Washington State Repeals $5 Parks Fee

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Hoping to lure disgruntled visitors back to the state’s parks, the Washington House of Representatives has voted to repeal a highly unpopular $5 parking fee blamed for driving away millions of people.

Democratic House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler said the 3-year-old fee was a failed experiment after nearly a century of free access in Washington. During the first two years, the money was used to whittle away a $350-million maintenance backlog. In the current budget, it helps finance basic operations at 120 parks.

But it has proved unpopular, even with outdoorsy Northwesterners. Attendance has dropped by more than 7 million since it was introduced.

“Enough is enough. We have closed people out of our parks too long,” Kessler said. “I don’t really care what other states do. I just know that our state needs to have free access to state parks.”

Kessler pledged to work this year to find a new source of money to replace the fees, which brought in some $11.5 million through December.

The repeal passed the House 94 to 2 on Monday, with some Republicans suggesting the state general fund as a permanent replacement.