Michelle Basch, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Parking in D.C. frustrates many residents, from restaurant patrons and church-goers to business developers. The District Department of Transportation wants to hear about it.
“I’ve gotten tickets, with money on my meters,” says Elton, one of dozens of people who showed up Tuesday for the first in a series of public meetings called Parking Think Tanks.
DDOT is inviting everyone, even nonresidents, to take part in one or all of the meetings.
After an initial presentation, participants at Tuesday’s meeting in Northwest were asked to break into groups to discuss everything from parking meter issues to commercial parking troubles.
“The green multispace meters? They fail so often, and they run out of paper,” says Kristen Barden with the Adams Morgan Business Improvement District.
One D.C. resident said to avoid having to pay parking meters on Saturdays, he and his family go out to eat in Arlington instead.
Others were upset about new parking meters being added near long-established churches.
“The next steps are to have at least four, maybe six Think Tanks,” says DDOT’s Angelo Rao.
Following that, Rao says in late fall or early winter there will be a public summit to talk about what DDOT heard in the meetings, and lay out a strategy for developing a new comprehensive curbside parking management plan in the District.
The next Parking Think Tank is scheduled for 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept.18 at the Ora Glover Community Room on Good Hope Road in Southeast.
Click here for more information about the Parking Think Tank programs.
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