Posts about Carol Schwartz

Parking

DC 2010 budget would end Saturday free parking

by David Alpert   •   March 24, 2009 10:12 am

Back in November, Councilmember Jim Graham suggested raising parking meter rates to restore some cuts in important housing programs like HPAP, which helps people get mortgages to buy homes. Graham suggested raising $1/hour meters to $2, and 50¢ meters to 75¢. He also proposed ending DC's policy of free parking on Saturdays.

The Council passed his bill in December, but first, they stripped out the Saturday portion. Councilmember David Catania introduced the amendment, and Carol Schwartz, in one of her last acts as Councilmember, valiantly argued for keeping parking free. Making it free, in fact, was Schwartz's achievement in 1997. Of course, in the 12 years since, downtown has gotten extremely popular, and parking is full on Saturdays. Keeping the parking free doesn't encourage people to go downtown; it just makes it even harder to park and deprives the city of revenue.

As it turns out, DC never restored any of the housing program cuts, because just after the Council passed the meter rate hike, new budget estimates came out that were even worse than before. Mayor Fenty and his staff recently released their 2010 budget to deal with these shortfalls. The transportation chapter takes the sensible step of ending this Saturday moratorium. That will net the city $4.5 million more for DDOT operations.

The budget also reshuffles money around, including the money from December's rate hike. For the hearing, I wrote that while spending meter money on needed programs was good for the short term, long-term we need to keep meter revenue dedicated to transportation. Charging for parking is a good idea, but to keep it from hurting shoppers and businesses, we need to also spend money from parking on improvements, like the Circulator or streetcars, that help people get to those commercial corridors by other means.

The new 2010 budget allocates the meter revenue to DDOT, but still produces $12 million for the general fund through some budgetary musical chairs. It moves $12 million from meters hike to a streetlight maintenance fund. Then, it takes $12 million of DDOT's budget out of the streetlight fund and allocates it to DC's Metro contribution. Finally, the general fund contributes $12 million less to Metro. In the end, instead of $12 million of meter revenue going into the general fund, all meter revenue goes to transportation, and the general fund still has $12 million.

The Council wants this general fund money to go toward critical affordable housing programs. In the budget, the Housing Finance Agency grows from the 2009 budget (which had cut the housing programs) by only $975,000. However, the agency section of the budget doesn't specify where that money will go. The housing program funding also could appear elsewhere. I've emailed people in that area of the Council to find out. They'll be spending much more time poring over this budget.

Parking

Have DC Councilmembers ever tried to park downtown on a Saturday?

by David Alpert   •   December 17, 2008 8:32 am

The Council passed Jim Graham's parking meter rate hike yesterday, raising $1/hour meters to $2 and 50¢ meters to 75¢, and restoring much-needed city housing programs. But to get enough political support from the Council, Graham and co-introducer Tommy Wells had to agree to an amendment from Jack Evans designating $1 million of the revenue raised to the O Street Market project in Shaw, and one from David Catania that retained our current, nonsensical policy of free street parking on weekends.

The parking increase will fund the HPAP program that helps low-income people afford a down payment, the Housing First program that moves homeless people from shelters to their own homes, and more. Councilmember Wells praised Graham's leadership on the issue as "very forward thinking," and Chairman Vincent Gray called the bill a "very proactive approach."

But Catania and outgoing member Carol Schwartz both spoke passionately about free Saturday parking as an incentive to draw suburban residents into DC to shop and eat, and to encourage DC residents to stay in the District on weekends to spend their dollars. It might be a compelling argument, except for one thing: there's never any available street parking downtown or in busy neighborhood retail districts on weekend afternoons and evenings.

Schwartz introduced and passed a ban on Saturday parking fees in 1997. "We get money when people come into DC to eat or shop, or DC residents stay to eat," she said. "I asked people, 'Why do you go to the suburbs?' They said, 'They've got free parking.'"

That might have been true in 1997, but not today. People go downtown because of the great restaurants, exciting nightlife, and walkable shopping streets. If you just want to drive to a big box store, the suburbs will win out every time. The nice restaurants downtown all run valet services. If free parking really deters so many people, why are these restaurants packed while the valets are charging $10 for parking during dinner?

And the free, on-street parking that does exist is constantly full. Making the parking free just swaps one suburban advantage, free parking, for another: available parking. As Tommy Wells explained, "How many people here believe they could get in the car right now and find a place to park down the street? ... That parking is all locked up. It does not serve small businesses" that benefit from turnover, not from free parking.

Yet Councilmember after Councilmember spoke up for this amendment keeping parking free on Saturdays, as if anyone really could find parking on Saturdays. Free parking is a "great incentive to bring people downtown," said Catania, "to visit shops and restaurants and our cultural life downtown." Marion Barry added, "we don't want to make it more difficult for people to shop downtown." I seriously started to wonder if any of these folks actually ever drive downtown on a Saturday. Perhaps their special Councilmember parking passes, which many use to park illegally, make them believe that anyone can easily park, with only $1-$2 an hour making the difference.

Phil Mendelson voted against the measure entirely. He argued that this measure is "piecemeal," but said that he "can support a comprehensive review of parking demand." Well, one day we will be discussing performance parking in more neighborhoods in DC. I hope Mendelson will support that program when it comes.

Muriel Bowser also voted against the bill, not because of the parking fees, but because of the earmarks, and particularly Evans' earmark for the O Street Market. "We're taking what should be transportation dollars and putting in human services, and now we're taking what should be transportation dollars and putting it into an economic development grant," she said. Bowser also praised free Saturday parking.

This measure will raise some valuable revenue for important housing projects. But it also revealed many of our Councilmembers' ignorance about the true dynamics of parking. It's not 1997 anymore, and downtown is booming. Keeping parking free only makes it harder for people to park downtown. Schwartz and Catania struck a blow against small businesses today, with the very act they claim will help.

Almost lunch links: the District's Republicans

by David Alpert   •   November 21, 2008 10:51 am

Please do sully her legacy, Mr. Graham: Carol Schwartz is hurt that Jim Graham would propose ending the free Saturday parking she implemented years ago. "Graham says he had no intention of sullying Schwartz's legacy with his revenue-positive moves," writes Loose Lips. Graham's plan is a good idea, and the faster we abandon Schwartz's knee-jerk, cars-first legacy, the better. Unfortunately, the meter hike is off the table, at least for now. Graham will hold a hearing on Monday, December 8th, 10 am in the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave) Room 500.

What is "affiliated"? Everyone reported the DC Republican Party's lawsuit yesterday, which claims that Michael A. Brown is ineligible to serve on the Council since is is "affiliated" with the Democratic Party. He changed his registration to independent, but remained pretty obviously a Democrat, including calling himself an "Independent Democrat", campaigning for Obama, being an ultimate party insider, and more. I'm with Marc Fisher that we should junk this ridiculous minority-party rule, though I'd not complain if Mara replaced Brown on the Council.

Even Takoma Park can be purple: The Takoma Park City Council endorsed the Purple Line, though only if it doesn't hurt pedestrians or take away Takoma Parkers' inalienable right to park.

Think different, Detroit: A looming automaker bailout plus dropping gas prices has thoughtful commentators proposing alternatives, like raising the gas tax, a gas price floor, or expanding to build transit vehicles.

There's a heliport 0.5mi from my house! Last week, DC's very cutting-edge Office of the Chief Technology Officer (with the geeky acronym OCTO) announced the winners of their Apps for Democracy mashup contest. Top honors went to iLive.at, which combines WalkScore-like local listings with interesting pie-charted census data. Personal faves also include DC Historic Tours, which Google maps self-guided walking tours of historic areas, and Stumble Safely, helping you find the best and safest late-night route home from a bar.

Traffic

Council passes fine for blocking bike lane

by David Alpert   •   September 16, 2008 1:12 pm

The Council just passed on second reading the bill to raise the fine for drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians from $50 to $250 and add points on the driver's license.

Tommy Wells reintroduced his amendment to add another fine for blocking bike lanes, currently an illegal act but one with no fine. Before the recess, Wells tried to introduce the amendment, but some other Councilmembers wanted to first hear more research on the appropriate size of the fine.

Wells spoke with DDOT about the appropriate fine and compiled information on the level in other cities ($100 in San Francisco, $115 in Chicago and New York, $150 in Oregon). He settled on $65, just above the level of the double parking fine, but not so high as to create a financial burden or deter enforcement.

Drivers who blocked a bike lane while double parking would probably not receive two tickets, since according to Wells, most of the time MPD officers write only one ticket for the "primary infraction", but may (though usually do not) write both tickets. Since not all bike lanes parallel parking lanes, Wells pointed out, we need a fine for parking in the bike lane especially for those instances when the officer couldn't write a double parking ticket, but also to make clear that blocking a bike lane is more hazardous than just double parking in a vehicle lane.

Graham accepted the amendment as friendly and Phil Mendelson, who had raised some of the questions before, spoke up to praise the new amendment (and the bill itself). Mendelson specifically cited a recent case where a police officer killed a pedestrian on Wisconsin Avenue, but was not punished because the area had poor sight lines. As Mendelson pointed out, poor visibility is not an excuse for drivers to drive too quickly for conditions and hit pedestrians.

Carol Schwartz supported the bill but also took the opportunity to chide pedestrians and bicyclists who cross against lights.

The bill passed with no opposition on voice vote.

Government

Schwartz to run as a write-in; at-large race gets more interesting

by David Alpert   •   September 16, 2008 8:59 am

You've probably already seen that Carol Schwartz will run a write-in campaign to retain her at-large Council seat in November.

You already know GGW's opinion of Schwartz and the bad policy that came out of her chairmanship of the Public Works committee. As we've discussed before, Mara favors more bicycle infrastructure. But what about the person still favored to win, though a little less so this morning than yesterday morning: Michael A. Brown?

Brown (not to be confused with at-large Councilmember Kwame Brown or Shadow Senator Michael D. Brown) still has nothing on his issues page. His most recent events are from July. What kind of legislator would Michael Brown be? He's run for Mayor and for Ward 4 Council. For those of you who've been around longer, did issues that matter to this blog come up in those races?

Perhaps Jack Evans ought to consider changing his name to Jack Sea Foam Green, so that the Council isn't all Brown and Gray.

Government

Bye bye Carol

by David Alpert   •   September 9, 2008 11:27 pm

Carol Schwartz has lost the Republican primary to Patrick Mara. Mara won about 45% of the vote to Schwartz's 36%. In the tiny Republican primary, that translates to only a bit over 700 total votes.

Schwartz was the worst Councilmember based on issues that matter to me. On transportation, she used to chair the Committee on Public Works and the Environment before Jim Graham. Schwartz's main contribution to transportation was allowing more parking near corners and in front of entrances at night. Advocates of progressive transportation policies tell me they couldn't get anything done when Schwartz was in charge.

Attention will quickly turn to November's general election, where Mara will face off against "independents", such as Michael Brown, who had been planning to campaign against Schwartz. Brown's issue section still has no positions; we'll find out his policy positions soon.

Whoever wins in November, Schwartz will be out of the Council in November, since it's too late to pull a Lieberman, and City Desk says she won't try a write-in campaign.

In the Democratic primary, Jack Evans won renomination over Cary Silverman, 48%-34%; Marion Barry won his primary with 77% of the vote, with Yvette Alexander and Muriel Bowser racking up similar numbers.

Bicycling

Mara, the bicycle Republican

by David Alpert   •   September 5, 2008 8:01 am

Patrick Mara, challenging incumbent Carol Schwartz in the Republican primary for DC Council at-large, told WashCycle he's more pro-bike than his opponent.

Is this Columbia Heights bike rack telling us something? Photo by Mr. T in DC on Flickr.

I do not own a car and understand the importance of more environmentally friendly transportation in the District. Cycling is a fun and practical form of transportation in an urban environment. As a Columbia Heights resident, I appreciate the bike lanes on 11th street (my home street). I would certainly advocate more bike-friendly policies and oppose the opening of Klingle road to autos. I am also keenly interested in the new SmartBike DC program. It has the potential to be a great success.

Schwartz was one of three Councilmembers to fight for roads over recreation on Klingle. During her tenure chairing the committee overseeing DDOT, she passed legislation to add a few more on-street parking spaces at the expense of any larger transportation vision.

I'm sure I disagree with Patrick Mara about a great many issues, but from what we know so far, on transportation he'd be an improvement over Carol Schwartz.

Bicycling

Morning links: Politics in the press edition

by David Alpert   •   August 21, 2008 9:14 am

National pols ignorant of DC politics: No surprise here: they're DC superdelegates, but many don't know the name of their City Council member. (I can forgive them for not knowing all the shadow Senators.) The Post popped them with a pop quiz and got many failing grades.

WP covers ICC bike trail fiasco: Washcycle and I have written about the absurdity of cutting a bike trail from the ICC for environmental reasons. But the environmental and recreational knife in the back is continuing, reports the Post. Tip: Jenny.

Candidate debate update: Carol Schwartz debates her Republican challenger, Patrick Mara, today on Kojo, and Roger Lewis will be talking about politics and zoning right after. Both should be interesting. The Ward 8 candidates were on the show Monday, though with such a crowded field there wasn't enough time to really get a sense of the candidates.

Urbanism in the Philly suburbs: $4 gas is bringing change to western Chester County, Pennsylvania, mostly a land of sprawling bedroom suburbs and office parks. NPR profiles Uptown Worthington, with mixed-use residences above restaurants right near major corporate headquarters. And unlike, say, Konterra, it's near one of Philly's excellent commuter rail lines. Tip: Bianchi.

Traffic

Klingle Road dead, dead, dead; bike trail alive

by David Alpert   •   June 3, 2008 5:04 pm

Liveblogging the Council hearing...

OK, Finally the Council has gotten to Klingle again. This is the second reading and the final opportunity. Graham is saying that since it's so late, he's not going to reopen the entire discussion.

Whoops, but now he's talking about it anyway. The question of whether it's a road, he says, is different from whether it's going to be a hiker-biker trail. Graham asked DDOT how much it will cost to build a bike path. Graham has repeatedly asked "with great intensity," and last night, Moneme told him DDOT's conclusion: it would cost $9.6 million to renovate into a way suitable for a bike path.

Graham is introducing an amendment. "Did you think it was just going to be a statement?" (Chuckles from around the table.) His amendment strikes the $2M of federal money allocated to the bike trail but leaves the language that the area won't become a road. That way, Graham is saying, the Council can decide later what to do with the land.

Government

Labor successfully waters down noise bill

by David Alpert   •   June 3, 2008 2:21 pm

The DC Council just passed a revised version of the much-debated bill on non-commercial noise. Since I don't know all the arguments well enough to have a strong opinion, I'll just report the arguments that were made at the hearing.

Originally, DC's noise law defined a "noise disturbance" as that which a "reasonable person" would find excessive. A few years ago, the Council exempted "non-commercial speech" between 7 am and 9 pm. But loud and annoying religious proselyter/protesters in the H Street area prompted legislation. Last month, the Council approved a bill on first reading that would restore the "reasonable person" standard, limiting high-volume protests. However, that bill would still have permitted anything under 70 decibels in residential areas, 80 decibels downtown, or anything up to 10 decibels over the ambient noise level.

Today, Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. (ward 5) introduced an amendment to change to a different standard. In residential-only areas, the rule would become 80 decibels (instead of 70), and only as measured inside a house as opposed to outside. Second, in non-residential areas, there would be no restrictions on non-commercial speech. Residential areas for the purposes of this bill are R-1 through R-4 zones; higher density residential areas, such as Dupont Circle, are R-5 zones and would also have no noise limits on non-commercial speech.

Unions have lobbied heavily for the changes. Since the first reading, they ran ads against many of the Councilmembers, a practice which some members roundly condemned for their harshness. But it worked, and by a vote of 9 to 4 the Council approved the amendment and passed the bill. David Catania (at large), Mary Cheh (ward 3), Carol Schwartz (at large), and Tommy Wells (ward 6, including the H Street area that triggered the debate) opposed the change and voted against the final bill, while all others voted for the amendment and the bill.

Supporters of the change argued that very few noise complaints have involved protests, with Jack Evans (ward 2) claiming that there has never been such a complaint in his ward. Opponents argued that the change does not sufficiently protect the rights of residents.

Tommy Wells made a last-ditch effort to adjust the standard downward, back to 70 decibels in residential areas and to measure the noise level from outside rather than inside the houses. That change also failed, with Marion Barry (ward 8) joining Cheh, Catania, Schwartz, and Wells on that modification but also supporting Thomas's amendment and the bill.