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Sorting Out Georgia Avenue Parking

May 7, 2013
Before the Georgia Avenue Streetscape project, the area just south of Otis Place was a dedicated bus stop.

Before the Georgia Avenue Streetscape project, the area just south of Otis Place was a dedicated bus stop (oval). Today the bus stop is to the north (diamond).

As I was reviewing area parking back in February to determine where Zipcar could expand in the community, I noticed that there were some areas on Georgia Avenue that could support metered parking that had signage indicating that no parking was allowed. In some cases, signage was completely missing. One of those locations was on the southeast corner of Georgia and Otis Place, NW.

In looking into the situation deeper, I discovered that the southeast corner of Georgia and Otis has originally been a Metro bus stop. However, the recent streetscape project moved that bus stop to the northeast corner of the intersection when they rebuilt the crosswalks to the south. So, at the beginning of March I contacted DDOT to evaluate this location — along with a few others — to remove the bus stop restrictions at the former bus stop location and return the parking space to active usage.

Yesterday, I finally received confirmation from DDOT that at least one more space on the east side of Georgia Avenue (south of Otis) is appropriate. Furthermore, DDOT tells me that there are also 3-4 block faces of unmetered parking around this location that need to be reviewed and shop orders created.

While I have DDOT’s attention, does anyone know of any other Georgia Avenue parking issues that DDOT should investigate?

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Zipcar Looking to Expand in Park View

February 15, 2013

ZipcarOne item that came up at this month’s ANC 1A meeting was a presentation by Scott Hall, General Manager of Zipcar in Washington, who spoke about Zipcar’s interest in expanding  service in the Park View area. Zipcar’s interest in the area is based on the increase in demand from customers. In looking at the Zipcar map of the area (below), I would have to agree that Park View is under-served. Providing more transportation options, especially car sharing, would be a huge asset.

Zipcar would like to locate two cars within a few blocks to the south of the Georgia Ave.-Petworth Metro station on the street. Ideally, these would be spaces that are currently metered so that no RPP parking is impacted. When asked if he had any locations in mind, Mr. Hall initially stated that they were looking in the area of Quebec Place and Georgia, but definitely would consider any location based on community feedback and needs. I made it clear that the intersection of Quebec and Georgia would not be a location supported by the community, but that other nearby locations could work.

So, here is your opportunity. Based on your experience and knowledge of streets, where would Zipcar work best? Also, are two cars enough for Park View residents? Should cars also be located to the south of the community? The more you share the better served we’ll be by Zipcar.

Map showing location of Zipcars currently in the area.

Map showing location of Zipcars currently in the area.

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Categories: parking, Streets and Trees
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Residental Parking — Some Ins and Outs

December 10, 2012
New enhanced parking sign limiting parking to area residents only

New enhanced parking sign limiting parking to area residents only

Ever since the implementation of the enhanced residential parking program in Ward 1, I’ve been fielding questions about streets that do not have parking restrictions and concerns that the enforcement times do not extend later in the evenings or to weekends. The simple answer to these questions is that the new enhanced program merely reserves one side of qualifying streets for Ward 1 residents. All other parking rules remain the same — including the options available to residents to both implement and extend the residential parking program to their block.

As the DDOT Web site states, the “Residential Permit Parking (RPP) program was established in the 1970’s to protect neighborhoods and ensure residents could find parking on their blocks. The RPP program limits on-street parking to participating residents living on designated blocks, and parking is limited to two hours during the hours of operation for those vehicles without the appropriate zone RPP sticker.” DDOT has a brochure that answers frequently asked questions located here.

For a block to be included in the RPP program, the residents of that block must petition to be included in the program. DDOT will not impose parking restrictions on any block that does not request it via a petition to be included in the program. 51% of the qualifying households must sign the petition. Every block that is eligible for the program must meet the minimum criteria of seventy percent (70%) of all legal parking spaces occupied during business hours, of which at least ten percent (10%) must be occupied by vehicles with out-of-state tags. Regular hours of enforcement are from 7:00 am to 8:30 pm Monday through Friday.

For a block to extend parking enforcement to evening and weekends, again it is up to the residents on each block to decided if this is right for them. Residents can also decide how late the enforcement should be and if the enforcement should extend to Saturdays. If 51% of the residents on a block want to extend parking enforcement beyond 8:30 pm on weekdays, once again they must fill out a petition to extend parking enforcement.

So, while the recently implemented enhanced parking gives an advantage to Ward 1 residents parking in the area, it will not automatically extend hours of enforcement of implement enforcement where it did not previously exist. Area residents retain control over those parking options.

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So Just When Will Enhanced Ward 1 Residential Parking Kick In?

November 8, 2012

Where applicable, parking signs with dual zoning with be replaced with resident only dual zoning when the new Enhanced RPP signs are installed

It seems like the full implementation of the Enhanced Residential Parking Program has been taking forever. The proposed legislation was first circulated for comment on June 17, 2011, with a second notice issued on November 11, 2011. The final rule was submitted to the D.C. Council on November 15, 2011.

We began to explore it fully on a neighborhood level back in February 2012, ANC 1A voted in support of it in April 2012, and the visitor pass portion of the legislation started arriving in the mail at the end of July 2012. Yet the chief provision of the legislation — reserving one side of each residential block for Ward 1 residents only during the day has yet to be fully implemented.

I finally have some news to share on that. The primary obstacle has been the swapping out of the existing “green” Zone parking signs for the new “red” Ward 1 resident only signs. Based on a conversation I recently had with a member of DDOT, they are now ramping up their efforts to complete this work in a timely manner. The unofficial goal they are hoping to meet is the end of November for sign replacement. Typically, the new signs will be on the north or west sides of streets within the Ward.

While swapping out signs may sound simple — and in most cases it will be — it is not as easy as merely creation 100′s of new signs. The majority of the signs will be alike, but there are also variations that need to be accommodated. For example, blocks that are within a block of another Ward permit residents of both Wards to park there. The new red signs will also mirror this practice. Also, blocks that have petitioned and been granted extended RPP hours and days will similarly need to include that language on them. What all of this means is that there are several exceptions to the rule that need to be accommodated.

In any event, I’m pleased that DDOT if finally making the new signage a priority. For while the DC Council and most ANCs have supported this change in parking, until the signs go up it will not be enforced.

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ANC 1A Residents Receiving Visitor Parking Passes

July 26, 2012

Residents of ANC 1A started receiving visitor parking passes on July 24th

Many residents living within ANC 1A came home on Tuesday, July 24th, to find their new Visitor Parking Pass (VPP) in the mail waiting for them. The new passes are part of the Ward 1 Enhanced Parking Permit Program (ERPP) that was initiated last year by Councilmember Graham.

Based on the language of the legislation, each of Ward 1′s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions had the opportunity to weigh in on the ERPP program and could choose not to participate. ANC 1A voted in favor of the program.

The ERPP has two components:

  1. Distributing Visitor Parking Permits to each household within the supporting ANCs. This can be used by anyone visiting the household; and,
  2. It reserves one side of residential streets to Ward 1 residents only. The opposite side of the street will continue to be open to anyone seeking parking, regardless of jurisdiction.

The letter accompanying the parking permit explains that the permit can be used immediately and that it does not provide an exemption to the Registration of Out of State Automobiles (ROSA).

According to an email sent out yesterday by Councilmember Graham, DDOT is also in the process of installing the new signs that relate to the second component of the ERPP. His full email is below:

Dear Friends,

The new Ward 1 parking law–which strengthens parking for RPP holders–is (finally) being implemented.

Some new signs are up. A lot more to come. But the visitor passes are in the process of being mailed out.

If you do not receive a pass within the next two weeks, please email Mr. Harvey whose email address is Harvey, Damon (DDOT) (damon.harvey@dc.gov).

This new law will make a difference  in the ability of residents to park on Ward 1 streets.

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DDOT Planning to Open the 3600 Block of Georgia to Parking — Meters to be Installed

February 21, 2012

According to recent listserv chatter, the 3600 block of Georgia will soon be opened up to parking

According to email chatter on the MPD-4D listserv, the section of the 3600 block of Georgia Avenue directly across from CVS will be opened up for parking. Signage on the east side of Georgia Avenue here currently states that there is no parking. Apparently the no parking zone had more to do with the former bus stop on this block than anything else. Now that the bus stop has moved a block north (in front of the Metro station), the inability to park on this block has been deemed an oversight needing correction.

While I don’t know when the signs will be removed, or when parking meters will be installed, I have contacted DDOT for additional details. I certainly agree that additional parking in the area is needed. However, I do have a few safety concerns I’d like DDOT to address. I also find the process for adding parking to this block a bit unusual.

First, the process — what initiated this change in parking was an email question on the MPD-4D listserv on February 13th, in full below:

I’m looking for some clarification on the ambiguous parking situation in the 3600 block of Georgia Ave NW adjacent to the CVS. Originally, this block allowed parking. Now, all the signs say either “No Parking” or “Metrobus Zone”. How is this area a metrobus zone when there is no metrobus stop on that block? Is there a reason this is no longer valid parking?

It’s all very confusing, so I always park across the street on Quebec Pl, which I’m sure the residents do not appreciate.

Before January 1, 2012, MPD’s Fourth District did not go south of Rock Creek Church Road. While that has since changed, topics on the MPD-4D are still largely focused on Ward 4 because of the large overlap.

Perhaps owing to this large overlap, Judi Gold, Constituent Services Coordinator for Councilmember Muriel Bowser, quickly contacted DDOT, alerted them of the problem, and reported back to the listserv that “There is no Metro Bus stop and DDOT will be removing the signs” on February 15th.

In talking to Ms. Gold, I both expressed my appreciation for her efforts and asked for additional details on just what DDOT was going to do and when they would do it. Explaining that the block in question was not in Ward 4, I expressed that I’d like to inform my community of the change, or at least be able to answer any questions that may come about due to it. Ms. Gold gave me a contact at DDOT to follow up, told me that she was happy to help with the parking problem since they don’t really pay much attention to Ward boundaries in such instances, and suggested that I get to know Councilmember Graham’s Constituent Services Coordinator since I live in Ward 1.

Now, while I find the process in this case odd, especially the initial lack of information sharing, I do find the willingness to get problems solved without worrying about protocol refreshing and hope it works equally on both sides of the Ward 1/4 boundary.

As I stated above, I agree that we need more parking when it is available. I also agree that parking tends to be tight on the 700 block of Quebec Place. Clearly, the no parking/bus stop signs need to be removed because that is no longer accurate. However, before we add parking to this block I’d also like to know how it impacts pedestrian safety.

As you can see from the photograph above, the block in question is a short block on the northbound side of the street leading to a six-point intersection. So, the two additional questions I’ve asked DDOT are:

  • For cars turning right, would it make more sense to have a turn lane or public parking on the block. If parking is permitted, will traffic be reduced to one lane from time to time as cars turning right onto Rock Creek Church Road or New Hampshire Avenue yield to pedestrians?
  • Lastly, will the parked cars create any blind spots increasing risk to pedestrians.

It’s possible that the additional parking will not create any problems. At least, that would be my hope. Never-the-less, I would like to know how this change will impact the pedestrians who use the intersection on a daily basis before work ensues.

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So, What’s This Enhanced Residential Permit Parking Program All About?

February 14, 2012

The 700 bock of Quebec Place NW. Its western end abuts businesses on Georgia Avenue

Parking — along with rats and crime — is a constant issue in the neighborhood. While some blocks have relatively few parking problems, on others residents compete with visitors on a daily basis. As new development continues to come to lower Georgia Avenue, residents living near the corridor will likely find that parking becomes more difficult to find rather than more plentiful and easier to locate.

In an attempt to give Ward 1 residents a leg up on finding parking near their homes, Councilmember Graham introduced legislation that would “enhance” residents living in the Ward and participating in the Residential Permit Parking (RPP) program. The proposed legislation was first circulated for comment on June 17, 2011, with a second notice issued on November 11, 2011. The final rule was submitted to the D.C. Council on November 15, 2011, for a thirty-day review period, which expired without comment clearing the way for the Enhanced Residential Permit Parking (ERPP) to take effect.

Significantly, unlike the pilot programs, ERPP is equally available to ALL Ward 1 streets currently participating in the RPP program. Each Ward 1 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) may “opt-out” from participating in the program, although there is no current deadline for when an ANC may do this. Should an ANC choose to do nothing, the ERPP program will be implemented within its boundaries. Again no timeline is currently known.

Below is a link for those interested in seeing which blocks currently participate in the RPP program.
2012 ANC Boundries & RPP Blocks

Based on my conversations with DDOT, the following  appear to be the highlights:

  • Though ERPP would be applied to an entire ANC area, it only enhances blocks that currently have RPP. Residents on blocks without RPP would still need to petition to be included in the program. The Petition for Residential Permit Parking form is here, and requires signatures from 70% of the residents.
  • ERPP would enhance existing RPP blocks by reserving one side of the block for Ward 1 residents during enforcement hours. The other side of the block would be open to all residents seeking parking, with current restrictions being applicable.
  • ERPP would not solve the problem of blocks that do not have RPP because of large apartment buildings. Again, the majority of a block, including the residents of apartment buildings, need to petition for inclusion.
  • Residents who do not live on blocks with RPP would not be eligible for visitor parking passes.
  • Most blocks on commercial corridors, such as Georgia Avenue, would not be impacted by ERPP.
  • ERPP does not extend the hours of parking enforcement, such as later in the evening or on Saturdays. To do that, the majority of residents on a block need to fill out the Petition to Extend Hours of Residential Permit Parking.   (more…)

Categories: DDOT, parking
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Parking Poll: Are Your in Favor of the Enhanced Residential Parking Permit Program?

February 14, 2012

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Word to the Wise — Double Check What Your Parking Meter Gives You for Your Money

February 7, 2012

For those that use the metered parking spaces along the Georgia Avenue corridor, check the meter times to make sure you don’t get a ticket. Here’s a case in point.

The two meters above, located on the southwest corner of Otis Place and Georgia Avenue — just outside of Mom N’ Pop Antiques — appear identical in every respect. That is, until you look closely enough to what you get for your money. As you can see from the close up below, one of the meters will give you 1 1/2 minutes for a nickel and 7 1/2 minutes for a quarter while the other meter will provide 4 minutes of parking for a nickel and 20 minutes for a quarter.

My overall sense is that one of the meters was originally set up for parking in another part of the city.

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Will Tight Parking on Newton Place Be Further Restricted?

November 21, 2011

View of Newton Place looking east toward Georgia showing impacted area

Residents who live in the area immediately west of Georgia Avenue came home to a jolt on Friday evening. That’s when they discovered that signs had been posted restricting parking in the vicinity of 701 to 721 Newton Place, NW.

Parking has always been tight on Newton Place as well as neighboring Park Road and Otis Place. This is due in part to multiple-unit dwellings and the close proximity of Georgia Avenue. The parking situation on Newton Place was further exasperated when construction began at The Avenue, which eliminated parking on the south side of the street  by the project until June 2012.

The signs posted on Friday indicate that the north side of the street will be off limits between November 21 and December 21. Worse still, the enforcement would be seven days a week for the entire day.

In my opinion this places an undue hardship on the residents who live on Newton Place, especially at the onset of the holiday season when friends and family often visit. I’m currently communicating with both the developer and DDOT to figure out who applied for the restricted parking and the purpose for which it is needed.  Hopefully a solution can be found that meets the needs of the residents and those who initiated the request.

One of the signs posted on the 700 b/o Newton informing residents that parking would be further restricted for the next month

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