To the dismay of Fremont residents, business owners and the chamber of commerce, Seattle Department of Transportation has decided to install parking meters and presented their final plan that is said will create more turnover and parking availability in the neighborhood business district.

Presenting at a media round table Thursday morning, Mary Catherine Snyder, project manager of the Fremont On-Street Parking Assessment Plan, explained that the decision was meant to enhance livability and safety in residential areas.

After many meetings with concerned residents and businesses of Fremont who opposed the installation of parking meters, Seattle Transportation created two drafts of the parking assessment that incorporated public comment and suggestions.

In the end the Seattle Transportation thought it best to install the meters. Their final draft included parking changes such as two-hour paid parking in Fremont's retail core-about 13 block faces or 115 spaces of the areas 700 spaces, time-limit signs outside Fremont's retail core and Residential Parking Zones on streets north and east of the business district during daytimes and evenings.

Following the city's 2001 parking study that recommended a series of "parking management techniques" to address the lack of parking in downtown Fremont, both the neighborhood and the city adopted the Fremont Parking Plan with its aim to find solutions to create a better parking system.

Seattle Transportation formed a Fremont On-Street Parking assessment plan that to Fremont's disappointment included unwanted parking meters.

Finding studies of the compliance with hourly parking signs being poor and also seeing many cars parked illegally in crosswalks and in front of fire hydrants Snyder said the meters would assist in avoiding these mishaps with the monitored parking meters.

The department considers implementation of parking management changes when the use of on-street parking spaces reach 75 percent or higher, which now occurs on some blocks. There is higher user rates at lunchtime while other blocks have a 90 to 140 percent utilization rate, Rick Sheridan, transportation department spokesman, has previously told the Ballard News-Tribune.

With the final plan paid parking will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday at a rate of $1.50 an hour.

Residential Parking Zone signs will be installed on only one side of residential streets (the other side will remain unrestricted) with two-hour parking allowed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for non-permit holders and from 8 p.m. to midnight with no non-permit holder parking allowed on Monday through Saturday.

Snyder explained that the Residential Parking Zones will increase the reliability of finding parking spots for residents and decrease the amount of spaces that are taken up in the residential areas by commuters who park in the area when they catch buses along Aurora and also restrict evening visitors of various restaurants and bars in Fremont.

Not taking away all unpaid hourly signs as a whole, they will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday in some areas, specifically those near restaurants will have a time limit that will continue until 10 p.m.

A few additions will be the change of 30-minute Truck Load only signs to 30 minute Commercial Vehicle Loading Zones (requiring payment from non-truck licensed commercial vehicles) and new late night taxi zones installed near several restaurants.

Planning for the installation of about 13 to 20 pay stations is expected to start in February 2009, however in January prior to the installation, sidewalks will be marked to denote kiosk and sign locations and temporary blue signs will be installed in advance to notify area parkers of coming changes, said a letter to Fremont area parking stakeholders from Charles Bookman, Seattle Transportation Director of Traffic Management.

To see a diagram of the final plan or for more information on the Fremont On-Street Parking assessment plan visit "http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/cp_fremont.htm" www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/cp_fremont.htm.

Allison Espiritu may be reached at 783-1244 or allisone@robinsonnews.com.