DDOT Seeks Public Input on Parking....Sort of

You may have seen the press release below on any of a number of neighborhood listservs and blogs.  The DC Department of Transportation is holding what they call "a series of public meetings" to "solicit public input on the future of parking in the District" -- but as far as I see, they're talking about just two meetings -- and one of them is set for the middle of a workday at a downtown government building, this coming Tuesday. The other one will be on September 18, at 1800 Good Hope Road, SE. There's a promise of an online survey for those who can't attend meetings, but it's not available yet. I'm wondering if the turnout at the first two meetings will affect the scheduling of any subsequent meetings, or whether ideas generated at these meetings will play a role in shaping the survey. Stay tuned....

--Peggy Robin

All Life Is Local

DDOT Seeking Public Input on Parking in the District

All Who Live, Work or Visit in the District Are Encouraged to Participate

(Washington, D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is hosting a series of community conversations, called Parking Think Tanks, to gauge the state of parking and to solicit public input on the future of parking in the District. DDOT envisions that these conversations will contribute to the development of a comprehensive curbside parking management plan.

In the ten years since DDOT’s establishment both the District and the role of transportation have changed dramatically. The population has grown; vehicle ownership has declined; transportation options and choices have greatly expanded; and more people are taking advantage of these new options. DDOT is asking for citizen input to develop strategies and recommendations to better balance the parking needs of everyone --employees, residents, and visitors-- who competes for a share of the limited curbspace.

The goal of parking management in the District is to improve mobility and convenience by:

• Preserving access to parking in residential areas for residents;
• Promoting and facilitating commerce by prioritizing customer and commercial vehicle access in commercial areas; and
• Ensuring the safety of all transportation users including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists.

DDOT is seeking comments and recommendations on a number of its current parking programs such as the Residential and Visitor Permit Parking (RPP) programs, Performance Based Parking, parking meters, the management of reserved / restricted spaces (such as commercial loading, car sharing, ADA parking, etc.) and bicycle and scooter parking accommodations. Details about DDOT’s current parking programs are available online at http://ddot.dc.gov/DC/DDOT/Services/Parking+Services. In addition, DDOT is seeking suggestions for future parking enhancement opportunities

Anyone who visits, lives or works in the District is invited to attend a Parking Think Tank and/or to share their input via an online survey. The input received will help shape future parking policies and programs to create a more efficient use of parking resources.

The following Parking Think Tanks are scheduled to take place as follows:

Tuesday, August 28, 2012
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
One Judiciary Square (Old Council Chambers)
441 4th Street, NW

Tuesday, September 18, 2012
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Ora Glover Community Room
1800 Good Hope Road, SE

The schedule for the additional Parking Think Tanks, the online survey and the information that will be presented at these meetings will be made available online at ddot.dc.gov/ParkingThinkTanks. The same DDOT presentation will be made at each Parking Think Tank.

Following the Parking Think Tanks, DDOT will host a public summit to report on the input received from the public; how the input may potentially shape the outcome of comprehensive curbside parking management plan; and the agency’s next steps.

Questions and requests for additional information may be directed to Angelo Rao at 202-671-1370 or by email to angelo.rao @ dc.gov.

DDOT is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, its projects, programs, and services on the basis of race, color, national origin, or gender, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or on the basis of disability as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If you need special accommodations or language assistance services (translation or interpretation), please contact Angelo Rao at 202-671-1370 or  angelo.rao @ dc.gov in advance of the meeting. These services will be provided free of charge.

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DDoT Holds Open House on Conn Ave Streetscape Design Project on March 31

The District Department of Transportation (DDoT) will be presenting the preliminary construction drawings for the next phase of the Connecticut Avenue Streetscape Project at an Open House on Thursday, March 31.

DDoT says that the project will bring major enhancements to the public space along on Connecticut Avenue from H Street, NW to Dupont Circle, including 17th Street along Farragut Park, and will include a landscaped median from K Street to Jefferson Place.

The Connecticut Avenue streetscape project was developed by DDoT in partnership with the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) board of directors and community stakeholders in 2007 to enhance the public space along Connecticut Avenue from Lafayette Park to Dupont Circle in support of economic development throughout the area.

Members of the business community, residents and other interested stakeholders are invited to attend this Open House to view the preliminary construction drawings, talk to DDoT officials and provide input on the drawings. Attendees are welcome to stop by any time during the Open House hours.

What: Open House for the Connecticut Avenue Streetscape Project

When: Thursday, March 31, 2011 from 3 pm to 5 pm

Where: Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) office, 1120 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 260

The BID office is near the Dupont Circle and Farragut North Metro Stations on the Red Line and the Farragut West Metro Station on the Blue/Orange Lines. It’s also accessible from several bus lines.

Please RSVP to David Suls at dsuls @ goldentriangledc.com or 202-463-3400 by Monday, March 28.

For more information about this project please contact Gholam Ali Agahi, DDOT Project Manager, at 202-438-8928 or gholam.agahi @ dc.gov.

DC Parking Meters Go Solar

I guess it's progress when DC improves its parking meters. Much as we mutter bad words under our breath about parking in the District of Columbia, the following is also true:

1. We hate broken meters because they make us wonder, "Will I get a ticket anyway?"
2. We hate people who park at broken meters all day because they take away a space we might have parked in. (Partially contradicts item #1 above, but nobody ever said parking invoked rational thought.)
3. Parking is as bad or worse in other cities.

Here's the news: The DC Department of Transportation has begun installing 1,150 new solar-powered, single-space meters that accept credit cards as well as coins.

According to DDOT's director, Gabe Klein, "The new meters are also a piece of a comprehensive Intelligent Transportation System architecture that that will tie together all of our assets with adaptive controls that change dynamically, and provide real time information to the public, and DDOT. From our signal system, to the Circulator Bus, to the parking system, all proactively communicating.  Did we mention no more quarters?”

Chain Bridge Weekend Guessing Game: Open or Closed?

For those of us who know about Chain Bridge (the top-secret path to Virginia -- not even your GPS knows it's there!), you may also know that you need to check for closing alerts from DDOT or VDOT before you plan to cross the Potomac on this route in any weekend in October.  Yesterday (Sept. 29th) DDOT sent out an email letting everyone know that the bridge would be closed for the October 2-3 weekend.  The following morning, the 30th, came the "never mind" email saying the bridge would be open.  Make up your mind!

You might think the prudent thing for Chain Bridge-bound drivers to do is to keep checking back with DDOT's web site before planning any travel that involves Chain Bridge, but the Chain Bridge page still shows that the bridge is closed this weekend.  The main page does carry the update as "Featured News."  Still, is it too much to expect the specific web page to have accurate information?

DDOT Considers Limiting Residential Parking to One Side of the Street

The weather and parking have much in common, but the main difference is that you can do something about parking. Sometimes. We learned from our companion listserv that DDOT is considering changes to the city's residential parking program. One of possible changes might be to limit parking to residents only on one side of the street. Here is the information that was posted today on the Cleveland Park Listserv by an ANC 3C Commissioner.

DDOT has undertaken a review of the citywide residential parking permit program. This includes the concept of resident-only parking on one side of the street. The expectation is that the review will not be completed until after the election and that a decision about implementing a pilot program specific to the area near the metro would not be made until after the new year. 

We'll update you on this when we have more information.