According to King County Metro, the 833 spaces at the South Kirkland Park and Ride are usually filled 90 percent or above at 9 a.m. on weekdays.
GarageHop, a Seattle-based company, which provides parkers with monthly parking spaces, has just partnered with Kirkland Crossing, a Pinnacle-managed building, to provide additional parking spaces to South Kirkland commuters.
Thanks to the partnership with Pinnacle, GarageHop is offering 40 spaces across the street from the South Kirkland Park and Ride.
Being able to provide additional parking spaces near Park and Rides whose lots are often full, is among the top priorities for the company founders Jay Beavers and Helene Costa.
“Increasing road congestion is a huge issue for people in the region. Having commuters discouraged to ride the bus because of a lack of parking spaces should not be when we have parking supply available,” said Costa, bringing up the finding of a 2015 King County study which found that up to 30 percent of parking spaces in residential buildings are sitting vacant.
”We’re helping commuters to experience Park and Ride the way it was conceived: a stress-free morning start experience with easy parking and easy riding,” added Beavers in a press release.
Now commuters at the South Kirkland hub can sign up for a reserved monthly parking space in the garage of Kirkland Crossing. There is no time commitment to the contract. Parkers sign up online and access the garage using their smartphone to park in their own designated parking space.
GarageHop is hoping to strike more partnerships to unlock additional parking spaces near by more Park and Rides around the region.