In Seattle, Parking is the Best of Times & Worst of Times

These two findings are not necessarily contradictory. It’s possible that restaurants, lacking volume, have passed on higher prices to fewer customers, and gross receipts are up. It’s possible that the changes have created distinct winners and losers among restaurants. Many things are possible. But what we can be sure of is that gross receipts are up, which you wouldn’t assume was a bad thing, at first glance. Continue reading In Seattle, Parking is the Best of Times & Worst of Times

Business, News, Transportation

Chinatown’s Paid Parking Mystery Continues to Unfold

Let’s not let an unhappily-framed Times story set this debate, though, or we’ll be here all week, with precedent set for succeeding weeks. None of us has reason to suspect Chinatown restaurants of crying wolf over declining business–and the question of what’s causing the decline can be considered separately from what’s to be done about it. Blakeney himself mentions the impact from the “incredible amount of construction and loss of parking in South Downtown,” having to do with the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project. Continue reading Chinatown’s Paid Parking Mystery Continues to Unfold

Business, News, Transportation

Is Chinatown’s Parking Jake or a Joke?

Sightline has taken things further, questioning the “50 percent off” decline in business itself. After all, nothing in the Seattle Times story indicated the reporter saw anyone’s books. Celebrity chef-preneur Tom Douglas was allowed to join the protest, though he “said he couldn’t cite a specific dollar amount or percent of decline.” He was also allowed to say, “More empty spaces means fewer customers,” which is simply wrong. Continue reading Is Chinatown’s Parking Jake or a Joke?