Exit133

February 5, 2015 · Exit133

Pay Parking in Proctor

Here's a little something that popped up in our Twitter feed today: the Proctor Safeway is now charging $1 an hour to park in its lots the lot across the street. The main Safeway lot will still be free, but with a 90 minute limit. We hear there may be stepped-up on-street enforcement as well.

One school of thought might see this as a sign of the beginning of the end for the quaint little district, with the Proctor Station mixed-use development looming large in the near future...

On the other hand, if you're inclined to think a nudge away from single-occupancy vehicles isn't a bad thing, this could be just the beginning for a Proctor coming into maturity as a walkable, bikeable neighborhood. 

What's your take?

Thanks to Matt Newport - @TacomaBikeRanch on Twitter - for spotting this.

UPDATE / CLARIFICATION: The above picture is of the new signage in the lot across 25th from Safeway. Here's what is now posted around the main Safeway parking lot. Our apologies for any confusion.

Filed under: Neighborhoods, Proctor, Parking

54 comments

  • no more shopping at Safeway February 5, 2015

    I have a handicap placard and could usually find a handicap spot when I shopped at Safeway. Now, if I'm going to be charged a $1 every time I shop at the Proctor Safeway, I won't shop there any more. I am unable to walk let alone carry groceries to my parked car outside the Proctor Safeway lot unlike you young whippersnappers who invent this stuff.

    • Sarah February 5, 2015

      There's no handicap parking in the lot across the street that this article is referring to. The main store parking lot is still free...and has plenty of handicap spots for you.

      • Chuck February 6, 2015

        Yea, and the handicaped spaces are used. what then. I am so tired of this city greed. Citezens/residents should permitted without paying.

  • Dumb February 5, 2015

    My post office is in Proctor. I will be upset if I have to pay just to check my mail box or pick up a package once in a while. They need to get rid of all these nickel and dime ways of taxing people and institute ones based on income, or lack thereof. As for Safeway - this is the last in a line of things that make me think its time to permanently stop patronizing their stores.

  • Peter February 5, 2015

    Good, i hate it when people take their time shopping! Also, will they validate?

    • Sarah February 5, 2015

      Yes. They will validate.

  • Laura February 5, 2015

    What does on street enforcement look like? As a homeowner in the area, I don't like the idea of people parking in front of my house to save a buck to park at Safeway.

  • T-Town February 5, 2015

    Safeway also happens to be the main advertiser in the much hated zeeckbag. Parking money will help them pollute Tacoma more each week.

  • Jim C February 5, 2015

    The Westgate Safeway is 1.5 miles away and doesn't charge for parking. Why would I go to the Proctor Safeway?

    • Jim C February 5, 2015

      I have to note that I posted the above before the OP made the correction about the meter only being in the lot across the street. This makes more sense. Too bad the neighboring businesses were poaching the spots; what does everyone THINK is going to happen when 150+ apartment units open for business? (something to do with street parking spilling out into the neighborhoods...)

      • Sarah February 5, 2015

        I'd take it one step further and be willing to bet that the apartment and multi-use complex going in will ALSO have a paid lot. Maybe if the business owners had not parked there all day long, Safeway wouldn't be forced to do this in order to preserve spots for their true customers.

      • PJ February 6, 2015

        My understanding is the apartments will have ONE space per unit underground with none on the street. They believe there will be less than one car per unit which I believe is malarkey. But we will see. What good is a voucher for Safeway's lot if you have to pay ahead in a machine????? I think we will see the business district change dramatically and hold on, this isn't the only building in the works so stay tuned.

        • JDHasty February 12, 2015

          Bill Evans has been conspiring for over a decade to convert as much public parking to his usage as possible in anticipation of this project. Bill Evans was seeking a waiver or variance from the City building code regulation requiring that he provide on site, or private off site, parking ample to accommodate ALL of the residents and shoppers this project would generate. I have archived ALL OF the emails I sent to the City of Tacoma (beginning ~ May 5, 2005) and in them I point to Bill Evans being the driving force behind the addition of angle parking to the west side of N Proctor, when there was already angle parking on the east side of N Proctor on the next block. In that correspondence the City lied (then Councilman Bill Evans and current PW Director Kurtis Kingsolver were involved personally in that discussion) telling me IN WRITING that the implementation was driven by a request from the School District. When I contacted the District they told me that they "did not object" but they in no way instigated the project. The project was instigated by none other than Bill Evans, and it was done in anticipation of a petition to the City that he be granted a variance or waiver from on site, or private off site, parking sufficient to support his proposed development plans. I have all the emails, bring it on baby.

  • Leslie February 5, 2015

    This is the face of a growing city.

  • Laura February 5, 2015

    Is Metropolitan Market's lot metered?

    • Andrew February 5, 2015

      "That's a negative, Ghost Rider."

  • Molly February 5, 2015

    I've never heard of a grocery store charging for parking if someone's shopping at the store. Even in urban areas, the stores will validate. Is Safeway not planning to validate parking for its customers?

    • Barbara February 6, 2015

      This is not so uncommon in Urban centers. For example, Uwajimaya in the International District in Seattle has paid parking. They do validate, and you can park for free for up to two hours with a purchase. But if you are in the International District, you are most likely going to be there longer than two hours. If you live near the District, you will most likely walk if you just need a few groceries, similar to the Proctor neighborhood. Here is the Uwajimaya policy: http://www.uwajimaya.com/stores/seattle Parking We offer free validated parking with purchase for up to two hours in our parking lot. Spend $15 or more for up to two hours of parking or $7.50 for one hour of parking. All retailers within Uwajimaya Village may validate parking.

      • JDHasty February 12, 2015

        And the International District is an area you would feel safe in after dark????? NOT!!! That is where the Proctor District is headed.

  • Andrew February 5, 2015

    Well, if there's no free parking at Safeway, I'll be checking out the newly remodeled Met Market!

    • Susan February 5, 2015

      Good luck finding parking at Met Market. It's just as limited. And there IS free parking in the main lot at Safeway. Only the lot across the street is metered.

  • Mitch February 5, 2015

    They will be roasted like a chicken in their deli for this.

  • Jessica February 5, 2015

    Only the parking lot across the street from Safeway is being metered, not the parking lot directly on the premises. The reason it's being metered $1/hour is because it has been used by every other business in the proctor district as all day parking. The parking lot for Safeway is quite small, so the one across the street is for the overflow of vehicles/customers. If you wanna say that Westgate Safeway doesn't charge for parking, it's true. But their parking lot is also twice the size as both the Proctor Safeway parking lots combined.

    • Sarah February 5, 2015

      Hit the nail on the head Jessica. Well said.

  • Greg February 5, 2015

    Ah, wait until the new apartment building opens... there will be no option but to time limit parking then because the property does not have enough of its own spaces.

  • Lynne February 5, 2015

    I shop there all of the time and have never needed to park in the extra lot. If it's a busy time from now on, I will drive the extra distance to the Pearl St Safeway- they have a better selection anyway.

  • Jim February 5, 2015

    Nothing valuable to say here except I hate that parking lot! My car was broken into at 11am on a Sunday while I was gone in Safeway for 10 minutes!

  • Xeno February 5, 2015

    Let's all freak out and write to the CEO of Safeway over a dollar.

  • Nancy February 5, 2015

    wow, this takes away from the community spirit of this very small district of cool. I visit the North End Vets and seriously feel they have been smothered by Safeway. I do agree that the grabbing hand of Safeway is taking advantage of the Proctor District. I feel that my business would better be taken elsewhere. North End Vets, deserve parking that is accessible for pets and people. Shame on Safeway.

    • JDHasty February 6, 2015

      "this takes away from the community spirit of this very small district of cool" And three hundred hipsters living in Bill Evans' vision of what is a trendy studio apartment, trying too hard to look like they didn't try at all, with their hipster clothing and accessories.... please spare me That’s right, all you hipsters out there. People with nothing else better to do stare at you because you look crazy, not cool.

  • Neighborhood guy February 5, 2015

    How about a discussion regarding single occupancy vehicles and a vibrant city that has adequate public transportation, bike lanes and other modes of transportation?

    • PJ February 6, 2015

      The bus system is NOT adequate. On a good day with everything working right I might make it to my job 10 miles away in 2 hours. Also there was no possibility of carpooling. Everybody can't ride a bike and there are no other modes of transportation around the city unless you count taxi cabs. Nothing works for everybody. Great if it works for you.

      • JDHasty February 12, 2015

        Not only is the bus system inadequate, the City of Tacoma is totally invested in expanding Link Light Rail - which will suck up all available transit funding and ensure that the bus system will never be adequate in our lifetime.

  • Robert February 5, 2015

    I'd rather go across the street and pay more for groceries!

  • Jim Bowman February 6, 2015

    To me, it looks like lots of people must be taking advantage of the parking lot. Perhaps it's all the construction workers at Met and the apt bldg hogging all the spots, or families dealing with the school. Anyhow, if you can't finish grocery shopping in 90 minutes

  • Robert Boxberger February 6, 2015

    A former pleasant break while Safeway shopping was meeting friends for coffee and conversation in the cafe area. Placing a 90-minute limit on even validated parking eliminates the casual atmosphere and communal pleasure of that meeting place. I understand the desire of Safeway's bean counters to move people through the shopping process, but even Costco isn't dumb enough or greedy enough to limit parking time, validated or not.

  • Tom Lyman February 6, 2015

    I moved away from the North End many years ago and just saw this. Is the pay parking by the fire station? And where are they building apartments?

  • PJ February 6, 2015

    The apartments are going up across the street from Mason Middle School occupying fully half a block the length of N 29th and even over the alley at least on the Proctor side. There are plans for the half block across from the Met Mkt although I understand the cleaners is holding out (so go use them!). The pay lot is the formerly empty and once barely used parking lot near the fire station just across from Safeway and next to the vet. You really have to see the apt building to get an idea how huge it will be and then imagine the foot print going up 6 stories.

    • JDHasty February 6, 2015

      [quote]The apartments are going up across the street from Mason Middle School occupying fully half a block the length of N 29th and even over the alley at least on the Proctor side. There are plans for the half block across from the Met Mkt although I understand the cleaners is holding out (so go use them!). The pay lot is the formerly empty and once barely used parking lot near the fire station just across from Safeway and next to the vet. You really have to see the apt building to get an idea how huge it will be and then imagine the foot print going up 6 stories.[/quote] This mixed use development is topped off by Bill Evans' vision of what next years hip and cool will want. Chew on that, an aging politician knows as much about that as I do about the in's and outs of living a vegan lifestyle. Anyone who is honest knows that this development is the end of the Proctor District. Overwhelming a neighborhood with a critical mass of hipster wanna be's, chasing yesterday's cool, can only result in one thing. If you think the hipster thing is ridiculous (thank God it has almost run it's course), just take that and multiply it by five and you will have a good sense of what the near future will bring us as those who missed out will be trying to outdo an outfit consisting of sneakers, pegleg pants, a buffalo plaid version of a shirt that nitwits think tree fellers who work for timber companies would actually wear, a meticulously manicured and oiled beard that they borrowed from Victorian England all topped off with a hairstyle that leaves only a rubber glove and feather duster shoved in your ass behind when trying for the dodo bird look. The Proctor allure revolves around a neighborhood in which the majority of home OWNERS have made a significant financial commitment to become, or remain, part of. The sad part of it reality is that, like the government subsidized McMenamins, once a politician like Bill Evens recognizes that a trend is "too cool for school" the moment has evaporated and what resulting investment is no longer really hip at all. The fact is that when you consider the cutting edge of fashion, once the moment evaporates a person is almost better off wearing a rubber nose and pair of big red shoes. Think about this, if you look through politician's family photo albums, I know political consultants who have done so at length in an effort to locate pictures of them with their family at Yellowstone Park or Disneyland, what you will find are pictures of a politician's sense of style and fashion and it is not a pretty thing to see. And as for their wive's style sense... please

      • James February 6, 2015

        Man, I'd love to see a picture of what a troll looks like... A vision of today's cool? A hairy old man, lathered in piss and vinegar?

      • susan February 6, 2015

        I don't like the apartments at all and I had no clue about the possible untis going up across from Met Mart but makes sense he owns all that too with his partner I believe. Anyways, It was my impression they were marketing to senior citizen hense the single cars. Ridiculous, and the parking will be a pain no matter how many people are walking, biking using transit in this new found maturity we are supppse to embrace. Unfortunately, the long time businesses may end up losing business. I rarely shop at Met Mart since the remodel. Parking got worse with the re-routing

        • Terry February 6, 2015

          Yeah, I'm guessing you're right about senior renters at the new apartments and I'm betting they will fill up fast. I'd even wager a number of long time home North End home owners will sell for $$$ and move in.

          • JDHasty February 12, 2015

            I'm betting they sell for $$$ too. As for moving into a schlock apartment, I'm not willing to bet on that. My guess is that the predominant move will be to Gig Harbor if they work local and if they work for Frank Russel and Weyerhouser, two companies they will move north into jurisdictions that protect neighborhoods from predators like Evans and Kuester.

  • Altered Chords February 6, 2015

    If you are spending more than 90 minutes inside a Safeway, you need to get a life.

  • Oogama February 6, 2015

    Another example of the greed which is overtaking Tacoma. Your Safeway is not that cool. No one goes out of their way to shop here. I frankly hate Safeway on the whole. I realize there are few alternatives here, but 10 min or less drive gets you Fred Meyer. Way better than either stores in proctor. What next, paid parking on proctor? Get over yourselves. We are not that cool.

  • RHTCCComedyfan February 7, 2015

    Everywhere it should be paid parking for motor vehicles.Everywhere ! 24/7/365 You drive you pay until you're bankrupt.

    • JDHasty February 7, 2015

      [quote]Everywhere it should be paid parking for motor vehicles.Everywhere ! 24/7/365 You drive you pay until you’re bankrupt.[/quote] I suppose that you also think people who live in detached single family residences should also be taxed to the breaking point? Oh wait, they already are paying to support freeloaders in the tax abatement condos in Tacoma who enjoy services and amenities they don't pay a nickel to support. FYI, Bill Evans was maneuvering to have this tax abatement applied to his Proctor disaster. Look it up. When he could not sneak that through his plans morphed from condos to apartments. MLK said I have a dream today, Bill Evans wakes up every morning and says: I have a scheme today, and that scheme will involve some attempt to manipulate local government officials.

      • Xeno February 7, 2015

        MLK didn't say that today, but the white van heard you say it.

  • Buck Futz February 7, 2015

    "Bill Evans, a longtime Proctor merchant and former Tacoma City Council member, said, however, that construction workers have been bused in to the project from remote parking lots. Evans is involved in the Proctor Station project." http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/02/06/3626786/proctor-safeway-backs-away-from.html#storylink=cpy

  • ApitbullnamedPlug February 8, 2015

    For all you entitled whiners: what makes you think you have a right to free parking? Do you also complain that Safeway charges you for the food you want? Get a grip children! It costs money to build and maintain the pavement where you want to use to store your vehicle. Metered parking is standard practice in cities. Do you freak out when you go to Seattle or Portland? Do you throw similar fits on the sidewalks there? In this case it's not the city imposing taxes (a fact missed by several commentators here), it's a business trying to disincentivize other entitled freeloaders from using their lot. Sheesh, I'm amazed that some of you can function in society at all.

  • ProctorGuy February 9, 2015

    Unfortunately, were in the infancy of a parking and traffic quagmire in Proctor...and Proctor Station is not even complete. It is a fallacy to believe that this development is going to create a net increase in parking. Sounds like the next apartment building to the north of Metropolitan Market is pretty much a done deal which is going to make it even worse.

  • talus February 9, 2015

    Just provide enough handicapped spots in the neighborhood for those who need close-in spots. Those of us lucky enough to have functional legs can walk, bike, or park a block or three (horror of horrors!) away from our destinations.

    • JDHasty February 10, 2015

      How about you use your functional legs and do the world a favor and walk down to Les Davis Pier with a short piece of rope and a cinder block? Long time Proctor residential property owners have every right to expect to be able park in front of their residence and not three blocks away.

      • talus February 10, 2015

        Happy Valentines Day to you too, JD.