WASHINGTON — Free parking around the National Mall and Tidal Basin is about to become a thing of the past.
Starting Monday, June 12, it will cost $2 per hour to park in approximately 1,100 parking spaces near the nation’s monuments and museums from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., every day of the year except Christmas Day.
Parking will be limited to three hours per spaces.
National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said the goal is to encourage use of public transportation and to encourage more turnover in the limited parking spaces available.
Visitors to the mall will be able to pay by credit card or with the ParkMobile smartphone app already in use elsewhere in the District.
“There are still some 400 meters that are free, mostly in East Potomac Park and down by Hains Point,” Litterst said.
Drivers shouldn’t expect any grace period before they need to pay.
“We anticipate starting enforcement right away,” Litterst said. “That’s why we started the awareness campaign about six weeks ago.”
Litterst said the Parks Service expects to bring in approximately $5.5 million per year from the parking meters. That money is slated for services that benefit visitors like the National Park Service’s share of the D.C. Circulator route along the National Mall.
