DDOT wants to charge $8/hr for street parking, require payment 24 hours/day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do U St businesses think?

They have to be losing their minds. Bar owners in other neighborhoods, on the other hand....

If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would think that DC is intentionally trying to drive nightlife out of U Street and drive people towards the Wharf and Navy Yard. And perhaps it makes sense. The ANCs for the area of stuffed with people that moved to a nightlife area but complain about the nightlife constantly. Meanwhile, the city has these new entertainment districts. It’s a win-win for everyone except the incumbent bar and restaurant owners.

There aren't enough people living in DC areas near the Wharf and Navy Yard to support all these places, so they are promoted to entice people who live elsewhere to visit. Driving there is always a PITA on a busy weekend and parking is terrible. This is a huge deterrent for me personally. I find it easier to go into NW DC. If you want to go out somewhere not suburban and coming from the burbs you are likely going to choose location in DC with easier, cheaper parking and traffic funneling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do U St businesses think?

They have to be losing their minds. Bar owners in other neighborhoods, on the other hand....

If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would think that DC is intentionally trying to drive nightlife out of U Street and drive people towards the Wharf and Navy Yard. And perhaps it makes sense. The ANCs for the area of stuffed with people that moved to a nightlife area but complain about the nightlife constantly. Meanwhile, the city has these new entertainment districts. It’s a win-win for everyone except the incumbent bar and restaurant owners.

Ha yes, the Wharf and Navy Yard are well known for cheap parking and and abundance of on street parking spots.

They have what U Street does not have, parking garages.

I went there once during a busy weekend and spent a lot of time trying to get into a parking garage, they were busy and traffic had to funnel to enter them. Plus some garages rival in prices to Manhattan You have to make sure there are no sporting events or concerts or whatever going on or you will be miserable. These places also have few entry/exit points unlike urban grid of DC which creates gridlock if busy. And if you come during a weekday to try to avoid the trouble the place looks sad.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) It's a relatively tiny area of NW.
2) The $8/hour is only from 6pm-3am (ie, nightlife time)
3) The purpose is to encourage street parking spots to turn over frequently, which I am all for.

Street parking should be expensive and, in high demand zones, it should primarily serve people who want to park for an hour or less. If you're coming for a night out? Find a garage.

So we're going to require people who are getting completely hammered in bars to move their car frequently because they will be worried about the meter, and then they will have to drive around for 45 minutes (while inebriated) looking for a new parking spot. What could possibly go wrong?

Yeah, that's what we are going to *require.*

(No, the game is actually to incentivize people to park in a garage or take an uber. Which they largely will, if the price is comparable.)

Sounds like you've never taken an Uber on a Saturday night. The price is not comparable!

So DC should actually charge more? Ok.

Yes! Charge more! We can do to the bar scene what we did to the restaurant scene! (Does anyone still go to restaurants?). Seriously, you can charge more but then don't complain when people stop going to U Street. There are lots of other bars in other places, including Maryland and Virginia, where everything is not a giant pain in the ass.

People don't go to restaurants anymore, they are too crowded.

Do you even live here? The restaurant scene is a sad shadow of what it was 10 years ago.

That tends to happen when your murder rate in 2023 was higher than Detroit and Baltimore. And unlike Detroit and Baltimore, DC’s suburbs have more options for restaurants and nightlife.

Yes, for restaurants. Burbs have lots of dining options, convenient parking and good ethnic food. But for nightlife? I don't think so. I would consider it family friendly and even bars and beer gardens cater to families. And it trends older. Not a bad thing, but not really a vibe for an exciting night on the town for a date night. I prefer to be around various age groups if I go out, not looking for a vibe of a retirement community or a "babysitter-less parent happy hours". Places that are upscale and have good drinks are very few in the burbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) It's a relatively tiny area of NW.
2) The $8/hour is only from 6pm-3am (ie, nightlife time)
3) The purpose is to encourage street parking spots to turn over frequently, which I am all for.

Street parking should be expensive and, in high demand zones, it should primarily serve people who want to park for an hour or less. If you're coming for a night out? Find a garage.

So we're going to require people who are getting completely hammered in bars to move their car frequently because they will be worried about the meter, and then they will have to drive around for 45 minutes (while inebriated) looking for a new parking spot. What could possibly go wrong?

Yeah, that's what we are going to *require.*

(No, the game is actually to incentivize people to park in a garage or take an uber. Which they largely will, if the price is comparable.)

I live just over the line in Roslyn. Incentivize?

This move will just incentivize me to avoid DC altogether.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do U St businesses think?

They have to be losing their minds. Bar owners in other neighborhoods, on the other hand....

If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would think that DC is intentionally trying to drive nightlife out of U Street and drive people towards the Wharf and Navy Yard. And perhaps it makes sense. The ANCs for the area of stuffed with people that moved to a nightlife area but complain about the nightlife constantly. Meanwhile, the city has these new entertainment districts. It’s a win-win for everyone except the incumbent bar and restaurant owners.

There aren't enough people living in DC areas near the Wharf and Navy Yard to support all these places, so they are promoted to entice people who live elsewhere to visit. Driving there is always a PITA on a busy weekend and parking is terrible. This is a huge deterrent for me personally. I find it easier to go into NW DC. If you want to go out somewhere not suburban and coming from the burbs you are likely going to choose location in DC with easier, cheaper parking and traffic funneling.

+1
I live in VA and love the wharf plus it is near the bridge so should be convenient to draw people in to spend $ there in DC. But it is a nightmare because there is nowhere near enough parking there. I have literally spent over 20 minutes multiple times driving the entire garage looking for a space only to have to give up and valet it to have someone to put the car. It is insane how bad the parking is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DDOT wants to charge $8 an hour to park on the street. They also think people should have to feed the meter 24 hours a day. They're going to charge these sky high rates in what they call the "New Greater U Street Performance Parking Zone" but if you look at the map, it covers a large chunk of NW. Likely only a matter of time before they expand this to other neighborhoods.

The Greater U Street Performance Parking Zone centers on the U Street NW Corridor and extends across a significant area in NW, Washington. In the southeast quadrant, the zone starts at the intersection of Florida Avenue NW and S Street NW and extends to Georgia Avenue NE and 17th Street NW. In the southwest quadrant, the zone runs from 17th Street NW heading east along U Street NW, then south down 14th Street and back to Florida Avenue NW via S Street NW. Parking rates vary between $3/hour and $8/hour throughout the zone. Rates change at three intervals throughout the day: 10am, 6pm, and 3am.

https://www.parkdc.com/pages/meters#performance_parking

I don't think they expect people to feed meters, but rather use an app.

Why should parking on public space be free? A lot of people don't own cars and are thus subsidizing the free parking for people who do. How is that fair?

Yeah, and why should public schools be free? A lot of people don't have kids and are thus subsidizing the educations of people who do. How is that fair?

Yeah, and why should public libraries be free? A lot of people buy their own books and are thus subsidizing people who refuse to buy their own books. How is that fair?

Yeah, and why are parks free to use? A lot of people don't like parks and are thus subsidizing people who like parks. How is that fair?

One of these things is not like the other:

Public schools
Public libraries
Public parks
On-street parking for the cars of people going to bars

Actually none of them are free. None of them would exist without the absurdly high taxes were pay for a grossly wasteful government.

Imagine complaining about schools, libraries, and parks, while insisting on the priority of being able to leave your car on the street without having to pay much.

Acting like street parking is some giveaway is like saying public schools are a giveaway to parents. Parents already paid for the schools with their tax dollars, and ditto for drivers and the streets.

Only if everyone parking at the bars on U Street lives in D.C.

If they spend their money on U street they pay sales tax and also support local businesses. The area around it isn't dense enough, it's no Manhattan to only rely on locals living there to support all these bars and it's far enough away for tourists.

All that is true. But the PP I replied to said free street parking is just like schools and libraries, items that people’s taxes have already paid for. In the case of people who don’t live in D.C., their sales taxes aren’t paying for their free parking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) It's a relatively tiny area of NW.
2) The $8/hour is only from 6pm-3am (ie, nightlife time)
3) The purpose is to encourage street parking spots to turn over frequently, which I am all for.

Street parking should be expensive and, in high demand zones, it should primarily serve people who want to park for an hour or less. If you're coming for a night out? Find a garage.

So we're going to require people who are getting completely hammered in bars to move their car frequently because they will be worried about the meter, and then they will have to drive around for 45 minutes (while inebriated) looking for a new parking spot. What could possibly go wrong?

If you drove there, you should not be drinking at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) It's a relatively tiny area of NW.
2) The $8/hour is only from 6pm-3am (ie, nightlife time)
3) The purpose is to encourage street parking spots to turn over frequently, which I am all for.

Street parking should be expensive and, in high demand zones, it should primarily serve people who want to park for an hour or less. If you're coming for a night out? Find a garage.

So we're going to require people who are getting completely hammered in bars to move their car frequently because they will be worried about the meter, and then they will have to drive around for 45 minutes (while inebriated) looking for a new parking spot. What could possibly go wrong?

Yeah, that's what we are going to *require.*

(No, the game is actually to incentivize people to park in a garage or take an uber. Which they largely will, if the price is comparable.)

I live just over the line in Roslyn. Incentivize?

This move will just incentivize me to avoid DC altogether.

So, you live right at a metro and a short uber ride away, but won't go to DC if you can't drive a car and park at a meter? I don't think they will try to cater to outliers like you. We live in DC and never drive a car when we go out on the town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People still go to DC? I’m a city girl, but so much of the city has left, it is basically an outer ring suburban city. It’s pretty bland, getting more expensive, and getting less from it. If you’re not already here, why would you come?

What do you mean much of the city has left? The city is still the city and isn't comparable to the suburban satellites like Tysons or Mosaic or Reston or whatever. It's very different.

DC is kind of depressing now. I've lived here a long time and can't remember when things were this bad. The city used to seem to vibrant. Now so many neighborhoods are so quiet and empty and yet far more expensive than it used to be. You'd think DDOT could pause its jihad on cars until the city can get back on its feet.

[Anonymous]

Normally states have either high income taxes or high fees, but not both. Then there's DC. We have both extremely high taxes and extremely high fees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People still go to DC? I’m a city girl, but so much of the city has left, it is basically an outer ring suburban city. It’s pretty bland, getting more expensive, and getting less from it. If you’re not already here, why would you come?

What do you mean much of the city has left? The city is still the city and isn't comparable to the suburban satellites like Tysons or Mosaic or Reston or whatever. It's very different.

DC is kind of depressing now. I've lived here a long time and can't remember when things were this bad. The city used to seem to vibrant. Now so many neighborhoods are so quiet and empty and yet far more expensive than it used to be. You'd think DDOT could pause its jihad on cars until the city can get back on its feet.

There are two things hampering DC. Crime is the big one, and cars is the little one. Making it easier to drive/park in DC doesn't help the city with either.

The places in DC that people want to go to, like the Wharf mentioned above, are desirable because they aren't overrun with cars and parking. It has more "stuff" because it has less parking. Its the stuff that people want to have access to. DC needs to make it easier to get around without a car, which its doing in fits and starts.

If people actually wanted easy parking and high speed roads then Friendship Heights would not be in the state its currently in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People still go to DC? I’m a city girl, but so much of the city has left, it is basically an outer ring suburban city. It’s pretty bland, getting more expensive, and getting less from it. If you’re not already here, why would you come?

What do you mean much of the city has left? The city is still the city and isn't comparable to the suburban satellites like Tysons or Mosaic or Reston or whatever. It's very different.

DC is kind of depressing now. I've lived here a long time and can't remember when things were this bad. The city used to seem to vibrant. Now so many neighborhoods are so quiet and empty and yet far more expensive than it used to be. You'd think DDOT could pause its jihad on cars until the city can get back on its feet.

There are two things hampering DC. Crime is the big one, and cars is the little one. Making it easier to drive/park in DC doesn't help the city with either.

The places in DC that people want to go to, like the Wharf mentioned above, are desirable because they aren't overrun with cars and parking. It has more "stuff" because it has less parking. Its the stuff that people want to have access to. DC needs to make it easier to get around without a car, which its doing in fits and starts.

If people actually wanted easy parking and high speed roads then Friendship Heights would not be in the state its currently in.

Nonsense. The only mode of transportation that is becoming more popular in DC is driving. The number of Washingtonians who bike, who ride the subway, who take the bus are all in the toilet.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand why people feel entitled to store their car for free on government property (aka the street). I think it would be easier to just charge a lot for an overnight parking sticker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why people feel entitled to store their car for free on government property (aka the street). I think it would be easier to just charge a lot for an overnight parking sticker.

Out here in the ‘burbs they are trying to convince us that since we “don’t own streets” we aren’t allowed to complain if people want to park their cars everywhere in the street, indefinitely. So it’s totally fine if they increase density and reduce parking requirements without making sure that there are planes to put the cars.

I’d be happy to get some of that “don’t be entitled enough to park on government property” philosophy over here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good. Now make it $16.

You are why I swerve at cyclists.