Columbia City Parking Rates Rise as More Streets Shift to Paid Spots

Columbia City is expanding paid parking spots in the new year.

In Janurary 2026, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will add paid parking to nine Columbia City "street sides," or "blockfaces," including two that will be converted from residential parking. After listening to community concern, the department cut back on its original project.

Meanwhile, hourly parking rates in Columbia City, and throughout the city, increased last month.

Paid Parking Areas

"Without paid parking, cars can sit for several hours while customers circle looking for parking, and delivery trucks double park," SDOT project manager Virginie Nadimi wrote in a statement. "Paid parking is an effective tool we have to keep the curb reliably available for everyone in busy areas like Columbia City."

Columbia City currently has 10 blockfaces of paid parking and 125 spots within the neighborhood's restricted parking zone (RPZ-29), according to SDOT. Starting next month, eight more blockfaces will have two- or four-hour paid parking, loading zones, and disabled parking spaces along Rainier Avenue South, between South Alaska Street and South Dawson Street. An earlier draft planned for nine new blockfaces of paid parking.

Since paid parking has come to the neighborhood, resident and business owner Beth Scott has seen her neighbors drive "around and around" in residential areas to find parking when returning home, despite having RPZ permits.

"Those RPZ passes are not cheap," Scott wrote in a statement. "It's absurd that the only thing SDOT will do is punish [residents] with paid parking."

RPZ-29 passes in the Columbia City area are currently $95 for two years. There's an income-eligible option for residents who qualify, for a RPZ rate of $10 for two years.

On South Hudson Street west of Rainier Avenue, four RPZ spaces will be converted to paid parking. On South Edmunds Street, the south side of the street will shift to paid parking. The city heeded resident complaints by preserving 13 restricted parking zone spots on the north side of the street.

Scott's salon has been on Edmunds Street just off of Rainier Avenue South for over 20 years. Scott said she and the other business owners often "cross-promote" each other — encouraging their customers and clients to grab a bite, get a coffee, or shop around at the neighboring establishments. But the added expense of parking and its time limit can discourage customers from exploring what else the neighborhood has to offer, Scott said.

"Money is tight right now, and money is tight for our customers," Scott said.

Parking Rates

On Nov. 10, SDOT raised Columbia City paid parking rates to $6.50 an hour in the afternoons, dropping the rates to $6 in the evenings. These fees are a $1 increase from last year. Nearby neighborhood Chinatown-International District currently has parking rates set at $5 in the afternoons and $5.50 in the evenings.

Columbia City has the third highest afternoon rates in the city, next to the Seattle Waterfront at $7.50 and Denny Triangle at $7. Since paid parking was implemented in Columbia City in 2017, SDOT says parking rates can be adjusted by 50 cents three times a year, based on updated parking data.

Being self-employed, South End resident Keisha Scarlett often commutes to other neighborhoods for meetings. She quickly noticed the difference in costs from Belltown to Capitol Hill to Columbia City.

"I understand about paying parking, but how can a parking spot outside the Seattle Art Museum hold less value or cost less than outside of Island Soul in the residential neighborhood?" Scarlett said in an interview.

Nadimi says parking rates depend on demand-and-occupancy data, and rates increase when most spots are full. In March 2025, parking occupancy in Columbia City was 87% full in the afternoons. SDOT materials say "parking is 'on-target' when 70–85% of spaces on a block are occupied." This means one to two parking spaces are available per block.

"We want parking to be well used, but with a few spaces open so drivers can find a spot easily," Nadimi wrote.

According to SDOT, rates over 100% "occur when cars are parked illegally." City data of parking rates in Columbia City were well over 100% for the past two years.

"With lots of people visiting and limited on-street parking, spots fill quickly," Nadimi wrote. "The rates help ensure that at least one or two spaces stay open on each block so drivers can reliably find parking when they need it."