The Puyallup Main Street Association and the local Chamber of Commerce want the city to turn part of a lot it leases to Sound Transit into public parking again.

That would amount to about 45 parking spots. The city leases 153 spots to Sound Transit in two lots within a few blocks of the Puyallup station, amounting to about 30 percent of the parking Sound Transit owns and leases downtown.

But commuters who use the lot at 155 Second St. S.E. warn that Sounder riders need all the parking the city provides and more. More than 850 people board the trains to Seattle and Tacoma every morning, according to Sound Transit statistics.

“That lot is totally filled by a quarter after 6 a.m.,” said Mitchell Hinds, a South Hill resident who commutes every day using the Puyallup station. “If they take away this parking lot, there’s going to be a war.”

The City Council voted Monday to delay a decision on whether to extend Sound Transit’s lease on the lot. The issue will come up for a vote again next month.

In the meantime, the council directed city staff to prepare more information on alternative parking solutions downtown.

Sound Transit officials said they foresee building a parking garage in Puyallup, even though in November voters shot down Proposition 1, which would have approved new commuter garages in Puyallup and Auburn.

A majority of City Council members said Monday that they’d support a new garage in town.

“To have just parking lots that are single-level all over downtown is not good for the environment or our goals,” said Councilwoman Kathy Turner.

Dave Eatwell, executive director of the Puyallup Main Street Association, said building parking lots and garages for commuters takes away parking from downtown merchants while providing them with little economic benefit.

“Surface area is a precious commodity in the downtown business district,” Eatwell said. “When a significant part of that surface area is being used for storing vehicles, that is anti-commercial.”

Puyallup Councilmen John Knutsen and Rick Hansen said they support giving half of the lot on Second Street back to the downtown business community. Both said they’re not sure they support building a new garage.

Hansen said he would like to see more people using mass transit to reach the Puyallup station instead of driving there and parking downtown. Absent better shuttle systems, he said, the need for more commuter parking downtown will only increase.

“The community doesn’t want four or five garages in downtown Puyallup, where they are just creating traffic and not dong anything to enhance our quality of life,” Hansen said. “There has to be a way that we can build on the service to the region without costing us tax money and causing greater traffic issues.”

Parking for Sound Transit users has been also been an issue in Sumner and Auburn.

A fall 2007 survey by King County Metro found that almost all of the 500 spots at the Auburn station were being used, leaving little room for growth as Sound Transit pushes more people to use mass transportation.

Melissa Santos: 253-552-7058