DC parking enforcement ramps up Monday

You won’t need to feed the meter but you will need to watch where you park in D.C. starting Monday.

As Mayor Muriel Bowser said earlier in the month, the District’s pandemic-induced loosening of parking restrictions is ending, and fines starting at $25 will be given out for violations like parking in school zones.

Other violations being enforced include the following:

  • Non-commercial vehicles illegally parked in commercial loading zones.
  • Large vehicles, 22 feet and over, illegally parked next to a recreational park, school, church or residential domicile.
  • Safety violations, such as vehicles illegally in or near bike lanes, crosswalks, fire hydrants, etc.

Here’s a breakdown of the fines according to AAA Mid-Atlantic:

  • $25 for vehicles illegally parked near schools with no-parking signs.
  • $50 for non-commercial vehicles parked illegally in commercial loading zones.
  • $50 for parking in crosswalks.
  • $150 for parking or stopping in or near bike lanes.
  • $1,000 citations will also be handed out to vehicles, 22 feet and over, such as RVs and travel trailers, illegally parked next to schools, churches, residences and recreational parks.

A few rules will remain suspended, for now.

Enforcement of expired meter violations and expired residential parking permits is still suspended. And D.C. will not issue tickets and fines for rush hour parking restrictions, expired license plates, inspection stickers or for emergency no parking violations.

However, Bowser has said drivers should “stay tuned” because further enforcement will “switch on” in the near future.

As a result of the suspension of parking enforcement in the District, the number of tickets issued by parking control officers plummeted about 43%, from 1.4 million parking infractions in FY19, to 838,000 such citations in FY20, AAA said.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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