It still seems like we're flying blind. Raise meter rates everywhere? Charge for Saturday everywhere? How about raising meter rates or charging for Saturday only where there's demand for it, where the meters are crowded.

by Michael Perkins on Mar 24, 2009 10:28 am  

The District is short on money?

Why not encourage those cops who are aimlessly driving around to start ticketing motorists for speeding, talking on mobile phones, and encroaching on pedestrians in crosswalks?

You know, do the job that they're paid to do.

by CP on Mar 24, 2009 10:31 am  

It is never a good idea to 'earmark' tax money. Proper governments tax based on the merits of the tax itself, and dump all revenu in one treasury, from which they later spend money based on the individual merit of expenditures. Earmarking taxes is a result of massive distrust of the government to itself. Unfortunately, this paranoia is well-funded due to the incompetence of politicians.

Earmarking taxes is worse than earmarking appropriations.

by Jasper on Mar 24, 2009 10:39 am  

Or they could just sell all the meters to Morgan Stanley subsidiary LAZ Parking like Chicago just did . . . . or maybe the DC Council might actually decide managing the meters themselves properly is better than just washing their hands of the situation for short-term gain and long-term loss.

by DBX on Mar 24, 2009 11:45 am  

Either they have raised the meter rate, or a majority of the meters themselves are busted. The last few times I've parked downtown, I got 7 minutes PER QUARTER inserted. That is if the meter was working at all. About half of the ones I try, it only registers time on the third or fourth quarter inserted. This is on Capitol Hill, SW, Penn Quarter, and Dupont.

by monkeyrotica on Mar 24, 2009 11:50 am  

@monkey

I noticed the same thing. Half the change I put in didn't seem to register. This was in Dupont on Sunday.

by Steve on Mar 24, 2009 12:00 pm  

Michael has a very good point. For example, I know that on Saturdays (and Sundays) the area around the Gold's Gym near 20th and L Streets is pretty much open for parking. You don't normally even have to circle more than once. (I.e., there is now very low demand for parking there.) Charging for these times would make no sense ... not when the alternative is to drive 10 additional minutes and get absolutely free parking (with no parking space hassles whatsoever) at one of Gold's 3 Arlington locations. This would be a case of no additional meter revenues for the District ... but more polution as people are pushed to frequent business with open accessibility to all types of customers ... and not just those on foot/metro.

by Lance on Mar 24, 2009 12:54 pm  

I Second CP's comment on the cops. The other day, I'm riding up 7th Street NW by the stadium and there are, as usual, twelve cars speeding up the bus/bike lane. Now, me and a circulator are stuck in traffic at an intersection because of all these cars, and I'm literally standing next to four officers doing nothing. I asked them if they had a plan to deal with the cheaters, and they said ticketing them would cause a traffic jam. COME ON.

I am going to try to write up a proposal to deal with that insane street. My suggestion will be roughly as follows: move the parallel parking spots to the bus/bike lane, which will create a buffer between vehicular traffic and buses/bikes, who will now drive ajacent to the sidewalk. Then, put up some "No Right Turn" signs at major intersections to give pedestrians some breathing room from the cars that inch forward in gasps, pressuring them to move it so they can get on their way. Do this for five years, then, pedestrianize Pennsylvania Ave to NY Ave.

I know there are some advocates of Free Saturday Parking along major commerical hubs, but the city would go a long way in shoring up its budget if it lit a fire under the police to enforce some simple traffic laws. You don't stop for a pedestrian at a crosswalk with no signals? BAM, ticket. You're driving in a dedicated bus/bike lane? ticket. Idling with flashers on a one way street? ticket.

These laws are on the books; why aren't they enforced? I don't want to hear that it is a manpower issue. I see these cops along major thoroughfares all the time, always ignoring violators. For the record, I'd be fine if they ticketed me for running a red-light on a bike.

by JTS on Mar 24, 2009 1:08 pm  

Good.

I would just add that we see the cop doing his WHOLE job (or her whole job). We see it all, the action and the down time. Down time - decompressing - is really needed in such a stressful job, and yeah, it can look awful and lazy at times, I understand completely. I guess I have a hard time - do we really KNOW for sure they're not decompressing after a stressful situation? But generally, I second your comments.

The only other thing I would add is that when residents got after Graham to get after the parking violators in Adams Morgan on the weekend, the police were so indignant at being relegated to such minor work that they ticketed for the most picayune infractions.

But yes, enforcing the law - it's a good thing.

by Jazzy on Mar 24, 2009 1:44 pm  

CP and JTS: Big "amen" on more tickets for obnoxious motorists! I'd go even further and just put in red light cameras at every intersection. Everybody who blocks a crosswalk or intersection or runs a red light gets a ticket--as should be the case.

Anyway, David Alpert wrote: "Keeping the parking free doesn't encourage people to go downtown."

Actually, the dearth of parking definitely discourages some people from going to DC restaurants. I live in Arlington and commute on transit every day. I use it as much as possible for other things. But on a weekend evening, the wife and I are not gonna wait 15 mintues for a train, then risk getting mugged between the Metro and whatever restaurant.

So on those rare occasions when we decide to eat in DC, we drive. Parking is always a hassle, even when it's free. Contrast this with restaurants in NOVA or Bethesda with abundant parking and no panhandlers. That's why we eat in DC about once a year, despite living 10 minutes away by car. And if parking weren't free on Saturdays, we would never go to DC at night.

by JB on Mar 24, 2009 1:52 pm  

JB,

DC and Arlington/Bethesda = apples and oranges.

Maybe you'd take metro if the food actually tasted better here. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

by Jazzy on Mar 24, 2009 1:57 pm  

JB: What if parking weren't free, but it wasn't a hassle, because it was easy to find a space? You're comparing "free parking that's a hassle" to "non-free parking that's equally a hassle." If set right, the price could keep enough spaces free that if you wanted one, you could get one. Then, it's a choice between "free parking that's a hassle" versus "non-free parking that's easy to find."

by David Alpert on Mar 24, 2009 1:59 pm  

In many instances in DC, there is two hours of free parking in nearby residential neighborhoods, even those which require RPPs to park for more than two hours. It seems that charging for Saturday parking in all the commercial areas in the District would simply exacerbate neighborhood parking and traffic problems.

by Andy on Mar 24, 2009 2:15 pm  

Whoa, Jazzy! Opening a can o' worms there. Or should I say, you're throwing some Duke Ellington into that riff of Charlie Parker. I'm sure plenty will chime in to defend DC's culinary might. And I think DC has plenty of tasty eats. But that's another subject.

David: I'd pay a reasonable amount (as in less than $2/hour and certainly less than what a valet charges) to park in DC if I had to. $1 an hour? Possibly. Still, when you're contemplating places to go and it's a choice between pay by meter and pay nothing, you can guess what wins out for me.

I think those programs deserve support, and I don't think all parking should be free all the time, but to say it's not a deterrent to business I think is incorrect.

by JB on Mar 24, 2009 2:25 pm  

JB is worried about getting mugged walking from the metro to an upscale DC restaurant? My advice: stay in VA and eat at Cheesecake Factory.

by SG on Mar 24, 2009 2:40 pm  

"He also proposed ending DC's policy of free parking on Saturdays."

What about ending free double parking on Sundays? Ticketing double parked cars on any day might generate some revenue.

Or as CP said earlier, I would support enforcing any law in DC. Not too picky about which ones, just as long as those dangerous sidewalk signs are tackled first.

by okienoodler on Mar 24, 2009 2:59 pm  

Exactly where in downtown is there a problem parking on saturdays? Gallery place? Verizon center? Chinatown?

Let's call this one as it is: a grab for money.

by charlie on Mar 24, 2009 3:30 pm  

Yeah JB. i go to late shows at the E St. Cinema at least once a month and I haven't been mugged yet walking back to the metro. Jaleo is right there. Other restaurants too. There is a lot of foot traffic after 11pm down there.

I have been assulated on the street twice and mugged once. Mugged where my stuff was grabbed but I wasn't touched. Assaulted once and mugged once in chicago, assaulted once in DC. The two assaults were in the afternoon (noon and 4pm); inside the Richard J. Daley Bicentenniel Plaza in downtown Chicago and 1/2 block from my home in Shaw DC in the early '90's. The mugging was a midnight incident at a lonely bustop in a post-industrial-not-yet-gentrified area in Chicago.

It can happen anywhere anytime. Don't be a fool. But don't foolishly limit yourself because of an unrealistically heightened sense of fear either. There are lots of people on the metro in the evenings --even more on weekends -- many people walking to the stops. You won't be alone.

by Bianchi on Mar 24, 2009 3:49 pm  

SG, I was actually thinking of Ten Penh vs. L'Auberge Chez Francois--but whatever.

Bianchi: Thanks for your post, and sorry to hear about those incidents. I had a knife pulled on me by a homeless guy on King Street (!) in 2002, and I had a near miss with another aggressive guy near the MLK Library once. And I came very close to being mugged on the street around the corner from the 9:30 Club during a show a few years ago. (Tip: Yell "Officer!" and pretend you see a cop.)

I don't live in fear. I lived in NE DC when I moved here in 2001. And yes, the statistical chance of being mugged is unlikely. But when I'm on a date, I don't want to have to even be on the alert.

by JB on Mar 24, 2009 4:29 pm  

For the record, I don't think the cops weren't doing their jobs (nor do I think they don't need downtime). What I'm saying is revenue can be generated by enforcing the laws on the books. We might not be having a parking debate at all if the city was seeing more money from tickets.

Not that we shouldn't be discussing meters, but to me charging on Saturday may add to city coffers, but it will not have the collateral effect of increasing safety/walkability. I'd rather the externality, in this case.

Also, JB: Zing! Also, DC restaurants are too loud.

by JTS on Mar 24, 2009 4:45 pm  

The worst date of my life (so far) took place at the Cheesecake factory.

by Bianchi on Mar 24, 2009 5:27 pm  

On a related note, I had occassion to park at a meter on Mass. Ave. near Union Station the other day. I knew that rates were going up, but I hadn't really paid attention b/c I don't really have to use pay street parking often. The price was 25 cents per 7-1/2 min., or $4 to use the meter for the max. allowable 2 hrs. Compared to downtown garage rates, this is inexpensive, but I still don't generally have that many coins in my pocket/purse/car. Any proposal that DC has to up meter rates or extend meter-able hrs. needs to come along with a better system for paying for that parking. Mont. Co. has a scanable key chain fob that you can pre-load with parking $. I've also heard about phone-in payment technology for street parking. On the occassions that I've tried to cheat meters, it's never been for lack of wanting to pay, but lack of change.

by 14th & You on Mar 26, 2009 11:19 am  

"Restricting" expeditures is not the same as "Earmarking."

by Mike Licht on Apr 27, 2009 1:47 pm