REI lowers the boom on free parking

REI today starts charging for parking beyond one hour at its Seattle flagship store, proving once again that as a city grows, fewer things in life are free.

REI's 366-space underground lot had been unregulated ever since the store at 222 Yale Ave. N. opened 10 years ago. For most of those years, the outdoor-gear co-op was pretty much the neighborhood's only bait to draw shoppers. But as South Lake Union's skyline rapidly changed, bringing in more and more workers, visitors and residents, REI has had to rethink its charitable ways.

The new policy targets those in the neighborhood who have abused that generosity, stashing their cars in the lot for free, hour after hour, day after day. The REI lot proved a cheap substitute to parking at a pay lot and a convenient alternative to scouting for free parking along the street, where spaces increasingly are at a premium.

"Our garage is often full even on days of average business," Bobby Mullins, the store's business-operations manager, informed inquiring customers via letter. "We had to choose either free parking for everyone in the neighborhood or parking controls.

"Our only option until now has been to tow cars parked here by non-customers. These parkers always claim they were going to shop at our store as soon as they a) got off work b) finished getting a coffee c) completed their meeting at a local business, etc."

Excuses, excuses. REI had heard enough.

While the first hour of parking is free, the fee is $2 for up to three hours, and $5 for three to five hours. More than five hours costs $12, roughly twice as much as all-day parking in nearby lots.

"The fee structure is designed to deter people from using the lot who are not customers," said Randy Hurlow, REI spokesman.

Republic Parking is now managing the lot with an attendant. Mullins said in a letter that REI considered free-parking validation for shoppers but thought better of it.

"Local employees and people going downtown need only buy a $1.00 item and leave their car all day," Mullins explained. "Likewise for setting a minimum dollar amount required, we would have the issue of 'I was going to buy that jacket for $300, but you did not have my size/color/stock, now you want ME to pay?' "

Well, no, unless you linger for longer than an hour. Welcome to the Big(ger) City.

Stuart Eskenazi: 206-464-2293 or seskenazi@seattletimes.com