WASHINGTON — This year, the D.C. Department of Transportation is replacing older meters with new multi-space ones.
At Nationals Park, however, the old meters were removed and nothing was put in place. No new meters. No meters at all.
At 900 Half Street in Southeast, parking signs on the block remain telling people to pay to park, even showing a picture of a meter. But there are no meters to be found. So people just park there for free.
It’s unclear when exactly the oversight occurred, although it was likely between mid-April, when DDOT updated the meters in accordance with the new Nationals game-day parking rules, and mid-June. WTOP listener David Heyman tipped us off with photos of the problem.
So does this mean you can park there for free? Legally, no.
Six people received tickets at 900 Half Street SE for not paying to park since May, according to records obtained by WTOP. The latest was on June 7, 2015; each ticket was $25.
But with hundreds of people parking on the block each day, it’s likely that many have gotten away without paying at all.
DDOT tells WTOP it’s investigating why the block was left with no meters and when it will be able to put new ones up.
