As part of an ongoing effort to improve customer access to parking in Downtown Yakima, parking time limits will be changed in several City-operated parking lots as of October 1st. The Yakima City Council approved the parking time limit changes after a study was conducted last fall by a nationally-recognized consulting firm.
Five City-operated lots will now provide free, all-day parking. Employees of downtown businesses will be encouraged to park in the free, all-day lots so spaces in lots closer to the downtown core can be available for customers. The time limits in three other City-operated lots are changing from four hours to two hours to encourage more frequent turnover of spaces.
The free, all-day lots are located on 1st Street next to the Barrel House Restaurant, on 2nd Street next to Sig’s Office Machines, on the southeast corner of 3rd Street and Walnut Street, on the southeast corner of Naches Avenue and Chestnut Avenue, and on the northeast corner of S Sgt Pendleton Way and 4th Street.
Lots that will offer free, two-hour parking are located on the southeast corner of S Sgt Pendleton Way and 1st Street, the southeast corner of S Sgt Pendleton Way and 2nd Street, and north of Chestnut Avenue between 2nd Street and 3rd Street.
A map showing the new parking lot time limits and the locations of the City-operated lots can be found on the City’s website at https://www.yakimawa.gov/apps/parking/. A copy of the parking study that was completed in fall 2014 can also be downloaded from that same webpage.
The parking study, which was conducted by Carl Walker and Associates, a structural engineering and parking consulting firm, also recommended lighting upgrades be made in some City-operated lots and the conversion of multiple parallel parking spaces in Downtown Yakima to angled spaces to create additional parking. The lighting upgrades and the conversion of parallel spaces to angled spaces have already been completed.