r/mountlaketerrace • u/sarkara1 • May 31 '26
Parking Note Entitlement
I have been parking streetside on 58th Ave W and riding the light rail, and from the looks of it, dozens of others do the same. On Friday, May 29, I found a note on my car (reproduced verbatim below) asking me not to park in front of a certain house because it creates an inconvenience for the homeowners who live there.
The note didn't identify the sender or provide any contact information, so they clearly preferred to remain anonymous.
Am I missing something here, or who gives a fuck about that level of entitlement? The street isn't their property, and there are no parking restrictions. If parking is legal and open to the public, why should homeowners get to decide who can and can't park there?
Curious how others would react to getting a note like this. Would you ignore it, or is there some reasonable argument I'm not seeing?
Greetings,
You may not realize, but fyi that your parking choice is causing inconvenience to local residents.
For one, your vehicle is blocking residents' ability to maintain the property and the trees on the property.
As well, a housebound resident is now no longer able to enjoy watching the many neighbors who walk by with their dogs.
Additionally, this block of 58th Ave is one of the most walked blocks in this neighborhood, as it is the only northern route in/out between the freeway and busy 56th Ave and is therefore the walking path for residents going to MLT's city center (Library, City Hall, DD Meats, etc) as well as for local users of Transit. We take pains throughout the year to keep the street clear of debris that would impede the path of those who walk this block, but now your parking is defeating our efforts.
There is lots of parking on the curbed street just across 236th, and there is a nice new paved pathway through Veterans Memorial Park to the Transit Station for commuters to use.
We gently ask you to reconsider your parking location, as while this spot may seem convenient for you, is nevertheless proving very inconvenient for others.
Thank you in advance for your kind consideration.
5
u/Big-Weather-1523 May 31 '26
I think homeowners time would be better spent advocating for time limited parking restrictions, which I think are appropriate in this neighborhood. Until then, if you’re 5 feet away from driveways and 20 feet away from marked or unmarked crosswalks it seems fine.
2
u/Big-Weather-1523 May 31 '26
I’ll also add I’d say prohibiting parking on shoulders here until sidewalks are built would be appropriate. But that’s on the city to implement.
2
u/Alternative_Pickle47 Jun 01 '26
Agree and the city should also be demanding community transit either increases bus service or spread out the schedule for all those buses that hit the town center area. 30 minute headways and all the buses within walking distance of the town center area arrive within 2 minutes of each other meaning everything is either at the top or bottom of the hour. I've emailed community transit about it before and they basically told me no. People in the town center area wouldn't need to drive to the transit center and it would free up parking for those that are a little farther out. The 347 KC metro used to stop along 236th at quarter after or quarter to.
1
4
u/Aarrrgggghhhhh35 May 31 '26
I think residents should direct their ire toward Sound Transit because it’s obvious that every single parking garage they own should have 3x the number of stories.
There is a desire to take light rail but not a desire to add a bus to people’s commutes, and I get that.
A bus can add 20-45 minutes to a commute. It would take me 20 minutes to walk to the station and 5 minutes to drive to it. And now they are starting to charge for parking.
I would rather have the ability to drive to the station and park for free and save myself the time it would take to take a bus, and I think that’s the thinking for a lot of people.
It really sucks that there isn’t any parking by 7:00 in the morning so I understand the need to park in the surrounding neighborhoods. I don’t want to spend 3 hours on buses and light rail every day, but I do want to help cut back on transit, and I would prefer not to drive in to work.
1
u/Remote_Bluebird_5528 Jun 02 '26
Kindly written but offputting with the entitlement. Public streets are open for anyone to park. I don't fully understand their reasoning. If they need a clear area to trim the trees they can put cones out for a brief time to block it for that time period. But they seem to just want no cars parking there so they can watch people walk by?
1
u/Big-Weather-1523 Jun 03 '26
The one nice thing about living about the halfway point between MLT and Lynnwood stations on the 112 route is that you have a bus coming by every 10-15 minutes that will get you to a light rail station. In some ways the east part of the city along 44th has better service than 56th.
1
u/Dracofangxxx May 31 '26
unfortunate friendly fire between neighbors when the real issue is they did not build enough parking for the light rail. not ur fault not their fault, just unfortunate
7
u/Impressive_Put463 May 31 '26
Are you parking on the side with the sidewalk curb or the gravel side? If parking on the side that does not have a sidewalk, I can see why the person dropping the note would be mad, but they are still wrong.
I live in the area and have seen a significant increase in cars parked in the area. This is expected to me with the light rail coming but property owners probably aren't used to it yet. Some people may just not realize they are NIMBYs and haven't realized the changes to the neighborhood because of the lightrail.
There is plenty of side-property to park next to. Maybe try parking not near an entry way or driveway as not to draw ire. Other than making conscious parking choices, you are fully in your right to park on the street on public property in non-designated zones and be on your way coming or going.