By Dr. Julie Pham, Chair of the MLK Business Association (RVP advertiser) and managing editor of Northwest Vietnamese News:
As the chair of the MLK Business Association, I led a group of the employees from the City of Seattle and from relevant non-profits in a visit to a Vietnamese-owned small business located near the Othello Station. It was first part of a morning-long tour of three businesses organized by Impact Capital this past Tuesday. The group wanted to hear directly from a local business owner how her business has been faring since Light Rail began running in July.
I had several discussions with Lan Do, the owner of Venus Chinese Seafood Restaurant, about her business. I translated some of her thoughts from English to Vietnamese in an interview in front of the tour group, who listened as they dined on dim sum samplers at Venus. In her own words, she described:
I had been optimistic last spring about the opening of Light Rail. I thought it would bring more businesses. I was doing regular business last spring before it opened. Since it opened, my business has gone down by 30 percent.
The problem has to do with parking. The landlord started to impose 2 hr parking in the parking lot at King Plaza because he feared Light Rail commuters parking in the lot all day long. But customers seldom park all day long. And there are no other parking spots for purchase available. It’s wrong for the City to think just because you build a Light Rail, it will decrease the need for parking.
People tell me food at my restaurant is good. I used to have customers come from Kent, from Renton, from the north end. They would tell their friends to come. Not just Vietnamese and Chinese, but Americans too. But they don’t like the fact that they might get ticketed. There’s a lot of parking at the nearby Safeway, but that is just for Safeway customers. When customers of mine don’t know and they park there and get ticketed, I pay the $78 fine because I want to make my customers happy. If I only make a few hundred dollars a day because business is so slow, the one or two tickets eats away all my profits. I’d be willing to buy some spots over there to reserve for my customers, if I could.
I’ve signed a petition with other tenants in this building to complain about the parking policies. The landlord unofficially relaxed the rules so that people can park up to four hours. But the parking enforcement people…. sometimes, they fine you before your time is up. I see businesses moving out. My customers who get ticketed often don’t come back out of fear. Light Rail hasn’t brought me new customers. I’m stressed over this parking situation and I’m worried about my business’ future here.
There are days that at noon, I still don’t have any customers. I have to pay my staff. How am I supposed to create jobs when I can’t make money?
I joined the MLKBA because I need to have an organization that represents my concerns.
Vensus Chinese Seafood Restaurant is located at 7101 Martin Luther King Jr. Way So., Seattle. 206-453-3498. Photos: Lan Do and the tour group eating at Venus/Northwest Vietnamese News. This article also appeared in Vietnamese in Northwest Vietnamese News on April 23, 2010.
Who to know, where to eat & what to do in one of America’s most diverse zip codes!
{ 17 comments }
I was told by multiple people working for the city/county/Light Rail, at multiple venues, that there was a concentrated effort to reduce parking spaces for developers in South Seattle to drive people onto public transportation & away from cars.
In conversations with others in the community, it seems their is a clear need for Park and Rides as well as a better thought out process for parking in the area.
SSSL
By the way, does anyone know what the city is doing with the building Firestone vacated? I’m sure it won’t be green space or a park and ride. Perhaps they want to beautify the area with another bus barn?
I talked to the Firestone manager and he said they had to move because they didn’t have enough parking for customers.
Another unique comment i’ve heard several times is the city believes SE residents don’t have cars or can’t afford them anymore.
SSSL
I heard a rumor that the Firestone site would become a dance studio.
Why don’t they tear down the Firestone and expand the bus yard over to there so that people don’t have to cross the street to make a transfer?
Instead of time limits, could it be suggested to the landlord to charge people in some simple way for the time they park in the lot? Could the businesses be in charge of parking? If the parking rate was set high enough for some turn over to happen, yet enforced by the businesses in this area then customers would not be scared off by the possibility of getting a ticket.
we quit going to the cleaners just north of that intersection because parking was so nightmarish. When you go to the cleaners, you want to drive up, drop off your stuff and leave.. what you don’t want to do is get into a lot where people are competing, backing up, and waiting for spaces…
I think I’m a bit confused by this. Is there parking that people use other than the lot right in front of the restaurant?
If so, I’m not sure what the city has to do with this? Is the removing of street parking reducing the available parking?
Otherwise, it seems like a good arrangement could be made with the landlord to set 4-hour parking limits, charge w/ validation at the businesses, etc…. Certainly the landlord doesn’t want tenants leaving, so it would be in their interest to make accommodation for the businesses. And find a parking monitor that will actually be on top of it (checking validations, hours parked, etc…).
But I have seen other comments and policies that validate SSSL’s sentiments. Many city leaders think that they can just wish people away from cars.
Did my post get deleted?
no. which one?
Firestone is moving and the parcel is being sold via Sound Transit. But Sound Transit put so many restrictions on the RFP, that only 2 entities applied. NO PARKING ALLOWED is one of the restrictions. One is ‘Artscape’, a developer of housing for artists. It will have zero parking and only bike parking.
The other one, a developer who was partnering w/ Swedish Hospital and proposing parking underground, responded to the RFP.
Sound Transit awarded it to Artscape, but all that means is that Artscape has permission to start design work and permitting. But because of the crazy restrictions by Sound Transit, nothing is guaranteed, so lenders don’t really want to give Artscape the money because they have no way to collateralize any loan (they don’t own the parcel yet, and have nothing to provide).
I like the idea of Artscape, but the second group partnering with Swedish Hospital, would have brought jobs to Rainer Valley, and they certainly have the money to fund their own design.
Even w/ the opportunities handed to us, Sound Transit will likely blow that shit up just out of pure mediocrity and incompetence.
Bummer that what the valley needs most – good paying, stable jobs with a future – is what Sound Transit decided not to go with. Uughhh…. Seems like they definitely want to keep folks in the valley under their thumb.
Seems like the TOD crowd just flipped us another one.
Oh, so much for social justice and equity.
It’s a shame that Sound transit could not get Swedish option since having more health options can contribute to quality of life. Living right next to the noisy tracks of a light rail station seems weird. Well,.. I saw this survey that some council members are asking for feedback on handling graffiti before May 10th:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22ALF5HAAS8
Sound Transit doesn’t give a flying rats ass about anything but getting your $4.00 to $5.00 a day, hard to believe isn’t it.
This is getting off topic but does anyone know what the deal is with all the fenced off vacant lots along the light rail corridor? I imagine they were bought up when the line was being constructed but I can’t for the life of me figure out why they are just fenced off and not put to good use for something (parking, pea-patch, parks, etc)
@ Briktru – thanks for the insight. Once again my eyes have been opened to the interworkings of the city/county & the deliberate and disparate treatment of SE Seattle residents. You’d think that since the Tukwila Park and Ride is full every day there might be a need for more along the rail system. I’d be happy with just one, well designed Park and Ride between Henderson & Mount Baker.
Further, and as I mentioned before, there’s no point in reducing the parking requirements for density projects along light rail corridors. People still have a need for cars even if they do use light rail.
The city didn’t listen to SE Seattle residents but maybe they’ll listen to the business owners who generate tax dollars since the city needs every penny with this economy…..for the sake of the community, I hope the businesses can make it. I’ve already let two businesses know my visits are less frequent because I can’t find parking.
SSSL
The answer is to start attending ST Board meetings! We did not develop as a transit oriented community and there is too much lack of parking for the businesses to succeed, look at the businesses that have access to parking and how they are doing. It is a real shame. Sound transit would rather sit on all their surplus property and let the businesses fail.
MQ
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