for the meeting are available here (Agenda Item #13). The March 18, 2025 hybrid meeting will be broadcast live on MITV Channel 21 and live streamed on the City Council’s YouTube Channel.

In September, the Mercer Island City Council adopted Ordinance 24C-14 which increased the citation fee for parking infractions from $20.00 to $54.00, and sunset the Town Center Commuter Parking Permit Program. This means the fee for parking tickets increased to $54.00 on January 1, 2025, and all existing Town Center Commuter Parking Permits expired on December 31, 2024.

These changes were made to increase the availability of parking and to make way for future changes to parking in Town Center.

The Mercer Island City Council adopted Ordinance 24C-14 at first reading at its regular hybrid meeting on September 17, 2024. In short, Ordinance 24C-14 increases the citation fee for parking infractions from $20.00 to $54.00, and sunsets the Town Center Commuter Parking Permit Program.

The parking citation fee increase will become effective January 1, 2025. The Mercer Island Police Department will provide an education-first approach to improve compliance with parking regulations by initially providing non-fee warning notices, at the discretion of the Police Chief.

All existing Town Center Commuter Parking Permits will expire on December 31, 2024, effectively ending the program. It is important to note that the North Mercer Restricted Parking District (RPD) will not be affected by this change and staff will continue to monitor the RPD program.

To note, at the July 16, 2024, City Council meeting, City Council directed staff to implement an on-street parking system where a motorist would register their vehicle for two hours of free parking and have the option to extend this parking up to four hours for a paid fee. Staff work on this new parking program is underway and anticipated to be presented to the City Council for further review and consideration no later than Q1 2025.

The Mercer Island City Council will review the First Reading of Ordinance 24C-14 at its regular hybrid meeting on September 17, 2024. Once adopted, Ordinance 24C-14 would:

• Increase the citation fee for parking infractions from $20.00 to $54.00, and
• Sunset the Town Center Commuter Parking Permit Program.

The parking citation fee increase would become effective January 1, 2025. All existing Town Center Commuter Parking Permits would expire on December 31, 2024, effectively ending the program.

Agenda materials for the meeting are available here (Agenda Item #9). The September 17, 2024, hybrid meeting will be broadcast live on MITV Channel 21 and live streamed on the City Council’s YouTube Channel.

Mercer Island City Council received a presentation of potential actions related to Town Center Parking Regulations and provided feedback at its meeting on July 16, 2024. No action was taken at this meeting. Staff were given direction to return to Council later this year for approval to implement the following actions:

• Increasing the parking citation fee from $20.00 to $54.00.
• Sunsetting the Town Center Commuter Parking Permit Program.
• Implementing an on-street parking system where a motorist would register their vehicle for 2-hours of free parking and have the option to extend this parking up to 4-hours for a paid fee. When adopted, these parking restrictions would be in place 8:00am-8:00pm Monday through Saturday.

Staff will conduct additional research analysis on how to best implement these changes (mobile app, signage, etc.). All changes to Town Center Parking Regulations, when implemented, will be broadcast widely to the Mercer Island community. Follow along on Let’s Talk to get the latest information, share your feedback, and stay up to date on other ways to engage with this work.

Starting on May 13th, King County Metro will increase bus trips on Route 204. The route will have 10 more trips each weekday on Mercer Island. Service will start earlier in the morning and end later in the evening. Also, frequency will improve to every 30 minutes during peak periods.

To see what future travel will look like, visit Metro’s Trip Planner and enter a date of May 13 or later.