Parking Tickets - Greater Greater Washington

I can park where I want

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 08:35:00 EDT

Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert lost it over $25 NPS parking ticket and tried to intimidate an NPS police officer. Though Congressmen can park in any available curb space while on official business, his visit seemed recreational. (Politico)

Comment

I just got a parking ticket (Sep 23, 2009)
Council passes fine for blocking bike lane (Sep 16, 2008)

Pay up, Maryland drivers

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 08:28:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Maryland drivers owe ~~$101~~ $41 million in unpaid DC tickets. Virginians, by comparison, only owe $19 million. (DCist)

Comment

Arlington formally offers Fair Share for Metro; Maryland delinquency continues (Apr 26, 2010)
Maryland and Virginia trade places (Dec 19, 2008)
Taxes lowest for DC residents and car-free Virginians (Feb 22, 2011)
Are Maryland drivers the "devil incarnate"? (Jun 12, 2008)
Ticketing of cars in public space reaches Capitol Hill (Apr 27, 2009)

3 neat apps

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:05:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Walkanomics tries to better estimate a street's walkability, but needs more and better open data. ... SpotAgent uses Baltimore's open data to estimate your chance of getting a ticket if you park illegally ... StreetMix lets you draw your own cross-section of a street, like the ones in transportation plans. (Atlantic Cities)

Comment

New site lists open data apps, agencies (Dec 10, 2009)
Cheh would limit regulation for Uber and taxi apps (Nov 5, 2012)
WalkScore now includes Transit Score (Aug 16, 2010)
On the calendar: Happy hour tonight on H Street, plus Alexandria tour, open data, BRAC, Connecticut Ave (Jul 14, 2010)
ART to release unencumbered schedule data (Aug 11, 2009)

No more parking tickets?

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:07:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Instead of issuing parking tickets, could cities just charge motorists for the precise time they use a parking space, and establish a sliding scale for increasingly longer times? (Atlantic Cities, Jack Love)

Comment

Let's get rid of parking tickets (Nov 13, 2009)
Evans still doesn't understand parking limits (Aug 25, 2011)
Ward 3 parking vision (Feb 19, 2008)
Smartphone app tries to help people share parking (Sep 29, 2011)
Replace bulk parking ticket discount with sensible curb management policy (Apr 3, 2009)

CMs exempt from parking laws?

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:43:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Harry Thomas, Jr. asked the DMV to void parking tickets, claiming he was exempt from parking laws. The DMV confirmed that councilmembers are exempt from parking tickets unrelated to safety. (Post)

Comment

Council balks at bike lane parking fines (Jul 16, 2008)
Evans still doesn't understand parking limits (Aug 25, 2011)
Three quick fixes to DC Council credibility (Mar 2, 2011)
Thomas adopts fair community proposal for ANC map (Dec 16, 2011)
DC Council is baaaack! (Sep 16, 2008)

And...

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 08:22:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

A pilot program will provide CaBi memberships for the homeless. (Street Sense) ... A CaBi infographic provides some astonishing figures. (WashCycle) ... Colonial Parking gives a real-looking parking ticket for parking on the street instead of in their lot. (PoP) ... NYC envisions an underground park. (New Yorker)

Comment

And...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:19:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Ride On gets a real time tracking app (but still no API). (Examiner) ... Car2Go is still getting erroneous parking tickets. (TBD) ... Mitt Romney is apparently a spandex-wearing cyclist. (Palm Beach Daily News)

Comment

Ride On piloting real-time bus tracking (Nov 1, 2011)
Ride-On now on Google Transit (Nov 2, 2009)
Montgomery considering Bethesda parking rate increase (Apr 20, 2009)
Breakfast links: transportation across the nation edition (Jun 23, 2008)
Transit First recommends Maryland restore Ride-On, speed buses (Apr 2, 2009)

NO TAGS? $20,000 in tickets

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 14:37:00 EDT

by David Alpert

One driver got the DC vanity plate "NO TAGS," but that's led the DMV to mail him $20,000 in tickets, since when they write a ticket for a car without plates, they fill in the field with "NO TAGS." (NBC via Consumerist)

Comment

Who's causing congestion on I-66? Hybrids or scofflaws? (Feb 20, 2011)
Tune up DC's tax system: Theater tickets (Jul 10, 2009)
Council passes fine for blocking bike lane (Sep 16, 2008)
Evans still doesn't understand parking limits (Aug 25, 2011)
Let's get rid of parking tickets (Nov 13, 2009)

An avalanche of tickets

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:22:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

In fiscal year 2011, DC issued 1.6 million parking tickets - roughly six per minute - according to AAA. To AAA, this amounted to "no mercy", while DPW said such enforcement was necessary to ensure parking turnover. (Times)

Comment

Evans still doesn't understand parking limits (Aug 25, 2011)
Let's get rid of parking tickets (Nov 13, 2009)
Get your tickets for Wednesday's CSG/Gabe Klein house party (Apr 20, 2009)
Street cleaning tickets have a real purpose (Jul 9, 2009)
Replace bulk parking ticket discount with sensible curb management policy (Apr 3, 2009)

And...

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:49:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

Providence joins the streetcar resurgence. (Providence Journal) ... DC now provides photo proof of your parking violation. (DCist) ... DDOT, WABA, and ANC Comm. David Garber (6D07) are installing bike racks all over the ballpark neighborhood. (DDOT)

Comment

"Rack Attack" hits Near Southeast with new bike parking (Oct 1, 2011)
"Bike Rack Raising" 11 am at DC USA (Mar 13, 2008)
DC tops "most improved" bicycling list (May 8, 2008)
Join GGW, Gabe Klein and others next Tuesday for a holiday bike ride and happy hour (Dec 14, 2010)
Change car parking to bike parking, suggests Georgetown bike shop (Dec 12, 2008)

Diplomats flout parking laws

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:27:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

Foreign embassies owe DC $500,000 in unpaid parking tickets. Russia owes $27,200 in unpaid fines, while the UK owes just $20. The city confirmed that it does occasionally boot and tow diplomats' cars. (WTOP)

Comment

Replace bulk parking ticket discount with sensible curb management policy (Apr 3, 2009)
Evans still doesn't understand parking limits (Aug 25, 2011)
Congo embassy paves over front yard, breaking promises (Sep 21, 2011)
Ticketing of cars in public space reaches Capitol Hill (Apr 27, 2009)
Congo wants circular driveway at 16th and Riggs (Jan 12, 2011)

Evans still doesn't understand parking limits

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EDT

by Ken Archer

Since 2008 DC Council member Jack Evans has used Constituent Services Funds to reimburse members of his staff for 29 parking tickets totaling $3,341.19. The office of the DC CFO says that's taxable income.

Photo by dbking on Flickr.

No other council member has used the fund for that purpose except Michael A. Brown, who paid for 2 tickets totaling $255.38 during the same time period.

The revelation raises questions about the liability of Evans' staff, and their employer, to pay taxes and fines on reimbursements not reported as income.

Evans' treatment of parking tickets as work expenses also raises additional questions about the motivations of his campaign to roll back parking meter rates and hours of enforcement. Evans is the primary advocate on the DC Council for rolling back parking restrictions.

A review of campaign finance records shows that since 2008 Evans has made 29 payments from the Constituent Services Fund totaling $3,341.19 to the DC Treasurer, at PO Box 2014. That is the address for paying parking tickets to the DC DMV by mail.

Schannette Grant is Evans' chief of staff and oversees the fund. In an interview with the Washington Post she said "Sometimes, we will go to a community event at night and park at a meter where it's only good two hours. That would be a work... expense."

The Washington Post article focused on Evans' use of the Constituent Services Fund for sports tickets, and found that practice to be perfectly legal. Meanwhile, Greater Greater Washington contacted the Office of the DC CFO about the legality of Evans' use of the fund to reimburse staff for parking tickets. According to Natalie Wilson, a spokesperson for the CFO, "based on District tax law, the income received is taxable to the recipient/employee."

Greater Greater Washington attempted to contact both Grant and Evans' Director of Communications Andrew Huff via email on Tuesday, inquiring whether the reimbursements were reported as income. Unfortunately there was no reply. An additional voicemail to Evans' office left late on Wednesday also received no reply.

It should be clear that penalties for breaking the law are never tax deductible work expenses. Parking tickets are no exceptions. Parking laws and fines, like other public laws and fines, are meant to serve the public interest. The city government should not be in the business of paying its employees to break the law.

Evans, the long time chair of the council committee that writes tax law, would surely agree with this principle. The fact that he views parking laws and fines as somehow not like other laws and fines sheds light on his failed campaign to make on-street parking cheaper or free.

By setting parking meters at market rates, parking turnover and availability are maximized such that the broadest possible number of drivers can take advantage of on-street parking. Enforcement is critical to ensure this turnover and availability actually occurs. In short, the city's parking rates are designed to maximize the efficiency of the system.

Evans does not seem to recognize these efficiencies. He seems to think of parking as an entitlement. That may explain his unique view of parking tickets as work expenses, and his attempts to deregulate and subsidize parking.

79 comments

Georgetown businesses and residents don't support Evans' parking meter rollback proposal (May 19, 2011)
Evans would spend millions making parking and traffic worse (May 13, 2011)
DC Council: Don't choose parking meters over people (May 18, 2011)
Three quick fixes to DC Council credibility (Mar 2, 2011)
What would "sanity" in parking look like? (Sep 22, 2010)

And...

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:26:00 EDT

by Jamie Scott

Maryland's driver's manual now includes rules about sharing the road with cyclists. (FABB Blog) ... VRE employees use DC hotels for breaks during the day. (Examiner) ... DC ranked the 7th most walkable city in the US. (NBC Washington) ... A parking enforcement vehicle parked illegally. (City Paper) ... Who lives in LeDroit Park? (Left for LeDroit)

Comment

Halsey veers from bike tragedy to ethnic generalizations (May 24, 2010)
Let's talk about enforcement (Apr 28, 2009)
12 ways our region could reform bicycling laws (Jan 22, 2010)
Not stopping doesn't make every cyclist a "rogue" (Feb 9, 2009)
You just got a ticket (Oct 27, 2008)

Commuter scofflaws get amnesty

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:35:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

DC is offering amnesty on late fees for unpaid parking tickets and traffic fines. VA & MD residents are responsible for 61% of DC's unpaid tickets. (Examiner)

Comment

Replace bulk parking ticket discount with sensible curb management policy (Apr 3, 2009)

And...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:48:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

Vehicles belonging to some members of Congress owe $15,000 in outstanding DC traffic fines (WUSA) ... Justice Antonin Scalia got a ticket for rear-ending a car on the GW Parkway (Post) ... Amtrak will begin tweeting delays of more than 60 minutes on the Northeast Corridor (Baltimore Sun) ... Strict zoning laws prohibit food trucks from operating in Alexandria. (Examiner)

Comment

Scrutiny and liberty in zoning (May 13, 2008)
HSR could get you to Boston in 3 hours, but it's pricey (Sep 29, 2010)
Replace bulk parking ticket discount with sensible curb management policy (Apr 3, 2009)
The eternal question: New York via train or bus? (Aug 3, 2010)
Bush threatening veto of Amtrak funding (Jun 10, 2008)

Getting serious collecting debt

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:42:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

Mary Cheh wants to send decades of outstanding fines totaling close to $1 billion to a debt collector. She also wants to create central collections unit to replace the current, fractured collection system. (Examiner)

Comment

Cheh, Wells try again to fix snow fines (Jan 4, 2011)
Living within our means (Jun 26, 2009)
Sidewalks belong everywhere, even where Fenty friends live (Jul 1, 2009)
Bike and ped safety fund is back, but will it survive? (Mar 31, 2009)
Speak for sidewalks (Jun 1, 2010)

And...

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 08:46:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

The Examiner talks with Hillcrest blogger, Greater Greater Washington contributor and transportation advocate Veronica Davis. ... DC DPW apparently takes a "do as I say, not as I do" attitude toward traffic and parking laws. (WAMU) ... Some extra color has appeared on the vault of the Eastern Market Metro station. (BeyondDC)

Comment

Two views on road safety from east of the river (Feb 7, 2011)
I just got a parking ticket (Sep 23, 2009)
GGW discusses: The focus on Anacostia (Feb 21, 2011)
Curses! Foiled again... by zoning! (May 29, 2008)
DC may experiment with market pricing for parking (Dec 15, 2007)

Three quick fixes to DC Council credibility

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:38:00 EDT

by Mitch Wander

The DC Council has bruised its reputation with a pair of self-inflicted wounds: over-priced leased SUVs and Verizon Center ticket squabbles. It can take steps to regain credibility by repealing its members' parking ticket exemption, stop accepting free sports and entertainment tickets, and release data on official credit card purchases.

Photo by philentropist on Flickr.

The District deserves respect for generally good financial stewardship. Closing the $322 million budget deficit will create the 16th balanced budget in a row. DC continues to maintain a large reserve fund, an A A+ bond rating overall and a AAA rating on income tax-backed bonds.

Instead, the press and public are rightfully very focused on a pair of Lincoln Navigators and prime seats to watch Lady Gaga. Are these questionable distractions symbolic of a Council that doesn't "get it" during these tight times? Looking forward, what could the Council do to make some immediate progress towards repairing its credibility?

Council fix #1: Repeal the parking ticket exemption.

In 2002, the DC Council voted to exempt itself from many parking regulations while on official business. Part of the justification was the odd reasoning that if US Congressmen should not have to pay tickets, neither should members of the DC Council.

Nevertheless, Council members Kwame Brown, Marion Barry and Harry Thomas have all had their cars recently booted or towed.

This exemption sends an unfortunate message to residents and commuters. 13 members of the Council are too busy or important to deal with finding and, if necessary, paying for legal parking spaces. This double standard means that legislators who write laws to create and regulate parking really don't have the same experience with how those laws impact normal drivers.

Furthermore, free and nearly unrestricted parking removes nearly any incentive for Councilmembers to walk, bike, carpool, taxi or take transit.

Council fix #2: Stop accepting free tickets from sports and entertainment venues.

The DC government controversy regarding tickets to Verizon Center events and Washington Nationals games reared its ugly head during the previous Mayor's administration. It's back.

The problem is that now two Mayors in a row and the DC Council incorrectly concluded that residents cared about how the tickets were distributed between the Mayor and Council. The real issue is why Council members and staff are involved with these tickets at all.

Some Councilmembers justify their access to the tickets by donating most if not all of the tickets to schools and community organizations. Sure, these organizations benefit from tickets to be auctioned off as fundraisers.

The bottom line is that the Council (and Mayor) should not be receiving tickets as gifts from for-profit businesses that regularly have tax and regulatory matters under consideration by the DC government. Donating the tickets to community groups doesn't resolve the issue because it enables incumbent Councilmembers and the Mayor to leverage their office to do favors for selected constituents.

Let the Verizon Center and Washington Nationals distribute tickets to schools and community groups on their own.

Council fix #3: Release purchase or credit card transaction data for official ~~and constituent services~~ expenses.

There is a natural curiosity and suspicion about the use of government credit cards. While those purchases are no different than any other tax dollar spent, residents remain sensitive about those who have the privilege of carrying a DC government purchase card.

Since January 2009, DC Government executive branch agencies have released a list of all purchase card transactions in the Data Catalog. This transparency has given the taxpayer and media the information with which to scrutinize how these purchase cards are used.

The Council could copy the way DC government agencies already release this financial data to promote transparency of Council official ~~and constituent services~~ funds. This would enhance spending and procurement transparency by the Council.

Correction: A long-time Council staff person pointed out that the Councilmembers release all revenues and expenditures for constituent services funds on the Office of Campaign Finance site. The same transparency should exist for all official Council expenses.

None of these three suggestions will repair overnight any recent damage done to the reputation of the Council or the District as a whole. But implementing these three fixes quickly and in their entirety will show residents and the region that the Council wants to take measurable steps in the right direction.

77 comments

Tune up DC's tax system: Theater tickets (Jul 10, 2009)
DDOT piloting credit card meters (Jan 20, 2010)
Council balks at bike lane parking fines (Jul 16, 2008)
It�s time for transparency in DC�s budget (Oct 20, 2009)
Give residents a "menu" for DC budget closing (Nov 8, 2010)

DC owed $300M in traffic tickets

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:48:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

The District is owed more than $300 million in unpaid parking and driving tickets. The DMV had been planning to run an amnesty program to get more people to pay their delinquent tickets, but will have to "wait and see" whether Mayor Gray want to go ahead with the program. (Examiner)

Comment

Parking ticket and a little yoga

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

Cambridge, Massachusetts has revamped their parking tickets to be a little less serious, including yoga poses and relaxation tips. Some residents are amused, others not so much. (GOOD)

Comment

Costs going up in Arlington

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:19:06 EDT

by David Alpert

ART fares and parking fines in Arlington will both increase on Thursday. (ARLnow, Gavin)

Comment

Rules apply to reporters too

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:25:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Channel 9's Bruce Johnson got a parking ticket at Vincent Gray's announcement. Mike DeBonis rode his bike. (Twitter/mikedebonis)

Comment

Busted!

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:32:00 EDT

by Stephen Miller

The editor of Parking Today, John Van Horn, had been running an experiment where he would not pay or overstay at meters. After a long run of not getting caught, justice finally caught up with this particular scofflaw. (Parking Today, Michael P)

Comment

Two mayors on parking

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:09:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Mayor Bloomberg proposed better multispace meters that offer pay-by-phone, as well as an amnesty program to collect some of the $700 million in outstanding tickets. On the other coast, Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco opposes extending meter hours past the existing early end time of 6 pm. (Daily News, Streetsblog SF, Michael P)

Comment

I just got a parking ticket

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:03:00 EDT

by David Alpert

This afternoon, Greater Greater Wife and I parked at a metered space downtown to eat at an outdoor sidewalk cafe. I put a few quarters in the meter, which was about 10 feet from the cafe. When we finished eating, the meter wasn't yet blinking "expired." I turned around to say goodbye to her, walked over to the car, checked my email for no more than a minute, and then when I looked up, a DC parking enforcement officer was putting a ticket on my windshield.

Photo by Wayan Vota.

There's definitely an initial rush of frustration and even anger upon getting a parking ticket, especially when you were about five feet from the car at the time. It would have been nice if the parking enforcer had even acknowledged my presence instead of walking away without a word. However, I'm not going to whine about parking officers trying to "pick your pocket." My car was, indeed, not moving and sitting in a space at a moment when the meter was showing zero time. If you don't want to get a ticket, be more careful not to break the law (or be on the lookout for enforcement officers).

We do need one parking improvement mostly unrelated to my experience: pay by phone. 7 minutes per quarter feels like a ridiculously small amount of time. However, two dollars for an hour, while not cheap, doesn't feel nearly so bad. Plus, not everyone has eight or sixteen quarters lying around, and if you do, they run out fast after parking a few times. I parked on Mass. Ave near Union Station recently, and had to go into a nearby bank to get rolls of quarters to feed the meter. Once I'd put in the maximum two hours, nearly half (to be precise, 40%) of the roll of quarters was gone in one swoop.

Meanwhile, I think nothing of spending $2 for a Metro ride to, say, Rockville. I pass the SmarTrip over the sensor and that's it. A phone system would considerably alleviate the perceived pain of parking meters. If I could just use a credit card or even pay by text message, it would be similarly painless. DDOT is supposedly planning to pilot a pay-by-phone system in Dupont Circle. Let's do it!

If you're curious why I have been parking so much, it's because Greater Greater Wife is dealing with a knee injury that restricts walking. This is a good example of why we need performance parking: people who can't take transit for reasons of physical impairment, whether temporary or permanent, need to have spaces to park. It hasn't been hard to find spaces since DC raised the rates to $2 an hour, but we simply can't go to many neighborhoods on the weekends because all the spaces are full, or pay $15 for a quick one-hour lunch in Woodley Park, as we had to recently. That's almost as expensive as a ticket.

17 comments

Pay by phone for parking in DC starting Monday (Apr 9, 2010)
Replace bulk parking ticket discount with sensible curb management policy (Apr 3, 2009)
DDOT piloting credit card meters (Jan 20, 2010)
Performance parking but no spaces at Barracks Row (Nov 24, 2009)
What would "sanity" in parking look like? (Sep 22, 2010)

Parking tickets aren't taxes

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:56:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A Philadelphia columnist calls parking tickets a "curb tax." A tax professor reminds people that fines and user fees aren't taxes, and explains the wisdom of pricing parking to reflect the market. (Philadelphia Inquirer, Mauled Again) ... Relatedly, @RegBazile tweeted, "Want to protest parking enforcement? Obey the rules. Zero ticket revenue for government! That'll teach 'em!" (Abbreviations removed).

Comment

Street cleaning tickets have a real purpose

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:16:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Sometimes, the most heroic of politicians get fooled by proposals that sound like they'll save the world but turn out to be terrible policy. The political organizers-in-training running mock superhero campaigns for DC Mayor fell into this trap, as many of them hastily jumped on a proposal from Adam Green Goblin to eliminate street cleaning tickets in DC.

Photo by Wayan Vota.

The noble Adam Green was transformed by a chemical serum, adrenaline, when DPW "courtesy towed" his car around the corner to make room for snow removal. The new space had a different street cleaning day than the place he'd parked, leading Adam to get a street cleaning ticket. DPW also couldn't tell Adam where they'd put the car.

From that day forward, Adam Green Goblin began roaming the city trying to stamp out street sweeping tickets. He created a Facebook group arguing that the tickets are just a revenue generator for DC. He also added that Georgetown has no street cleaning (nor does Ward 3), making the tickets an unfair burden on residents of other neighborhoods.

It is indeed unfair for some neighborhoods to have sweeping and not others, but the solution isn't to stop cleaning the streets. Residents of the areas with street sweeping originally petitioned DC to start it, due to high volumes of trash and chemicals on their streets. Residents would certainly not like the way their neighborhoods looked if DC stopped cleaning. And when we don't take debris off the streets, it washes into storm drains and rivers, or blows into trees and parks. On my street, after DPW does not clean the streets for the winter, the gutters are full of tree material and some trash, and many streets nearer businesses accumulate a lot more trash.

The new street sweeper cameras, which have enraged some drivers, are also making a difference to DC's trash and pollution. According to testimony from DPW head William Howland at a January 2008 hearing, cars parked illegally during sweeping hours significantly impede DPW's ability to get trash off the streets. Each car forces the sweeper to go around, making it miss three parking spaces worth of gutter. Cleaning vehicles collect 10 pounds of oil and grease per mile swept, and 3 pounds each of nitrogen and phosphorus.

Photo by TCM Hitchhiker.

Without these facts, Adam Green Goblin's campaign instead made sweeping sound like a nefarious attempt to squeeze revenue from suffering drivers. The campaign corrupted the Green Lantern, who created a petition for neighborhoods to request an end to street cleaning. This came despite his strong advocacy for green jobs and green roofs. Batwoman also endorsed the campaign, as did Batgirl, despite her major policy plank of "cleaning up our streets," which she must mean only in the crimefighting way. The Atom came out against street cleaning tickets, while advocating for cleaning up the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and city parks, "crack[ing] down on illegal dumping" and prosecuting polluters. Wonder Woman talked about the issue, too, but confined her comments to the unfairness between Georgetown and other neighborhoods, rather than attacking street sweeping itself.

Of course, the DC government could definitely make the street sweeping system more user-friendly. For example, right now each neighborhood generally uses the same two cleaning days for every street, like Monday on one side and Tuesday on the other side. Drivers often have to drive to an adjacent neighborhood to find a usable space. DPW could reorganize the routes to stretch across most of the District on each day, sweeping one street across neighborhoods Monday, a different street Tuesday, and so on.

DC could allow drivers to register their cell phone numbers or email addresses to receive a text message or email if they're ever ticketed or towed, to avoid someone getting multiple tickets within a few hours of each other or tickets after a courtesy tow. And they should absolutely make sure they don't lose track of cars entirely due to bureaucratic mistakes.

It's true that we ought not to see ticketing drivers as a nice way to raise revenue. The ticketing system's goal, first and foremost, must be to promote the right behavior, like not parking in rush hour restricted areas or blocking street sweepers. But ending street cleaning and coping with trash-strewn, chemical-coated streets isn't the answer.

What about Georgetown? Why don't they have street cleaning? So far, I've asked many people, and gotten numerous as-yet-unconfirmed answers. Some have said that the streets are too narrow for sweeping vehicles, or that Georgetowners just didn't want to have to give up parking on one side of the street some days. All neighborhoods with street sweeping did originally opt in. Maybe the BID spends its own money to keep the neighborhood clean, or neighbors do the work themselves. At one point, the Citizens' Association of Georgetown recommended instituting street sweeping.

One source said that DPW does some manual sweeping. If they do, and if it costs DPW more to keep Georgetown clean than other neighborhoods, that's unfair. Someone else told me that they heard that as part of DC's water quality settlement with the EPA, DC will be expanding street sweeping to all neighborhoods. Either way, I'll keep investigating to get real answers. Adam is right to ask questions about the apparent inequal treatment of Georgetown and nearby neighborhoods, but wrong to recommend that we eliminate cleaning entirely, or tickets for those who don't move their cars.

I call on Matt Yglesias, Ezra Klein, and the environment-loving members of the Facebook group to rescind their support for the Green Lantern and Adam Green Goblin's plan. Instead, they should cast their votes for Wonder Woman (my recommendation), Cyborg, Superman or Spider-Man, the candidates who weren't corrupted by Adam Green Goblin's populist-sounding but dangerous proposal. If these Mayoral candidates were serious about fixing this inequity, they'd instead push for reasonable street sweeping reforms and investigate the real reasons Georgetown has no street cleaning. Since they're actually just fictional superheroes with campaigns run by national community organizers in town for a boot camp, Greater Greater Washington will investigate and push on this issue instead.

44 comments

Bring performance parking to Georgetown (Mar 18, 2009)
Lauriol Parking Improvement District? (Feb 15, 2008)
Five ways to improve the RPP system (May 19, 2009)
"All I want for New Year's is free parking" (Jan 4, 2008)
You just got a ticket (Oct 27, 2008)

Not so brotherly on TV

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:49:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Philadelphia allowed A&E to create a reality show, "Parking Wars," about their parking enforcement officials. But the show is giving a bad impression of the city, making officials seem ruthless and unforgiving while drivers cry and plead over tickets. "They have an incentive to be as sensational and ridiculous as they can be so people will watch," said a mayoral spokesperson. "If they did a show about what it was really like, it would be boring." (NY Times)

Comment

Tom Craig picks up "angry driver" mantle from Weiss

Fri, 22 May 2009 14:52:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Have the Washington Post's editors already reassigned Eric Weiss's responsibilities? Just one day after we broke the news that Weiss was leaving the Post, fellow metro reporter Tim Craig took the old, already-reported story of DC's planned increase in ticket enforcement and bust out with a full-throated blast of Entitled Driving Journalist Syndrome.

Photo by Daquella manera.

Is Craig vying for Weiss's "war on drivers" beat? Or do the Post's editors want to make very clear that, despite Weiss's departure, they have not wavered in their belief that no government nor person may stand in the way of their inalienable right to drive into DC from their suburban homes and park wherever they want, whether a legal space or not?

In classic Weiss style, the lede cites suburban drivers who just can't stand the fact that DC's government doesn't put their needs first, even when they break the law:

Maricruz MaGowan, an economist who lives in Bethesda and works downtown, considers the District's aggressive parking enforcement program a hidden commuter tax. "They target drivers from Maryland and Virginia. If they need the money, enact a tax on drivers who use the streets, but do it openly. This is ridiculous."
... Over the next year, hundreds of thousands of commuters and D.C. residents could experience similar frustrations as the city prepares for a major expansion in its parking enforcement.
Officials at AAA Mid-Atlantic, who deem the District the most "motorist-unfriendly city" in the nation, are critical of the new enforcement efforts. ... "This is part and parcel a war on the motorist," said John Townsend, a AAA spokesman. "It's a sneak tax and a sneak attack on motorists and tourists. ... They are trying to make the District a car-free zone."

Craig has even outdone his predecessors. Not only does he incorporate the "war on drivers" frame, mixing in the "tax" hysteria, but he breaks out the ridiculous assertion that we've started hearing from opponents of reducing parking minimums or performance parking: that DC's policy aims to eliminate cars completely.

Of course, neither Craig nor Townsend explain how forcing drivers to obey laws is secret evidence that the city wants to wipe them from the city. I don't seem to remember any Washington Post article talking about bicycle ticketing on New Hampshire Avenue which claims DC is trying to eliminate bicycling, for example. If any of you ever get a ticket for "jaywalking," make sure to call up Craig and encourage him to write that article saying that DC is engaging in a "war on people" in hopes of removing all pedestrians.

Councilmember Jim Graham was unfazed, telling Craig, "Cars are not a threatened species anywhere in the world, and certainly not here." He called the "war on drivers" concept "absurd" and explained that he was happy to "take the heat" to pay for the important programs retained in the DC budget. It's too bad the Post's slanted reporting makes him feel like enforcing the law is "heat" at all. Drivers ought to be praising the Council for more enforcement, since it benefits everyone.

MaGowan (who, ironically, works for the EPA) was upset that DC gave her a ticket for parking during a rush hour period. I've driven during rush hour, and one of the more annoying aspects is when two or three lanes have to funnel down because one single driver left their car on a road with a rush hour restriction. When that happens, the capacity of the road loses an entire lane. If we tolerate that, we might as well remove the restriction and let people park there at any time.

I'm sure Craig could find a few drivers to quote who are annoyed at other drivers who don't move their cars, and glad to see enforcement to keep things moving. But that didn't fit the anti-government frame Craig, Townsend, and/or the Post's editors wanted to push. But Tim, if you change your mind, give me a call for a quote. Meanwhile, welcome to the beat.

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Cops upset they can't park illegally

Tue, 19 May 2009 16:27:00 EDT

DC police are complaining about receiving tickets when they drive down to Judiciary Square for court appearances. Richard Layman sees plenty of hypocrisy here. (Examiner)

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