The busiest Link light rail garages fill by about 7:30 am on weekdays, and Sound Transit does not publish live counts. Most riders find out a lot is full after they have already driven there. Link Lot Checker fixes that with reports from other riders.

Link Lot Checker is an independent project. It is not affiliated with Sound Transit.

How it works

Riders tap Full, Filling up or Spots open when they park or leave. Stations with a permit area get a separate Full or Open report for it.
Recent reports become a status for each lot, labeled fresh, recent or stale to show how old the reports are.
Riders can subscribe to a station for a push alert when its status changes.
An optional iPhone Shortcut opens the station’s report page on arrival and asks on the way out whether spots were open.
After a few weeks of reports, each station page shows its typical fill time for that weekday.

Coverage

All 14 Link stations with park-and-ride parking, across the north end, south end and Eastside. Seven have permit areas. Those pages track the permit area separately and flag the 10 am weekday switch to general parking.

Ground rules

Free to use, with no account needed. Optional tips cover hosting.
Park first, then report. A one-time check confirms the rider is not driving, and every report page repeats the reminder.
Full stays up until someone reports open spots, or until 2 pm on weekdays. Other statuses expire after three hours. When two riders disagree within 15 minutes, the lot shows Filling.

A few months of fill-time data should make the case for real stall counters at these garages. If Sound Transit installs them, this app has done its job.