Faced with the oncoming crush of ballpark visitors driving on game days into Ward 6 neighborhoods already battling congested parking, I have proposed a curbside parking pilot program around the Nationals ballpark and Capitol Hill retail corridors. The proposal is meant to provide our community with another tool to manage the parking crunch we face. The goals are simple: protect residential parking and increase access to retail storefronts. As areas like Barracks Row and the ballpark become more and more successful (and more of a destination) we need to plan how to address the challenge and get a handle on escalating parking demand to avoid the same problems faced by communities like Georgetown and Adams Morgan.

Some of the best thinking in the country has gone into this proposal. Parking is already at a premium in our neighborhoods, but giving free curbside parking to ballpark visitors isn’t managing the problem, it’s only inviting more congestion and traffic. The proposal creates a pilot zone around the new Nationals’ ballpark and throughout the residential neighborhoods that surround the stadium and the retail businesses near it, to implement a comprehensive curbside parking plan to better manage when, where, and how long vehicles can park.

In brief, the proposal does the following things:

-- puts strict restrictions on when and where non-Ward 6 vehicles can park, directing them toward retail streets rather than neighborhood streets
-- uses market pricing to help manage curbside parking on retail corridors and surrounding streets, encouraging turnover to support access to our small and local businesses and reducing congestion
-- uses multi-space meters to improve parking enforcement and eliminate the need for individual meters for each and every parking space
-- reinvests the meter revenue generated through the plan back into the area for sidewalk repairs, streetscape and transit improvements, infrastructure upgrades and more

I hope this webpage (and the FAQs below) can be a resource to answer questions and update the community about the plan to better manage parking in our neighborhoods and along our business streets.

To read a copy of the legislation, Click Here. (Note: This is a copy of the emergency legislation approved by the Council and incoporates significant changes based on community feedback and suggestions over the last three months.)
To read a copy of the press release, Click Here.
To view of map of DDOT's parking plan, Click Here.

Community Input and Feedback

Over the summer and fall, I convened a work group that included transportation and policy experts from DDOT and the Council to research how other communities successfully faced similar challenges. In December, I met with ANC Commissioners and business and community leaders in the pilot zone to brief them on the proposal to get their feedback and questions. In January, these leaders returned for work sessions to deal with nitty-gritty details and work out more specifics of the plan and how it could be implemented.

To date, I've held over a dozen community meetings and town halls on the plan to share details, answer questions, and get some great feedback and suggestions to move the plan forward. Thank you for being a part of finding solutions to the coming challenge.

Please Click Here to read more about some impressions and key issues identified in the town hall meetings.

Frequently Asked Questions (immediately below is a list of common questions our office has received, detailed answers are provided below):

What is performance pricing?
I live in Ward 6 and sometimes drive to Barracks Row or Eastern Market. How will this affect me?
I want to have friends over for a dinner party, will they have to pay to park?
Will the long term guest pass still be available?
How is enforcement going to be stepped up to make sure this plan works?
Why are we extending parking restrictions late at night and on weekends?
How would parking on retail streets change?
How will parking on residential streets change?
I've heard rumors that parking at Barracks Row or Pennsylvania Avenue could be as high as $30. Is this true?
Will metal stick meters be placed on every street?
How is the revenue generated by the meters going to be used?
The proposal says the goal is to have 80-90 percent curbside parking space occupancy. What does that mean?
Will the rates change based on whether there's a game that day?
Will the cost of a parking ticket change?
Has this been tried anywhere else?
What is RPP?
How can I see a map of the plan?


What is performance pricing?
Performance parking is a strategy used to manage parking demand, fight congestion, and reduce the occurrence of double-parking.  Research has shown that free or under-priced parking artificially inflates demand for parking.  Performance pricing works to eliminate this artificial inflation.  Simply put, performance pricing will mean decreasing the time spent in hunting for parking, reducing the need for double parking, prioritizing residents in the residential streets, and ensuring reliable parking options for patrons on the retail streets. 

When parking is free or vastly under-priced, it encourages more people to drive even if they might have other good choices.  Why pay a couple of dollars to take transit or walk six blocks if there is free or cheap parking?  Once parked, people understandably don’t want to move their cars because it will be difficult to find another spot.  Those who must drive or for whom the other transportation choices are not viable end up struggling to find parking at their destinations. 

However, with the appropriate parking rate, transit, walking, biking, or carpooling may become the better option for some.  Further, occupying a parking space in front of a store or someone’s house for a long period becomes less enticing because there is a cost associated with it.  Thus, parking spaces get used more efficiently throughout the day instead of being taken over by a single vehicle.  By figuring out the market value of a parking space and pricing it accordingly, it serves to manage the supply and demand of parking.  Case studies have shown sometimes even a very minor adjustment of the rate can achieve the desired result.  This helps those who have no choice but to drive because even though they may end up paying a little bit more to park, they will be assured that they will find convenient parking easily without having to hunt for it and without having to spill into the residential streets.

For a comprehensive look at the issues related to parking and learn about real case studies and innovative parking strategies, pick up Professor Donald Shoup’s groundbreaking book: “The High Cost of Free Parking”.  To view an interview and view a visual explanation of how curbside parking works, click here.

I live in Ward 6 and sometimes drive to Barracks Row or Eastern Market. How will this affect me?
For Ward 6 residents, their Zone 6 RPP parking sticker means they’ll see little difference in how they park their cars. But with better management, they should find that visitors stick to the retail streets and the residents become the priority for residential streets. Except on commericial streets where Ward 6 residents already pay to park, residents will not pay, even when a meter is present.

I want to have friends over for a dinner party, will they have to pay to park?
This is a great question and we've been working with DDOT and DPW to implement a visitor guest pass system. There will be guest pass system in place by Opening Day.

Will the long term guest pass still be available?
Yes. If you have an out of town visitor who is staying with you for a while, you may still obtain a parking pass from your local police district for their vehicle.  With this pass, your guest may park for without getting ticketed until the pass expires. 

How is enforcement going to be stepped up to make sure this plan works?
Strict enforcement is one of the keys to successful management of the parking problems. Public parking is enforced by the Department of Public Works. That agency has been very involved in the planning process for this proposal and more DPW enforcement staff will be patrolling the streets of the pilot zone. In addition, using the multi-space meters actually makes enforcement much easier than the current unenforced two hour window. The meter prints a small receipt to be placed on the dashboard of the vehicle. Parking enforcement officers can simply check the time on the paper to determine if the car is parked legally.  Currently, car tires have to be marked and rechecked or license plates have to be recorded to keep track of how long a car has been parked on the street. 

Why are we extending parking restrictions late at night and on weekends?
Some people have asked why not just better enforce current parking rules and why are restrictions needed late into the evening and on the weekend. To be sure, strict enforcement is a key to this, or any proposal. But currently, DC law will not protect residential parking during baseball games and special events (which is exactly why I’ve proposed this plan). In most neighborhoods, current parking regulations only protect residential parking until 6:30 pm Monday through Friday, and they have no protections on weekends. Problem is, almost every game the Nationals will play takes place when there are no protections on residential parking. In other words, there is little enforcement option in our residential neighborhoods we can currently use. This plan puts a tool in our toolbox that we currently don’t have. Doing nothing means our residential streets are open game for ballpark parking and I don’t want to create that incentive for drivers to take precious parking spots away from residents. Most games don’t begin until 7:00 pm, so even extending the limit on residential parking for a couple of hours, for example to 9:00 pm, would still allow ballpark drivers to get two hours of free parking in front of our homes before the limits expire for the remainder of the time they are at the game.

How would parking on retail streets change?
Currently, everyone may park on a metered retail street and must pay to park until the early evening.  Parking on these streets is free during the later evening hours and on weekends - times when parking demand tends to increase.   Under the performance plan, the coin meters would be replaced by multi-space meters and meter rates would be enforced into the evenings and on weekends so parking demand is managed during these critical times and businesses are ensured regular turnover.  Rates would be set to make sure 10-20% of the spaces in the retail streets would be available at any given time. 

How will parking on residential streets change?
Currently, in the residential streets, residents with Zone 6 RRP stickers may park for free for any amount of time.  Others may park for up to 2 hours for free, but then they must move the vehicle after that.  The hours that this regulation applies can vary depending on the area, but generally the time period ends in the early evening and begins again the following morning.  The free 2 hours makes residential streets a viable parking option for non-residents, especially if it’s a street very close to a destination point in evenings.

Under the plan, the RPP hours would be extended into the late evening, and a multi-space meter would be installed.  Non-residents would be limited to park only on one side of the street.  The two hours would have a cost (perhaps a very minimal cost) to remind non-residents that it is a limited parking privilege.  Residents with Zone 6 stickers would not pay to park.  Nor would they have limits on how long they can park or on side of the street they can park.

I've heard rumors that parking at Barracks Row or Pennsylvania Avenue could be as high as $30. Is this true?
Absolutley not. Rates will be determined by the Department of Transportation to achieve the goals of the plan. For some retail streets with a lot of congestion and double parking, there may be a slight increase to find the right price point. The highest rates would be on commercial streets in the immediate vicinity of the ballpark to remove the incentive of free or cheap street parking for ballpark visitors that would undoubtedly cruise the neighborhoods looking for these prime, cheap alternatives.

Will metal stick meters be placed on every street?
No. This plan does not require that individual meters be installed up and down the street. In fact, where we currently have metal meters, many of them could be removed altogether for improved sidewalks. The multi-space meter allows one meter box to control parking for as much as one block -- avoiding any need to damage or tear up sidewalks or flower boxes. The multi-space meters are also solar powered, thus they don’t require connection to the power grid.

How is the revenue generated by the meters going to be used?
The money generated by the meters will be spent in three ways. First, some funds will be used to pay off the costs of buying and installing the meters (expected to take less than two years). Second, some funds will be used to pay for the increased enforcement of curbside parking within the zone. Third, the remaining funds will be reinvested into the pilot area for projects such as streetscape improvements, sidewalk repairs, lighting and safety treatments, public transportation enhancements, and much more.

The proposal says the goal is to have 80-90 percent curbside parking space occupancy. What does that mean?
In order to ensure that you can count on having a parking spot available when you drive to your destination, the meters have to be priced accordingly. In Georgetown and Adams Morgan, parking occupancy is almost 100%. The result? We all dread trying to drive to those neighborhoods and the residents have almost no where to park their car. Waiting until we reach 100% occupancy and then deciding what to do is a poor way to meet this challenge. 80-90% occupancy means that there's always a spot or two available on the block, and drivers (whether from Zone 6 or outside) don't circle blocks over and over again looking for an available space. For some of our retail corridors the rate is just about right. For others, the rate is so low and the blocks so congested, double parking in driving lanes is the order of the day, and that's where an adjustment in meter rates would make a difference.

Will the rates change based on whether there's a game that day?
One of the benefits of the multi-space meter is that the rate can be changed when needed. Commercial parking rates immediately around the stadium would be higher on game days than on non-game days. The rates would also be reviewed frequently by the Department of Transportation to determine if they were too low, or too high, to accomplish the plan's goals. Rates on retail streets could also be adjusted on days where demand will spike, if it is needed.  This would be done to ensure that businesses benefit from the regular turnover even on those high demand days.

Will the cost of a parking ticket change?
Yes. Currently, if a car gets a parking ticket for going over the two-hour limit for on-street parking, the price of the ticket is only $25. If the price of parking in the garage is the same or more, then most ballpark drivers will spend time circling through neighborhoods looking for a parking place where they know if they get caught, it's still cheaper than paying for garage parking. This is a poor prospect for the residents around the ballpark. Increasing the fine to $50 and removing incentives for ballpark visitors to park in residential neighborhoods will help make sure vehicles park only where they are supposed to.

Has this been tried anywhere else?
Yes. Performance pricing has been used in other cities to manage curbside parking. Each city has reported success with better management of congestion and double parking, and protecting residential parking. It's also created revenue that gets reinvested back into the neighborhood to improve public transportation and pedestrian safety. The examples of Pasadena and Redwood City will be discussed at the Town Hall meetings.

What is RPP?
RPP stands for “Resident Parking Permit.”  This is a program that was established in the 1970’s in response to residential neighborhoods being overrun by commuters looking for free parking.  District residents who registers their cars with the DC DMV and those residents eligible for “Reciprocity vehicle registration” (such as full time university students or US military personnel) may purchase an RPP vehicle sticker from the DMV.  The RPP zones are designated by the Ward boundaries of the city.  If you aren’t sure whether your block has RPP regulations, you can find out at the DDOT RPP page. Here, you can also get the form to apply to have your block listed as an RPP street.

How can I see a map of the plan?
A map of the plan is linked above. You can click here to view it as well. 

Media Reports on the Proposal

Here's a sampling of what the media has reported on the plan: 

Wells Unveils Parking Plan, Roll Call: Click Here
City Working on New On-Street Parking Plans Around the Ballpark, JDLand.com: Click Here
New Limits Proposed For Parking On Streets, Washington Post: Click Here
Performance Parking Proposal to Affect Southeast, Southwest, Hill Rag: Click Here

Resources to Learn More

Informative Video on Parking Reforms: Click Here
The New Science of Parking, TIME magazine: Click Here