All DC parking enforcement set to resume

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

The relaxation of D.C. parking enforcement due to pressures of the coronavirus pandemic is ending. D.C. will resume all parking enforcement starting Tuesday.

That includes vehicle towing and associated fines, street sweeping rules; vehicles must display valid D.C. registration and inspection stickers.

Residential parking permit fees are also increasing, from $35 to $50 for the first vehicle after June 1. A second vehicle will be $75. A third will be $100.

And if your driver’s license expired during the easing of regulations, you’ll need to get that renewed by July 1.

Booting cars will also make a return starting July 1 for any vehicles with two or more tickets more than 60 days old.

“We have been on a pause during COVID to permit all of our staff to recognize social distancing requirements. And we are beginning to come out of that posture,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said in April.

She said the DMV is scheduling appointments “for you to handle all of your business.”

“And over the last several weeks, they have been making increasing numbers of appointments available,” Bowser said.

There is some good news: D.C. is starting an amnesty program for drivers with outstanding tickets. The program will run from June 1 to Sept. 30. It includes tickets issued before Sept. 30.

“I also want to acknowledge Council member Trayon White, who has been very vocal and working with us to get this program launched as well,” Bowser said.

Drivers eligible for the amnesty program are still obligated to pay their original ticket amount.

But, “penalties will be waived, so for some, this will be a huge benefit and an opportunity to move towards having their registration and credentialing correct,” Bowser said.

Operations and Infrastructure Deputy Mayor Lucinda Babers put a hefty price tag on D.C.’s income if everyone pays what they owe in tickets: $400 million.

“But recognize that everyone does not pay,” Babers said, adding that D.C. would likely see about half that.

Before the pandemic, some $295,800,000 in traffic and parking tickets went unpaid in D.C. in 2019. In 2020, there were 811,792 outstanding tickets that were unpaid, according to a AAA Mid-Atlantic news release.

In Maryland, the outstanding tickets totaled $123,707,707 in 2019 and 2020. While in Virginia, ticket debt in 2019 and 2020 was upward of $76 million.

D.C.’s last ticket amnesty program ended in 2012, AAA Mid-Atlantic said, when the District recovered $3.5 million of $233,676,427 that was owed in tickets.

At-home COVID-19 testing kits now available

DC Health announced a new initiative, called Test Yourself DC, through which residents can pick up coronavirus testing kits to use at home.

According to officials, approximately 8,000 kits will be available every week, and each site will be limited to 100-200 test kits per day.

Results are expected three to five days after dropoff.

The site locations are:

More information is available online.

WTOP’s Abigail Constantino contributed to this report.