The Seattle City Council will vote next Monday on a proposed set of revisions to city parking standards.

Among the proposed changes are a reduction in parking-stall quotas for buildings in many of the city's business districts and an elimination of parking requirements in the U-District and other crowded neighborhoods.

The changes are designed to decrease the number of available parking spaces citywide, thus encouraging commuters to use public transit rather than their own vehicles.

Councilman Peter Steinbrueck told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that "we're an auto-dominated society, but we can't be that way forever."

That may be true, but the fact is, many Seattleites depend on parking daily for work, school and errands. Public transit is surely a more cost-effective and environmentally sound means, but the city has not yet offered transit solutions that serve everybody. In fact, some of its attempts to do so have failed miserably. Have we forgotten the monorail so soon?

And even as the Council propounds public transit, the proposal would reduce available parking near transit centers, including light rail stations in southeast Seattle. Now that makes sense.

Seattle continues to grow, both in infrastructure and in population; this is an inevitability. Taller buildings bring more people, and, like it or not, many of these people bring cars.

If the city desires to reduce street parking, it must offer parking alternatives like garages. Relegating commuters to transit alternatives that don't exist is anything but helpful.

The proposal is currently expected to pass with little opposition. We encourage you to contact the Council at www.seattle.gov/council to voice your opinion.