ANC 2F Votes to Support New Parking Regs Benefiting Residents
Will there be new parking regulations benefiting car owners with Ward 2 zone stickers in the Logan Circle area? (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Tom Hay. Questions for Tom? Send him an email Tom[AT]borderstan.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Tomonswann.
Logan Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2F (ANC 2F) voted March 7 to support a plan to bring parking relief to area residents through an enhanced residential parking permit program (RPP). The pilot program to upgrade the RPP was proposed by Councilmember Jack Evans (D-ward 2).
Evans’ director of Constituent Services, Sherri Kimbel, attended the meeting to answer questions about the test program. The program would reserve one side of a residential block as parking for residents only — in this case any RPP holder from Ward 2. The other side of the block would be available to both residents and visitors under the current rules as posted.
The hope is that this plan will make more parking available to residents closer to their homes. Visitors will have to vie for fewer parking spots in the increasingly popular Logan Circle neighborhood and 14th Street corridor. The original proposal from Evans called for the restrictions to be enforced six days a week. ANC 2F voted to support the program seven days per week.
During remarks introducing the program, Kimbel stressed several important points. Specifically, any block can opt out of the program if a majority of residents oppose it. There is no specific timeline for implementing the program and no guarantee that it will remain in place; and success of the program will be based on feedback from residents.
The feedback from ANC 2F commissioners and attendees was generally positive. All agreed that publicity of the program was widespread; Commissioner Nick Barron (2F02) posted the details on his blog, which was picked up many online news sources across the city. David Alpert, editor of Greater Greater Washington and a resident in nearby Dupont Circle, wrote an article about the program and pointed out the merits and shortcomings of the plan. Alpert attended the meeting and reiterated some of his points during the community discussion.
A large portion of ANC 2F straddles 14th Street, beginning at the National Mall (this will change after redistricting goes into effect next year) and and extending up to S Street NW at its northern boundary. The area, particularly in the blocks around 14th and P, have seen explosive growth in the past decade.
Along with an increase in residential development comes an influx of retail, dining and nightlife venues. Within the next 18 to 24 months hundreds of new residential units in the stretch of 14th Street from Thomas Circle to the Columbia Heights neighborhood will be ready for occupancy – this proposal could not have come at a more pertinent time.
Related Posts
Like reading Borderstan’s Politics & Government stories? Get an RSS Feed for the P&G Section, or anRSS Feed for all Borderstan stories.
