Parks see decline in visits since fee

By Doug Merlino
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

JAMES BRANAMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Lake Sammamish State Park employee Mike McGinn is reflected in a booth window as he collects a $5 parking fee from a guest.

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Attendance at state parks dropped about 21 percent last year, the first year of a new state-mandated parking fee aimed at generating revenue for the cash-strapped parks system.

The number of visitors fell from 48,869,000 in 2002 to 38,723,000 last year, according to figures from the Washington State Parks and Recreation Department.

But the fee — $5 a day or $50 for an annual pass — seems to have had a widely different effect.

Some parks had declines in attendance while a few have seen slight increases since the fee was introduced Jan. 1, 2003.

At Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah — the second most-visited park in the system — attendance fell nearly 13 percent, from 1.5 million in 2002 to 1.3 million in 2003. At Saltwater State Park in Des Moines, attendance fell 18 percent.

At Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island, however — the state's most popular park — attendance increased by about 5 percent.

The nature of some parks as destinations and the availability of other parking nearby seemed to affect the numbers, said Virginia Painter, a spokeswoman for the state parks commission.

State Park attendance, 2002 and 2003 Overall attendance 2002 — 48,869,000 2003 — 38,723,000 Attendance at individual parks, 2002 and 2003 Battleground Lake State Park (near Vancouver) 2002 — 363,891 2003 — 188,861 Bridle Trails State Park (Kirkland) 2002 — 140,540 2003 — 128,300 Cape Disappointment State Park (near Ilwaco) 2002 — 1,177,933 2003 — 1,046,811 Deception Pass State Park (Whidbey Island) 2002 — 2,604,827 2003 — 2,734,625 Fort Worden State Park (Port Townsend) 2002 — 1,161,136 2003 — 1,166,088 Lake Sammamish State Park (Issaquah) 2002 — 1,565,000 2003 — 1,365,000 Maryhill State Park (Columbia River, near Goldendale) 2002 — 293,286 2003 — 155,162 Saltwater State Park (Des Moines) 2002 — 457,159 2003 — 375,075 Steamboat Rock State Park (near Electric City, Eastern Washington) 2002 — 534,569 2003 — 330,107

Other factors, such as weather and travel trends, make it difficult to compare year-to-year numbers, she said.

The most recent numbers available — for June 2004 — show the general trends continuing, but with fluctuations at different parks.

Alice Prince, of the Bridle Trails Park Foundation, said she has seen people parking on streets surrounding the Kirkland park to avoid paying. Attendance at Bridle Trails State Park dropped about 9 percent last year.

Some parks have seen more precipitous declines, including Battleground Lake State Park near Vancouver and Maryhill State Park on the Columbia River. Both saw visitor numbers drop by almost half in 2003.

Still, the declines in visits are less than anticipated, parks officials said.

"When we first started the fees, we did a lot of research. We were told by other state park systems that had begun fees to expect a 30 percent to 40 percent — in some cases even higher — drop in attendance," said Painter.

At the same time, the fee — expected to generate around $10 million in its first two years — has brought in less revenue than planned. In its first year, revenue was about $600,000 behind the target.

Some 37 percent of the two-year, $105 million parks operations budget is expected to be generated from fee revenue, up from 25 percent a decade ago. That revenue includes all fees collected by state parks, including those for camping and use of boat launch areas. The money is needed for the park system's $40 million maintenance backlog, Painter said.

Officials expect 40 percent of the parking fee to go toward the administrative costs of collecting the fee, such as extra staff and collection points.

At Lake Sammamish State Park, area manager Rich Benson said he had hired three part-time staff members to collect and tally money.

Lake Sammamish took in $321,000 in parking fees between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, according to state-parks figures. Money from the parking fees is returned to the parks on a basis roughly proportionate to what they collect.

Benson said the park has received about $180,000 so far, which is being used for upgrades and repairs to bathrooms, roof replacement, new signs and other projects.

On a recent sunny Sunday, cars were lined up at the ranger's booth to pay the fee.

Inside the park, Achaessa Garibay of Brier was enjoying a picnic with her husband and friends. She said they use the park much less than they did before the fee was introduced, when they often came to have dinner by the lake.

"Five bucks a night a few times a week is expensive," she said.

In an informal survey completed by the state parks department in August, 76 percent of 384 people who reported using Lake Sammamish State Park less in 2003 than previous years said the parking fee heavily influenced their decision to stay away.

Painter cautioned that attendance numbers are based on the park department's rough calculations and are meant to be used mainly as guidance for the system.

Park officials expect attendance levels to come back to earlier levels by the fourth year after the introduction of the fee, when people get used to the idea of paying to use the parks, Painter said.

By then, the $5 fee will be a thing of the past; the charge is scheduled to go to $7 in 2006.

Doug Merlino: 206-464-2243 or dmerlino@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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