State is weighing parking rules for Deschutes Parkway following influx of RVs
State officials will consider restricting overnight parking along Deschutes Parkway in Olympia because of an influx of people camping in recreational vehicles and other vehicles in recent months.
Currently there are no enforceable parking restrictions on Deschutes Parkway, which is part of the Capitol Campus. On Tuesday, about a dozen RVs were parked south of Marathon Park.
“It’s not really something that’s happened before, where we had overnight or extended parking in that area. This is something that’s fairly new,” said Linda Kent, a spokeswoman for the Department of Enterprise Services, which manages the Capitol Campus.
The department last week initiated a formal rule-making process for parking restrictions and is seeking feedback through an online survey.
It comes amid rising tensions along the parkway. On Saturday, the owner of a bike tour company that operates in the area organized a demonstration against the RVs. At one point he was surrounded by counter demonstrators with signs that read “No 2 Homls HATE” and “Legalize survival.”
Kent said talk of parking restrictions is not related to the death of a homeless man in the area earlier this month. The man’s body was found off Deschutes Parkway near Capitol Lake and it is being investigated by the State Patrol as a homicide.
But officials have heard concerns over the vehicles dumping sewage and vehicle doors opening into the bike lane. Last month, a woman was injured after a car crashed into her parked van.
Joseph Kirschenmann has been living in one of the RVs for about a month. He said some passing drivers honk their horns to harass people in the RVs, but it is the only place he knows of where he can park overnight.
“There’s no other place, not that I know of. I’m trying to save enough money (to go to) an RV park,” he said.
Sage Bingley, who has parked his RV on Deschutes a few nights, said instead of just moving people, government should designate empty land for extended parking.
“It’s getting more difficult. Bottom line is, homelessness is happening, it’s happening more and more,” he said.
Enterprise Services plans to release a draft of the rules and seek more feedback before filing a formal rule proposal. The process is expected to involve public workshops and at least one public hearing.
One issue that may come up is a court case out of Seattle on the legality of towing vehicles that people live in.
In that case, the city of Seattle towed the truck the plaintiff was living in and charged him $557 in impound fees, according to The Seattle Times. A judge ruled that if the vehicle is someone’s home, charging high fees and attaching a lien to get it back violates the U.S. Constitution and Washington’s homestead act, which prevents homes from being easily seized.
Seattle is appealing that decision.
Officials at the city of Olympia are watching that case as they consider how to handle illegally parked RVs on city streets, though tickets are being issued.
Meanwhile, Lacey has backed off a plan to allow people living in RVs to park on an unfinished road in Hawks Prairie after opposition from residents. Instead, RVs can park up to 12 hours at Lacey City Hall if they get a permit, though as of last week no permits had been issued.
Enterprise Services’ survey is at surveymonkey.com/r/DeschutesPkwy.
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
