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| | | Confusion over potential Hill parking changes prompts delay | | December 21, 2009 | | | | Staff Writer | | Ward 6 D.C. Council member Tommy Wells is putting the brakes on legislation that could alter residential parking rules across Capitol Hill, citing a need for further community discussion on the potential changes.
“We have to weigh as much as possible [the need] to have the community be involved [who] are most directly impacted by these bills, and at the same time have policies that support the proper growth of our city,” Wells said at a recent hearing on the proposed law.
The hastily scheduled hearing, with less than 10 working days’ notice, drew complaints from advisory neighborhood commissions, and only one — Southeast Capitol Hill (ANC 6B) — sent a representative to the hearing.
That commission largely supports a proposal to allow all current residential parking permit zones with parking on both sides of the street to limit one side of the street to cars with Ward 6 permits. Current rules throughout much of Ward 6 allow anyone to park on the street for up to two hours during peak times. The proposal would also allow residential parking permit peak hours to extend as late as midnight. Both measures would only be instated if a majority of the households on a block sign on.
The legislation also proposes a visitor parking pass program for the entire ward in which residents would be issued a pass per household.
The parking system is based on the pilot program that has been in place for two years around the Capitol and near Nationals Park.
Neighborhood commission chair David Garrison said the pilot measures have “dramatically reduced” parking pressures in these areas, where spaces are scarce. But, he pointed out, “these pressures are not at work in every part of the ward.”
Norman Metzger, a neighborhood commissioner who lives in the area governed by the pilot parking rules, said the rules have benefited the neighborhood.
“I think it’s been a real plus,” he said at the commission’s meeting this month.
Amber Jones, a resident of E Street SE, agreed.
“Most of us think the parking system has improved quite a bit,” she said, but added that the system is not perfect and parkers with visitor passes sometimes get ticketed anyway.
The parking legislation has brought up a host of issues about parking problems in the neighborhood, including the fairness of current rules, whether a change in parking rules even requires council action and the effect of the rules on business corridors.
Some have pointed out that many residents of high-rise buildings, such as Capitol Hill Towers in Southeast, are not allowed to purchase the annual parking permits, while residents of some other high-rises and homeowners with garages can purchase them.
Wells himself noted potential problems for businesses, such as restaurants on Barracks Row, if residential parking times are extended.
“It seems like a new restaurant is coming in every day … ,” he said. “So how do we balance the need to park their patrons versus the neighbors who need to come home and find parking?”
Dick Wolf, an 11th Street SE resident and former president of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, questioned the legality of the council legislating parking changes, suggesting that the District Department of Transportation could simply alter the rules.
“If it’s becoming such a big issue, and I think it obviously is because we’re having these hearings, … I would take the council out of the business of legislating all of this miniscule stuff. Before you come to equity issues I think you have to understand what the legal issues are,” Wolf said.
Transportation officials said at the hearing that they planned to establish a Web-based visitor pass program, which would allow residents to print the passes from home or library computers, by the end of 2010. Currently, residents in the pilot zone who want extra visitor passes for special events such as parties must go to a local police station to request them.
Another aspect of the bill — a proposal to create a graduated fee schedule for additional cars registered to a property — will likely be removed. Wells and Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham, who chairs the transportation committee, agreed that such fees would need to be implemented on a citywide basis. The bill had suggested $15 — the standard fee — for a first pass, $50 for a second one and $100 for each additional car. Wells said he received complaints from residents who did not think they should have to pay for additional cars. He also pointed out potential conflicts for residents who live in group homes.
Similar parking bills have been introduced for Graham’s Ward 1 and Ward 5 Council member Harry Thomas’ constituents.
The original version of this story incorrectly stated that the Capitol Hill Towers are off the H Street corridor. | | | | | Log in to comment on this article |
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