DDOT Invites Comment on New Religious Parking Policy

Cars are double-parked on both sides of the road near Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in NW DC. Liz O. Baylen (THE WASHINGTON TIMES)

From Bill Rice--

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) invites public comment on proposals to increase parking spaces adjacent to and around religious congregations and to step up enforcement against parking violations. The enforcement will start in late April.

"The goal of these proposals is an easy-to-understand, enforceable, safe system that allows congregations to park near their places of worship and residents access to their cars," said Michelle Pourciau, Acting Director of Transportation. "We will work with all the concerned parties - the residents, the congregations, the DC Government agencies - to develop site-specific procedures that work for everybody, just as we did for the Convention Center, the MCI Arena and RFK Stadium during the baseball season."

Before the increased enforcement starts in late April, DDOT will work with community groups and congregations to inform all interested parties of the new policy. These policy and procedures are a cooperative effort of DDOT, the Departmentof Public Works, the Metropolitan Police Department and the Executive Office of the Mayor. Comments should be directed to Miss Ann Simpson-Mason, DDOT Policy and Planning Administration at 671- 2740.

Proposals offered

DDOT is working with community organizations, residents and the relevant District agencies to create additional parking near congregations, as follows:

-- Conduct a detailed review, in coordination with affected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and neighborhood groups, of the existing parking supply and demand balance, identified by user groups. Based on this review, DDOT will pursue changes to parking and traffic regulations to meet these parking demands.

-- Provide blanket public space permits for as long as a year for Sunday parking and for other agreed-upon church events. This revocable and renewable permit could allow back-in parking, double-parking and other additional spaces and would be in addition to the parking/traffic regulatory changes. The new spaces would not block fire lanes or create other safety hazards. This site-type of scheme has been successfully implemented onCapitol Hill around RFK for the baseball season.

-- Encourage discussions with private parking operators or other parking facilities to open up more spaces for church attendees.

-- Examine transit options, including shuttle service from large parking lots, such as the site of the old convention center site and the RFK lots, by Metrobus, the D.C. Circulator and private vans.

-- Provide valet service to move vehicles blocking other vehicles.

*Sunday Double-Parking Enforcement*

District agencies propose the following steps to enforce and thereby reduce church-related double-parking:

-- For three weeks before enforcement starts, projected to be around April 23rd, DDOT will work with DPW and the Mayor's Religious Affairs Office to distribute warning leaflets/brochures as was done last year in Capitol Hill neighborhoods at the start of the baseball season.

-- After the warning period, parking enforcement will increase around places of worship.

-- Similar steps will be taken to expand parking and step up enforcement in other neighborhoods where parking is tight because of religious events.
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Note: Zoning and DDOT regulations should be changed to require churches and other institutional uses to create, maintain, regularly update, and report out to various community organizations and ANCs a "transportation demand management plan" especially when such uses are allowed as a matter of right in all residential zones.

Personally, I am okay with some double parking, provided the "valet style parking" suggestion were to be implemented. Also see:
-- nbc4.com - News - Parking Battle Brews Between 4 Churches, Residents
-- Church parking irks neighbors - Washington Times
-- Logan Circle Group Prays for Deliverance: Illegal Church Parking Mostly Ignored from the Post

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