Why is it that the public is not free to park in the neighborhood adjacent to Walt Whitman HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Due to abuse. Parking is for residents and their guests. Depending on the area, it allows up to 2 hours parking without a residential permit.

Do you also get mad that you have to pay a meter to park on the street in Bethesda? Or that most of residential DC is permit parking only?

Metered parking allocates a scarce resource by price - it is open to all and all must pay - and increasinly localities adjust the price based on demand.

DC permit parking is stupid. Its not even justified by the claim to be able to park near your house - since the permits are ward wide. Someone in a SFH in distant parts of Ward 3 can use their permit to park in dense area near metro. DC would be well advised to have smaller permit areas and MUCH higher prices for RPPs in places where parking is in high demand (a white market, allowing RPP holders to sell their permits to outsiders, would be another way to introduce some market logic)

Yeah, in general residental parking permit programs effectively give valuable public property (on street parking) to private persons for a nominal amount. They also incentivize those private persons to fight development and changes that would reduce the number of spots - "because you are taking away MY space".

https://www.amazon.com/High-Cost-Free-Parking-Updated/dp/193236496X

Upper NW has RPP to prevent people from Maryland coming in and parking to use the metro. I live about 500 yards from a metro stop and would advocate for smaller RPP zones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bummer, OP. Back to class for you.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Due to abuse. Parking is for residents and their guests. Depending on the area, it allows up to 2 hours parking without a residential permit.

Do you also get mad that you have to pay a meter to park on the street in Bethesda? Or that most of residential DC is permit parking only?

Yes. I believe my taxes paid for those streets and I should be allowed to use them. Especially, say, 8 AM to 5 PM.

Where do you live? Then we can all park in front of your house because we paid for them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Due to abuse. Parking is for residents and their guests. Depending on the area, it allows up to 2 hours parking without a residential permit.

Do you also get mad that you have to pay a meter to park on the street in Bethesda? Or that most of residential DC is permit parking only?

Metered parking allocates a scarce resource by price - it is open to all and all must pay - and increasinly localities adjust the price based on demand.

DC permit parking is stupid. Its not even justified by the claim to be able to park near your house - since the permits are ward wide. Someone in a SFH in distant parts of Ward 3 can use their permit to park in dense area near metro. DC would be well advised to have smaller permit areas and MUCH higher prices for RPPs in places where parking is in high demand (a white market, allowing RPP holders to sell their permits to outsiders, would be another way to introduce some market logic)

Yeah, in general residental parking permit programs effectively give valuable public property (on street parking) to private persons for a nominal amount. They also incentivize those private persons to fight development and changes that would reduce the number of spots - "because you are taking away MY space".

https://www.amazon.com/High-Cost-Free-Parking-Updated/dp/193236496X

The permits aren’t “ward wide”. Your address within a ward must be close enough to the metro to make you eligible for the RPP. So, I have a RPP in my part of CCDC but my brother who lives closer to rock creek park in ward 3 does not. Neither do my in-laws who live in forest hills in ward 3

Facts. They are our friends

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's currently a bit of a furor over this in the WW area, on the neighborhood email list. Apparently a police officer ticketed all the illegally-parked cars that were parked just by the school (back driveway by the field) earlier this week. A parent got mad and said it was probably some nearby neighbor who called the cops, this is so unjust, etc. They did acknowledge their kid was parked in a no parking zone, at least.

I drove by the other day to check it out. No parking signs are clearly marked, and people are parking haphazardly. It would be a tight squeeze for a hook and ladder fire truck to make it through that, especially in a rush. I think the no parking signs in that area are justified -- it's a tight squeeze.

As for within the neighborhood itself, that's not unique to Whitman -- you'll find that outside every high school I'd say.

These kids don't all _need_ to drive to school. The school provides school bus transportation, and there is a Ride-On bus stop directly in front of the school. Yes, there are more people who want permits than they have spaces, but they should just auction them off or use a lottery process.

I am sure it was a neighbor because I don't think that is an area that is regularly patrolled. There would be no reason students couldn't park in an orderly fashion on streets near the front of the school, but it isn't allowed either. The Ride On only services part of the area from which students are drawn from and comes infrequently enough that it might not work time was. But for people far enough for the school bus, that's certainly an option.

Auctioning spots would greatly favor wealthy students so I can't imagine that would be considered.

Actually I think it is regularly patrolled. Seems to me any cop in the area passing by would do a quick cruise through the school to look for people up to no good (not parking.. other issues) and it's quite glaringly obvious those cars are all parked in a no parking zone.

As for Ride-On, it runs every half hour from 5:30am to 8:15pm, and I see a lot of students using it (they ride for free with school ID). There's also the T-2 bus at the end of Whittier at River. I don't think students are lacking in transportation options, between walking, school bus, and two public bus routes.

[Anonymous]

For Whitman specifically, they are going to be adding some portable classrooms and doing renovations in the near future, so 50 parking spots will be taken away during that time. That will make it worse. I think their best option would be to give away permits using a lottery system, with preference to carpoolers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of neighborhoods all over the country have parking restrictions around high schools. Including mine, thankfully.

It’s ridiculius and there’s no reason for it.
Protest and get it overturned, OP.

Good luck- you’ll need it!

Right. Because rich middle aged - ancient adults always get their way.

Especially when common sense is “their way.”

[Anonymous]

I think any neighborhood in Moco can petition for permit-only parking by showing that a significant number of nonresidents occupy spaces regularly. My neighborhood near suburban hospital has it.