When the Sounder station was built in downtown Puyallup eight years ago, no one expected it to be the busiest station outside of Seattle.
But today more than 25 percent of Sounder’s south line ridership, which includes the six stops south of Seattle, start or end at the Puyallup station. That comes to about 2,000 commuters making Puyallup their destination each day, leaving our community in a quandary about what to do with all of the cars.
Even with the Sounder’s parking lot, which has 363 spaces, the 153 spaces in the two lots Sound Transit leases from the city and 100 people using the South Hill park and ride and catching the bus down to the station, there just isn’t room for all of the commuters in Puyallup. Merchants say the lack of adequate parking forces too many commuters to park on city streets, leaving business owners and employees without a place to park. The city tried to help by setting time limits to some parking locations but that has simply caused merchants to move their cars every few hours. And the greatest fear for merchants is that the parking situation is driving shoppers away.
There are no easy solutions to the problem. While some have suggested building a garage in downtown, others resist the idea, believing it would ruin Puyallup’s small town appeal. Parking meters have been mentioned, as has a trolley through downtown. Still others are in support of constructing an additional station between Puyallup and Sumner to reduce the crunch felt by both cities. There are people who believe there isn’t a parking problem for shoppers, only for merchants. And some have even said that there is no problem, it’s all in the way you look at it, adding that a parking problem in Puyallup should be seen as a sign of success.
The truth is this: Later this year, Sounder will be making more stops in Puyallup each day, bringing more commuters and more cars to the downtown core. Resolving the situation requires cooperation between Puyallup city officials, Sound Transit and local merchants.
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Readers:
What do you think is the solution to Puyallup’s parking problem? Send your ideas to editor@puyallupherald.com. We’ll publish a selection of the responses. Be sure to include your name and the community where you live.
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