Part of the problem is a lack of decent and consistent bus service in the neighborhoods near the light rail that can get people to and from the station. I know people that live in beacon hill who hitch rides to the light rail and have to get car lifts home from the airport because they live about 10-15 blocks from the light rail station. Either we proceed w/ the madness of spending for P & R or ST and or metro spend $$$$ on bus service to the light rail stations.

if we diversified our infrastructure in the manner Mudede suggests, we'd be building a huge Segway parking structure next to the car garage, and a full-service dogsled station next to the Segway building, and unicycle storage lockers, and banks of solowheel chargers.

And 90% of them would be not only unused now, they would continue to be unused forever.

The idea of diversification just does not apply to infrastructure. We build what we know we need now, what we know we will need for the next 25 years. There is no such thing as speculation in infrastructure, the concept makes no sense at all.

$100,000 per spot/ 50 yrs comes out to about $5.50 per spot per day. Even giving a less than full usage it would be maybe $8.00 to $10.00 per day. It's still crazy, but a little less crazy if you break it down.
And yes Mr Smartypants, there's a lot of hidden costs in operating a car and a parking garage, but I don't think we're going to be able to create a viable train link from Kent without one at this point.

Maybe look at what ST has baked into that cost projection. Bet you it's inflated.

@1-5 Paying $100k+ for a parking spot at light rail is completely indefensible. Good day.

Parking will never be useless. It only goes away when a developer uses it for something else.

What's a car, grandpa?

Replace the parking lot with bike storage in 1/10th the space.

It's 2017, not 1967.

I loved learning about The Ergodic Axiom, and despite 'hearing you' about uncertainties, diversification and the rest, I remain quite annoyed at Parking Day Seattle.

@7: Indeed. A Mudede 'alternative fact' I suppose.

Shared self-driving electric vehicles will mean 80% of the cars/trucks owned by city residents will be gone before ST3 is built out. Sound Transit is building a dinosaur, at a brutal tax cost to the families here that can least afford it.