Nonresidents will pay fee to park at popular Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo

MUKILTEO — Waterfront picnics, volleyball games and strolls along the beach at Lighthouse Park soon will come with a parking fee for nonresidents.

The City Council this week approved a proposal to install parking machines in the waterfront district — including Lighthouse Park, Front Street, Park Avenue and First Street — an area which draws an estimated 750,000 visitors a year.

Twenty permit-dispensing machines are expected to be ready for use June 1, Mayor Jennifer Gregerson said.

After the program launches, Lighthouse Park will have paid parking between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. from Oct. 1 to April 30 and between 4 a.m. and 10 p.m. from May 1 to Sept. 30. Parking will cost $2 per hour from May 1 to Sept. 30 and $1 per hour from Oct. 1 to April 30.

Mukilteo residents can get a free parking pass, good for one year.

“Really, I think it’s good for everybody,” City Council President Bob Champion said. “I believe people understand that to enjoy something like that, you do have to pay a small fee. I think our fees will be reasonable.”

The City Council gave tentative approval to the proposed parking program in November and final approval Monday. City officials say the program will limit parking to four hours and should help control what can be conga lines of cars waiting for spots at popular Lighthouse Park.

It’s a big change for a waterfront area where parking has been free for decades. The city plans to post signs announcing the switch to paid parking, Gregerson said. “We’ll do some outreach to make sure people are informed and ready for the transition,” she said.

The decision to install parking machines follows years of concerns over the lack of parking in the waterfront area. Some residents complained that the parking problems were so bad they couldn’t get to the park, which their taxes help support. The situation has been so acute that the city has paid to have someone stand at the park entrance on busy summer days to cut off access when there was no parking left.

The goal is to ensure that everybody who wants to enjoy the waterfront area and Lighthouse Park is “able to get down there easily and spend time,” Gregerson said. “Encouraging people to come and go and open up (parking) space for visits is important.”

It also gives the city a source of revenue to pay for improvements at the park and on the waterfront, Gregerson said.

The council plans to review the program in November, Champion said. “This is a pilot program. We’ll learn as we go along.”

The program is expected to initially cost the city $175,090 to purchase and install the parking permit machines. Two park rangers also will be hired to help with enforcing parking and other park rules. The combined estimated salary and benefits for the two rangers is $94,432.

The program is expected to net the city a minimum of $42,099 in the first year and between $215,528 and $441,056 per year by the fifth year, according to city documents.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.