May 20, 2008
Another Way to Start a Parking Argument
Yesterday City Desk pointed us to the YouTube video above concerning something that always fires up District residents -- parking. The video in question creatively makes a point that's long been a reality for residents of Adams Morgan and its surrounding neighborhoods -- people who go out in Adams Morgan tend to park pretty much anywhere they want.
As a resident of one of the nearby neighborhoods, I can attest to the fact that Adams Morgan bar-goers will park in every free space within a two-mile radius of their favorite 18th Street haunt. And though parking in the neighborhood is often tricky as it is, if you're foolish enough to seek parking any time after 7 p.m. on a Friday or Saturday night, well, you may as well just up and park at the National Zoo -- it's about as close as you'll get to home.
Despite its questionable use of music, the video does bring up a point that is becoming central to many debates about on-street parking in the District -- the need for tighter regulations. We District residents have long been spoiled by the fact that compared to other cities, on-street parking is relatively easy to come by. Sure, you need a zone sticker to park for more than two hours in many places, but enforcement is limited to daytime hours on weekdays.
In recent months and years, new on-street parking initiatives have started appearing in various neighborhoods. Georgetown and Adams Morgan have had successful runs with multi-space electronic parking meters, while D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) was more recently able to push through stricter parking regulations on Capitol Hill both to prevent baseball fans from parking in neighborhoods around Nationals Park and to promote faster turnaround in busy commercial areas like Eastern Market. Generally, though, the rest of the city remains relatively lax when it comes to on-street parking.
Of course, there is no need for a citywide, one-size-fits-all solution. (Unless, as some have proposed, the city were to raise the price for residential parking permits or limit the number each household could receive.) For every neighborhood that suffers from a lack of on-street parking, there are plenty that have more than enough of it to go around. If there is one place that needs stricter parking rules, it's the area around Adams Morgan. Whether the two-hour rule should be extended to weekends or enforcement of illegal parking made more vigorous -- there's gold to be had in every illegal parking job on Saturday nights, after all -- the video makes clear that the current situation just doesn't cut it for residents.
But how far are the District's elected officials willing to go, and who's going to start the conversation? Now is probably the best time, given that on-street parking should be part of the larger conversation on sustainable transportation practices in the District. Or is the resident who made the video just complaining too much about the urban reality that if you live in a popular neighborhood, you should expect tough parking? Leave us your thoughts.
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Enough already. I know this isn't exactly on point, but they need to shut down 18th Street after 7:00 PM on the weekends. Period. There is absolutely NO REASON for a person to drive through Adams Morgan after that time. If you are driving up or down the strip at night on a Friday or Saturday night, you're not looking for parking. You're clearly just showing off your wheels and the volume of your stereo. And most likely, you're alone. And if you are looking for parking, you're a moron. But you're a moron either way.
It should be like Bourbon street. Open to traffic during the day, but only to foot traffic and taxis at night on the weekends. Or set up a taxi stand.
I thought they were setting up a taxi stand in Adams Morgan...??
"Or is the resident who made the video just complaining too much about the urban reality that if you live in a popular neighborhood, you should expect tough parking?"
Bingo bango bongo.
Glad I didn't go for that apt near there...
people were talking about the taxi stand for awhile, but i haven't heard anything on it in a few months. but it almost seems silly to restrict the way taxis use the strip, while letting everyone else go crazy in their SUVs. IMO, taxis are the only ones who have any business being there on weekend nights.
i think alot of people who take up those spots on side streets (which spawned that video) are coming down to AM with the idea that they're gonna get a spot on 18th. maybe if we just shut it down altogether, they'll think twice about driving into the area.
OK the church parking thing I can understand.
But seriously your going to complain about parking on a Friday night in Adams Morgan?
Really?
Yeah, after watching that video, this guy is a wussy. Parking is extremely difficult and if you live there, you need to know that. Those are the breaks.
Illegally parked cars, on the other hand, is inexcusable. They should all be towed. Double parking anytime/anyday of the week in front of or nowhere near a church should also be a towable offense. Everytime.
I agree that in moving to Adams Morgan means you know what you are getting into regarding parking. However, the city knows when parking is really tough and should enforce the regulations in the evening so that there is incentive to use the garages.
I love the idea of shutting down 18th St. and making it into a Bourbon St. area perhaps with the restaurants setting up additional tables on the street but that would never ever fly with the ANC.
BTW: I live in Mt. Pleasant and evening parking is really tight there.
I'm with Fenster. Re-name 18th Street "Bud-Ice-and-Pizza-Mart-Vomit Avenue," get an alcohol sponser to pay for the naming rights, and make it an open-container-law-exempt zone. Also, serve Hurricanes and Daiquiris from half-gallon plastic cups sold at street vendors.
And strippers. LOTS of strippers.
Old Town has residential permit zones, too, but their parking is enforced 24/7. Woe unto anyone DC driver dumb enough to park around the corner from PX on a Saturday night.
Anyone who thinks owning a car & driving in this city is practical or realistic gets what they deserve. I can't wait until gas is $6 a gallon. It's practically the definition of an 'idiot tax'.
What's the point of the video? It's complaining about non-residents parking in Adams Morgan. Ok. So what?
If the meter maids aren't ticketing those cars for staying longer than the 2 hours allowed, then the meter maids need to step up enforcement.
But the video seems to be complaining that area residents have a very difficult time finding parking in their neighborhood. Ok. So what? That happens in any other popular neighborhood with an active dining and nightlife scene. Does the videomaker want special parking privileges only for area residents? As in, Thou Shalt Not Park Thy Car Here, Unless Thou Livest Nearby? Good luck with that approach.
Look, bottom line, if you live in a popular neighborhood and have a car, parking is going to be a major pain in the ass. That's part of the downside of living in a popular area. If you come up with micro-residential parking permits, that's going to be a total nightmare. Which Adams Morgan residents get it? If you live across the street from an arbitrary boundary, are you SOL? If Adams Morgan, then why not Eastern Market? And Georgetown? And Foggy Bottom? And Friendship Heights? And Cleveland and Woodley Park? And Swampoodle?
You live in a city. You live in a popular neighborhood in a city. You live in a popular neighborhood in a city and you have a car and no parking space or garage spot. Those are decisions you made and have to deal with.
Elementary economics tells us that when something is free, there will be more demand than supply. That is the issue with parking.
Why should everyone driving to Adams Morgan at night be able to park for free? Why not charge a reasonable amount for non-residents to park in the neighborhood? Put a couple multi-space kiosks on the main roads where people can buy a pass to put on their windshield.
Use the money raised to improve the neighborhood, by fixing treeboxes or repaving broken sidewalks or improving buses so it's easier not to drive. With parking not free, some people will choose not to drive, and those who do will know they can find a space.
Professor Donald Shoup of UCLA has done a lot of work on this and it has worked in downtowns in many cities like Pasadena and Boulder. Here's a video from a talk he did in New York.
I wouldn't be too sure that the ANC would oppose shutting down 18th Street....As for setting up tables on the street, even the much ballyhooed Bourbon Street doesn't do that....
monkey is smelling what i'm stepping in.
i live in adams morgan, but i dont have a car. i probably wouldn't have moved there if i did. people who live there should know what they're getting into.
but i look at the 18th street situation as more of a safety issue than a parking issue. it's just constant gridlock for hours on end. for what?? so people can show off their spinners? let the cabs get in there and pick up their fares, the people will clear out more quickly after closing time, and they'll be less mess to clean up after. the faster you get everyone out of there, the less chance of foolishness after 3:00.
You want to drive a car and have a parking space, move to Virginia, otherwise stop bitching. You chose to live on one of the city's busiest entertainment streets.
i second the motion for LOTS of strippers.
here, here!
@rukasu: not every place in Virginia is good for parking, either. i live in Ballston, and it's near impossible to get a parking spot on my street, let alone within three or four blocks of my house. thank goodness i'm down to weekend use for the most part. i'd hate to have to do the parking dance every day.
At the risk of making another one of those 'free parking for me but not for thee' arguments: free parking for me and not for thee.
And if you do get towed, you should have to read 'The High Cost of Free Parking' and write a short essay about it in order to get your car back (in addition to the towing fines and fees).
We live in the city- Parking is tough- but the trade off is not having a slow prolonged death from boredom in the burbs. If you have a car, enjoy the half hour search for parking as a short neighborhood tour every day. Anyone who lives in the city and complains of parking is a moron.
Like buying a house on the beach and bitching about sand.
While I understand that some people who live in AM need to (and have the right to) have cars, I think it's pretty stupid to bitch about it. Yeah, parking can be tough on a Friday or Saturday night, but you also have the benefit of living in a terrific neighborhood with great restaurants, clubs, and boutiques within walking distance.
I made the choice to move to AM 15 years ago, and also made the choice to not own a car. It still gives me a chuckle when people say to me, "Oh, you walk to work, you're soooo lucky!!" Luck had nothing to do with it.
Choice and personal responsibility - look into it.
Oh and yes, they should shut down those blocks of 18th to traffic on weekends, most cities in Europe figured out that improves neighborhoods about 20 years ago. But knowing this is DC, I know that will never happen. The businesses in front of Eastern Market haven't stopped bitching about shutting down parking on the one block affected there.
"Anyone who thinks owning a car & driving in this city is practical or realistic gets what they deserve. I can't wait until gas is $6 a gallon. It's practically the definition of an 'idiot tax'."
Sweeping generalizations much ontarioreader? I know it's crazy, but I own a car in DC and it is both practical and realistic. Here's the secret: I knew I owned a car when I bought a house, so I made sure to buy one with off street parking. And when I'm rolling my car out from the off-street space where it has been all week as I walk or bike to work, and use it to buy 10 bags of mulch at Home Depot or a weeks worth of groceries at Giant, I sure feel like I am getting what I "deserve".
Too bad an "idiot tax" on misinformed and overly broad statements is an impossibility in DC.
Wah wah I live in the city and I demand my free parking spot that comes with it.
Why do people who live in the city need to own a car? I understand it's necessary sometimes, but DC has great Zipcar coverage. Hell, even if you rent one for four hours every Saturday night, you'll still pay less than gas and insurance.
Seriously, if owning a car and being able to park it in front of your house is that important to you, live someplace where parking is significantly more ample. There are tradeoffs for any living situation.
First, DC needs to start towing on Friday and Saturday night. That will put the fear of god into the suburbanites who use AM neighborhoods like their own personal parking lot. I have never understood why the city doesn't do more towing, especially of the folks blocking crosswalks, fire hydrants, and the like. Taking the car away is like giving a naughty child a time out -- it just has to be done.
Second, I thought the 18th Street beautification project envisioned putting centralized/debit card meters on all streets north of Florida from Connecticut Ave on the west to 16th Street on the east. Residential permit holders would be exempt. Thus, visitors would lose their "free" 2 hours during the day and "free" night and weekend parking. Seemed fair and logical to me, which is probably why it hasn't happened.
I live on the west side of AM, and the parking situation is ridiculous on the weekends. It's also dangerous -- cars parked up to and within intersections make it nearly impossible to see on-coming traffic when you are driving on the narrow streets of that area.
Enforcement needs to be stepped up, not just on 18th street, but around the neighborhood in general.
Also, can someone in the city government please figure out how to put an underground garage beneath the Marie Reed tennis courts and play fields?
I've lived in many mid-sized cities where the local government funds parking structures with bonds financed by pakring revenues. Bethesda is legendary for building more and more parking in its downtown. Certainly DC could get its act together and at least try to add more supply to AM, right?
Why can't DC hire some strippers as meter maids? Now that's some spicy synergy! Here's a golden opportunity for the District to provide two valuable public services in one tight, booty-shorts-wearing, fivers-in-her-thong package. If parking meters doubling as stripper poles is wrong, I don't want to be right. Of course, you'd need some oiled washboard abs male stripper meter maids for Boystown. And when they're done with 18th Street, send them over to Logan Circle to scare away the out-of-town doubleparking churchies. It's win-win-win!
As I wrote on the CP blog, the funny thing about this guy's movie is that he's basically saying "Hey, because all these people want to drive to my neighborhood and park, I'm unable to drive to another neighborhood and park." That's someone wanting a suburban lifestyle in an urban setting.
That said, my parochial biases make me somewhat sympathetic to the guy. The city should explore the option of making some of the side streets 24 hour Zone 1 parking only (that's Zone 1 right?) [this should be explored in other neighborhoods as well, such as Georgetown]. Arlington does that on some of the side streets right near Clarendon. Of course, Arlington is like the iron fist when it comes to parking enforcement. DC could do a lot worse than to imitate them on this account.
While I think it's dumb to complain about parking if you live and own a car in AM, I also think that the parking regulations should be enforced. It really pisses me off to see cars parking in front the fire hydrant across the street from my building (which generally only happens on a Friday or Saturday night). We've had a couple scary reminders recently that building fires can and do happen.
Also, I find it hard to believe that every one of these cars is being driven home at 2:00am by a designated driver. If you want to go out and get shitfaced in AM, be my guest, but take Metro or a taxi.
First, every one of those cars in the video is parked legally. And since it seems like there are empty spaces open in pay garages, how will the addition of more pay parking help?
How much does it cost to park in those garages in Adams Morgan? Parking garages in Georgetown (at least about a year ago when I last drove there) after certain hours are only $5. That's reasonable. Anything more than that and people are going to do whatever they can not to spend that money, even if that means spending the same amount in gas driving around looking for a spot.
However, the city knows when parking is really tough and should enforce the regulations in the evening so that there is incentive to use the garages.
Unfortunately, there are no garages in Adams Morgan. (OK, there's one tiny one that's full by 6 pm.)
Shut down 18th to cars on Friday/Saturday nights and run a shuttle bus from the Woodley Park metro.
I think the bigger (and much scarier) point that everyone is missing (including the person who made the video) is that all of these people who drive to Adams Morgan to go out DRINKING then get in their cars to DRIVE HOME at the end of the night.
And believe me, I've seen enough morons stumble to their cars to know that there are far fewer designated drivers than there should be.
I'm glad to see from the comments that everyone is more or less on the same page. There is NO excuse to live in the city and actually bitch about parking. Actually, there is NO excuse to OWN a car while living in the city. People need to acknowledge that fact. Parking will always be an issue in a popular neighborhood within ANY city.
Here's my proposal: On the weekends, CLOSE OUT ALL VEHICLES on 18th street from the intersection of Columbia Road all the way down to Kalorama. Pedestrians only. That would be so nice....
To all those who are generalizing by saying it's stupid to own a car if you live in the city,
I tried to live in DC without a car and it was AWFUL. Metro SUCKS on weekends and late at night. Many of the buses rarely run on schedule. For the amount of erand-running I do, Zip car would have been more expensive than gas and insurance. I'm just saying we shouldn't generalize about DC car owners.
OMG, What? parking is difficult in Adams Morgan?? Next you'll tell me that there are no chemical weapons in Iraq.
One does not need a zone sticker to frequent Adams Morgan businesses. If it is legal to park in the space, what is the problem? Is the author suggesting we should implement 2-hour parking all day and night? That is stupid. It is probably better for the city that those people are parking there and spending $$ in the restaurants.
I never have a problem finding a space in my 'hood because I pay for one. If the producer wants a guaranteed space, I suggest he/she pay for one. Welcome to urban life.
This is just stupid.
I know tons of people who live in Adams Morgan and own cars. Have for years, even decades. It's your choice - and if you're not a total moron, you can park when you need to.
My friends simply park west of Conn. Ave. if it's really bad in Adams Morgan, and try to be home and lose the car by 7 in general.
Beyond that, I find the rumors of the impossibility of parking in AM to be way overblown. I drive there at least once every couple weeks, yes, *gasp*, even on a weekend night. And guess what? I always get a spot somewhere. Sometimes you park a few blocks out of the way, like down on Florida towards U street or something, but it just AIN'T THAT BAD and it's never taken me more than 10 minutes or so to find a spot. 2 miles away? Get real.
It's life in the city, suckers. Parking is in short supply. If you don't like the parking situation, get rid of your car. Even Adams Morgan is far from the worst parking situation I've faced in my life. Try midtown Manhattan for some real fun.
Anybody who says you can live in DC without a car has never tried hauling a carpet-wrapped corpse on a bike.
DC is not NYC. The public transportation here is not efficient enough to make living without a car practical. The people in AdMo aren't simply whiners and idiots.
The most practical solution to this problem is to extend and enforce the two hour parking restrictions for non-residents on the weekends. A few $30 tickets and visitors will start paying the $12 bucks to park in the garage.
This move would probably require the creation of a few new meter maid jobs. And the parking signs in surrounding neighborhoods would need to be changed. Cost benefit analysis would need to be done. But on the surface it seems like it would be better for everybody. More revenue for the garage owners creating more tax revenue for the city, a couple of new meter maid jobs, and hopefully an easier time parking for AdMo residents on the weekend.
The bridge and tunnel crowd may get grumpy about it, but that's a non-issue. They aren't residents and have no say in the matter. They aren't going to stop coming because they have to pay to park in a garage.
I live in Mt Pleasant and own a car and have no trouble finding a parking spot within a block of my house...
Its pretty useful for going out of town, giving friends rides, moving heavy equipment and groceries etc. And I take public transportation when I'm going to a busier section or plan on drinking.
Its definitely very easy to live in a city without a car and I think its generally a good thing to have fewer motor vehicles, but depending on the person and what part of the city they live in (I mean, the "city" is not restricted to adams morgan and other busy areas), I think there are plenty of excuses.
there is NO excuse to OWN a car while living in the city.
if this were in fact the case, I doubt that parking in adams morgan, georgetown, etc. would be a problem...
So if you live in adams morgan and need to drive somewhere else on a friday or saturday night and are going to bitch about parking, you probably should just move due to your sheer stupidity.
Hey, and there's one more parking spot!
jamie, i think the overarching theme so far from all these comments is NOT "those of you who come into the city and take up all our spots are assholes." that was the point of the video.
the conventional wisdom laid out by most of here is somewhat in agreement with you. if you own a car, you have to take the bad with the good. i don't many people here are bitching about the "impossibility" parking, but rather that the sheer number of people parking in AM on the weekends creates an unsafe and inefficient situation.
i dont see anyone bitching that they can't find parking in their AM neighborhood. most are saying they dont have cars. and the ones that do are saying they take initiative and deal with it.
I guess this is the price you pay for having so many neighbors, and so many bars within walking distance of your house. It's called living in a city.
Fear not! If you can't bear the congestion any longer, the suburbs are only a short trip away in a u-haul.
re: parking garages in AM.
1) Where the hell would you put one?
2) Why would we EVER want to encourage MORE cars in AM?
Why can't DC hire some strippers as meter maids?
Best idea I've heard all week.
I'd also like to propose, in addition to shutting down 18th Street between Columbia and Kalorama, that we let Disney come in and take over the place. Their Pleasure Island binge drinking facility in Orlando is great. If you can get over the fact that they "celebrate" New Year's Eve every night.
i say after 7pm, no free parking in admo... force ANYONE coming into that area to use a pay garage until it is full. stop this damn nonsense!!
"Shut down 18th to cars on Friday/Saturday nights and run a shuttle bus from the Woodley Park metro."
There already is the U Street/Woodley Metro mini shuttle bus that runs between the two stations down 18th Street, and it only costs 25 cents. That said, I won't vouch for its reliability, and I know that I would hate to be the driver of that bus on a Saturday night...
Vonas-
"Actually, there is NO excuse to OWN a car while living in the city."
Going out on a limb here and say your a childless, closemined, twenty-something.
Charge for parking, and charge a lot.
The on-street spots are the best, yet they're the cheapest. Why is that? I'd like to convince the Nationals to let me sit behind home plate for their $5 day-of-game ticket price.
Increasing the supply of parking is not a realistic option, so we have to focus on reducing demand. As it is, parking is ridiculously under-priced, especially in an area with very high demand.
I'm with MikeB. Disney should buy-out and close-off 17th Street between Swann and P and turn it into a Buttpirates of the Carribean theme park, complete with roller coaster, toboggan slide, and Johnny Depp shaped amyl nitrate dispensers.
To the people bitching about their being no parking.
YOU LIVE NEXT TO A BAR DISTRICT!!!
But with that said what DC needs to do is make the surrounding areas permit only for any time over two hours and tow all illegally parked cars.
Tow them to Baltimore and make the drivers come there to get them. That will teach them.
"Why can't DC hire some strippers as meter maids?"
Have you SEEN our meter maids? What kind of sick and twisted person would want to see that mess in a g-string, stilletos, and hot-pink rip off patent leather vest- bunch of sadists.
Well I live in AM and have a car that’s hard to park sometimes. I’d love to have resident only parking 24 hours a day like much of Vancouver has, but that’s not going to happen. I
I knew when I bought the car, parking would be challenging, and it’s not something that I whine about. Eventually the day may come when I either have to 1) buy a spot 2) get rid of the car, or 3) move, that’s just life.
I no more expect easy parking in the city that I expect to have the crime levels of the suburbs or a city government that functions as efficiently as Fairfax or Montgomery. Part of living in the city is putting up with shit you don’t like.
I'm Teddy, and I have a car and live in Adams Morgan. ("Hi, Teddy!")
I split my work time between an office in Foggy Bottom and Tysons each week. Not my choice, but the downturn in the economy led to me taking on more responsibilities at work, and therefore having to work out of a Tysons office. I also work in a job/industry that can have some unusually early and late hours. When I'm in DC, I walk or bus to work, and when it's late/early, I cab. But I have to drive back and forth to Tysons, and therefore I have a (small, ugly, gas-efficient) car. I had my condo well before these changes took place.
I don't drive on the weekends unless it's absolutely necessary (and when I do drive, I make sure to come home by 5 pm to park)--however, given the nature of my job, sometimes it IS necessary.
As a tax (not to mention title, registration, residential parking, and inspection) paying resident of Adams Morgan, I would appreciate being able to find a parking spot even remotely near my place (not even for convenience purposes, but safety) within a half hour of coming home on a Friday or Saturday evening. That never, ever happens.
I don't think it's too much to ask to extend the 2-hour parking restrictions through weekend nights (and enforce them, which is the key). It's not fellow residents that take up the spots--I have absolutely no trouble finding a spot at any given time Sunday through Thursday. It's the "visitors" to 18th Street, and given where I live, U Street as well.
Before being so sweepingly judgemental, maybe some of you should think about the (majority) of residents of Adams Morgan who don't have cars because they are lazy/stupid/entitled, but instead because of life situations that force them to do so.
wow, i cant believe how many people actually disagree with this video. I live just south of Adams Morgan and cant even find parking nowadays on my block on a weekend around 4 pm! It's ridiculous.
These people are coming into the city, taking the spots that we PAY FOR with OUR TAX DOLLARS. I think we should have a right to the spots 24 hours 7 days a week. If the people in the burbs dont like it, then take the damn metro.
There are plenty of reasons to have a car inside the city of DC - maybe you work out in Tysons or Fairfax or some other freakin place that has popped up as a business center because of the suburban sprawl.
"there is NO excuse to OWN a car while living in the city."
Actually owning car in the city is great IF:
You are savvy enough/well off enough to have off-street parking.
or
If you don't bitch and moan about parking and just deal with it, searching for a spot for 20 minutes is a small price to pay for the overall convenience especially if the car is rarely used like most urban cars.
Being able to walk to the metro to commute -and- have a car when you need it is so great it can hardly be described without pissing people off.
"To the people bitching about their being no parking.
YOU LIVE NEXT TO A BAR DISTRICT!!!
But with that said what DC needs to do is make the surrounding areas permit only for any time over two hours and tow all illegally parked cars.
Tow them to Baltimore and make the drivers come there to get them. That will teach them."
I once again make the point I made to Jamie...who are you talking to? Who here is bitching about not finding parking????
The overwhelming consensus here is that if you own a car, you deserve to put up with it. And those who've admitted to owning cars are happy to do so.
Please read the comments before picking a fight.
okay...i'll admit that there are a few here complaining (mostly after the aforementioned post), but most are not.
"These people are coming into the city, taking the spots that we PAY FOR with OUR TAX DOLLARS. I think we should have a right to the spots 24 hours 7 days a week. If the people in the burbs dont like it, then take the damn metro."
"Those people" are pouring tons of money into the city too, dumbass. They make it possible for those restaurants and bars that presumably you enjoy living near, to exist. If it were impossible for non-residents to park in Adams Morgan or U Street, there would be no nightlife district.
I never cease to be amazed how people in tourist-supported economies will always complain about the tourists.
God, watching this video for a 3rd time I can't get over the hyperbole. What defines 'walking distance' anyway? 1 block, 2 blocks, 5, more? And I love how this guy complains that people from other wards are parking in his ward's spot, while the basis of his complaint is that he wants to go to OTHER wards and park there. Think of all the residents of Eastern Market that can't find a spot cuz this dbag from AM came and parked in their spot cuz he was too lazy to walk to the metro. Give me a break.
@Fenster1977: I was responding to the video. That is actual subject of this story, is it not? And clearly, it is bitching about parking.
as a former AM resident who lived there both with and without a car:
1) I almost never drove anywhere b/c I couldn't park when I returned, so the car was near useless
2) When I gave up the ride, my car share membership and uagae fees (Zip car and the recently absorbed Flex Car) cost me less than my parking tickets
3) if Logan Circle residents can ask that parking regulations be enforced on weekends, so can AM residents (those suburbanites should pay to park in the dang garage)
4) 18th street should get shut down to vehicular traffic on weekend evenings so people will STOP FREAKING HONKING THEIR HORNS UNTIL 4 AM. seriously, you were already dumb enough to drive to AM on a friday night, did you really think you would get down the block in a single light cycle???
if you were talking about the video, then i stand corrected and i'm happy to admit it.
cheers.
Hardly anyone ever uses that shuttle from the Woodley Park Metro, and it's almost never on schedule. Last I heard, they were planning on getting rid of it.
"If it were impossible for non-residents to park in Adams Morgan or U Street, there would be no nightlife district."
This is a weak and self-serving argument. It's similar to the argument that we need more parking spots because of all that pollution created by cars driving around to find a spot.
You don't need car access to create and maintain a successful nightlife district. NYC is full of active nightlife districts with crappy parking. Our own Gallery Place is hardly a parking mecca, yet it thrives. I would be willing to be dollars to donuts that the majority of people going out in AM (even the suburbanites) arrive by transit or cab. It's a loud minority with a strong sense of entitlement that drives (and probably drives drunk at that).
(And wrt to the self-serving "what about all that pollution my car creates trying to find a spot" argument: The least polluting car trip is the one not taken. The more parking sucks, the fewer trips will be taken. I'd rather you idle around for 20 minutes looking for a spot, because it means somebody else probably decided against the car trip in the first place, and maybe tomorrow you will decide against it too).
"Hardly anyone ever uses that shuttle from the Woodley Park Metro, and it's almost never on schedule. Last I heard, they were planning on getting rid of it."
That's too bad, but it doesn't surprise me. Just another example of a great service that was trying to solve some of the issues raised on this thread dying due to lack of awareness and marketing (and probably management...)
Besides, I'm sure the 22-year-old VA trustpuppie crowd wouldn't deign to take the bus. Metro? Maybe. Metrobus? No, it's full of poor people who can't afford cars....
Sigh...
so i guess all the people who say the people who live in Adams Morgan and other 'busy' nightlife areas in DC are satisfied with all the traffic out in the suburbs? I guess we shouldnt find solutions to that problem either.
to "theJust": While I agree 100% with what your saying, keep that bridge and tunnel pretentiousness in NYC where it belongs. Plus, there's not really any tunnels in DC. I wouldn't count 12th street as a tunnel, more of an underpass.
Have you SEEN our meter maids?
A better question is have you seen our strippers? I'm sorry but the gentlemen's clubs in this city aren't exactly up to spec.
Oh, and as for the Woodley-U Street shuttle. It would be a shame if they ended that service, but it makes sense. Most times I took it there were only two other passengers on board, and it never ever kept to the advertised "every 15 minutes."
I don't know how those folks over there in AM do it, that parking situation over there is barbaric. I've been on the Hill for a little over ten years now and I'm bitter & crying a river of salty tears when I can't park on my block.
Just curious... why aren't there more parking garages in Adams Morgan? Has the city forbidden construction? I can't imagine a business more guaranteed to be profitable.
Those stupid shuttles never work. Nobody is going to take them to AM just like nobody is going to take them to anywhere.
Somegirl. I think the point of the video is there is a parking garage on 18th Street, next to the falafel joint and the old DC CD store. But no one uses it, I guess. Harris Teeter's garage seems to be getting little use, though it's supposed to be for store patrons. I'm sure they could get some business after hours. The next closest garages are at the corner of Connecticut and Calvert, and Conn and Florida.
They are listed here.
http://www.ammainstreet.org/gettinghere.htm
There aren't many spots available for parking garages to be built in AM, though the lot on the corner of 18th and California (currently home to parking for Lauriol Plaza/lots of Zipcars) seems like an obvious spot for conversion to a garage. However, I would hate to see that happen since I live a 1/2 block from there and it would be ugly as hell. Besides, it would be pretty small, probably not viable.
Didn't I see somewhere that D. is going to start a new Circulator route from the Convention Center to Woodley Park via U St and AdMo sometime this fall? It would replace the 98 shuttle.
BTW- I have lived in Dupont/AdMo for 20 years, and have been car-free for the last 16 years. It can be done! The only place hard to get to is the beach.
"Metrobus? No, it's full of poor people who can't afford cars...."
I know, it's a shitty attitude, but unfortunately I hear it from plenty of city dwellers, as well. I'd be curious to know if any attempt has ever been made to market Metrobus to these folks.
The shuttle's a waste of money. It's always at least 20 minutes late and it's always trapped in gridlock. You're better off walking. As a way to get people out of their cars, it's a failure.
Now, stripper meter maids will get people out of their cars. It's just that the guys will be walking kinda funny.
Give me the bus over a subway any day (service/route issues aside). It's a much more humane way to travel - I hate being underground. Besides, it's a great way to learn where things are in the city.
i can definitely see that attitude from virginians who commute in for the ultra-cool lifestyle supplied by the likes of Tom-Tom and the Angry Inch, but I take the S line everyday and there's just as many white hipsters and NGO workers on there as there are working-class minorities.
i think city dwellers are much more inclined to take the bus. outside of rush hour, the bus can be much easier than the train.
@AMDCer: Ya know what another great way to learn where things are in the city that's 'humane' (whatever that means) and works on your schedule 24 hours a day and doesn't require a parking spot? A bike.
@ AMDCer -- Unless I'm missing something, there is ample space below the tennis courts/ball fields at Marie Reed for a parking structure. Sidwell Friends build a lovely soccer field on top of their parking garage, so it can be done.
I wish there were more robotic parking garages in dc (see: http://www.woehr.de/en/projekte/index.php). There's already one at the Summit Grand Parc at McPherson square...a stylish one could certainly go in at the nasty Lauriol Plaza surface lot.
"...works on your schedule 24 hours a day and doesn't require a parking spot? A bike."
Agreed. Or walking.
"...I take the S line everyday and there's just as many white hipsters and NGO workers on there as there are working-class minorities."
I know - it's a perception thing. I usually walk to work but on crappy weather days like today I take the L2, and it's definitely not being used by working-class minorities. Of course, for a line starting at Chevy Chase Circle running down Conn. Ave, that's hardly surprising.
Cool link DLLAL - thanks. They have a lot of that kind of parking in Japan, too.
@monkeyrotica: I know a certain monkey that used to make fun of Ms. Dobbs for riding that short bus shuttle through AdMo... it had those gawdawful "peepl" drawings all over its side to make it look "friendly." FAIL.
@Reid: "You don't need car access to create and maintain a successful nightlife district. NYC is full of active nightlife districts with crappy parking. "
Um, Reid, have you BEEN to New York? Nobody there has a car, because you don't need one. There is a subway station within three blocks of about any single point on Manhattan. That is not the case in DC - and particularly not so in Adams Morgan which doesn't even have a subway station closer than Woodley Park. You can also get a cab from anywhere, to anywhere in NYC. Unless you happen to live in one of a handful of densely populated places in DC, you probably have to call a cab and wait a half hour to get one.
You cannot possibly be comparing the ability of NYC to sustain a night life district without parking to DC.
"Our own Gallery Place is hardly a parking mecca, yet it thrives. I would be willing to be dollars to donuts that the majority of people going out in AM (even the suburbanites) arrive by transit or cab. It's a loud minority with a strong sense of entitlement that drives (and probably drives drunk at that)."
Gallery Place has the tons of parking garages and a metro station. And MCI center. And a couple hundred thousand people who work within a mile of there every day. Come on. Dude, it's DOWNTOWN.
Lots of people drive to Adams Morgan. That should be obvious, given the clusterfuck that the roads are every weekend night. The only loud minority with the sense of entitlement here are the people who LIVE in Adams Morgan, who don't seem to think it's important that people coming to spend money in their neighborhood have anywhere to park.
@teddy: you can metro to tysons, too. I do it almost every day. I find that it's almost equal timing to sit in traffic vs metro to bus.
I think they should eliminate the short bus between U street and Woodley Park. Then, they should add a bit more of the regular 90 series bus line service, AND stop having some of them end their route on the ADMO side of the bridge!!!
"there is NO excuse to OWN a car while living in the city."
Wow, ignorant much? Some people have things like, I don't know, jobs that require regional travel, kids, close family living in the area, a strong desire to run over cyclists, and many other perfectly valid excuses for having a car in the city. Just because YOU like traveling with the plebes doesn't mean everyone has to.
I sold my car before I moved to DC and I walk, take the bus, metro, zipcar or take an occasional taxi. Given the cost of fuel, maintainence, insurance, registration, parking etc., I save several thousand dollars a year.
If you don't need a car to get to and from work during the week, enough options exist for most people to do without one. I suspect for many it is a matter of convenience and not necessity.
^Use of phrase "traveling with the plebes" reveals true reasons, proves others given are indeed "excuses."
Connie--please reread my post. Due to my job, many mornings and/or nights I need to either get to work or I leave work at ungodly hours. Metro does not run during the times I need to leave to get to work on time.
And the times I have taken Metro/the bus out to Tysons during "normal" work hours, it has been at least double the time it takes to drive (it's not hard to get to Tysons via car with Rock Creek Parkway, GW Parkway and 123). That's very nice that you have that quick experience and a job that affords you the ability to work during Metro's operating hours; I don't have that option.
Convenience and necessity: there is a fine line. If your schedule does not allow you the extra time required to use public transit, or get zipcars when a car is absolutely needed, then it's a necessity.
I take metro bus and rail to work and I do a reverse commute to Suitland. It sucks and does take an additional 20 minutes to get there by public transit. I have a car and it only takes 20-25 mins to get to work. Fact is, you need to own a car in this city. The bus is very unpredictable; the one I usually ride stinks, and the people I ride with look at me like I'm a white alien.
Convenience or necessity? Who cares which one it is? I never drive a car during the week, and yet I own one. As far as my reasons for doing so, all i can say is that there are a lot of people around here who seem to think they know what everyone else should be doing. I'll agree that frequently a car isn't necessary to get around central DC--if that's the only place you're going. But to say that there's NO excuse for having a car in the city is simply assinine.
that bridge and tunnel pretentiousness
Every time I hear a DC resident use the term "bridge and tunnel crowd," I have to laugh. As if the District is some towering metropolis on par with Manhattan, an urban pinnacle that soars over its measly suburbs; and not the Big Richmond that it is, let's be honest. Maybe you guys don't realize that you broadcast your inferiority complex every time you attempt to coopt the affectations of a Manhattanite, but trust me: you're not fooling anyone.
"The only loud minority with the sense of entitlement here are the people who LIVE in Adams Morgan, who don't seem to think it's important that people coming to spend money in their neighborhood have anywhere to park."
I know, being able to park your car within the same ZIP code as your house is such a ridiculous notion that people who think their entitled always want. If you saw the video, you would see there are a plethora of places to park in the garage on 18th Street.
That said, as an ADMO resident who used to have a car, it was always a chess game to play with finding parking and at what time. But, it is no different than Dupont Circle or Georgetown on a Friday or Saturday night. The same situation applies.
Off-street parking is a luxury for a lot of ADMO residents, because not every part of the neighborhood has functioning service alleys.
But, parking isn't made easier by ignorant people who can cab or walk just as easily as they can drive.
Come on people, we're at 97 posts (well 98 now after this one)...only two more to break the 100 post-insanity threshold....
And for the love of crap would you all stop refering it to "AdMo"....as everyone likes to point out, D.C. ain't NYC, so stop bastardizing neighborhood names like NYC does....if you can't type that many letters, just type AM...sheesh....
No kidding! AdMo is almost as stupid as NoMa...
Mooha ha ha. 100
I can't believe folks are recommending that this city install some fancy schmancy parking scheme that will probably never work, just to placate the whiny residents of one of the city's funner neighborhoods! jeez, doesn't the city gov't have better things to try to puzzle through, like fighting very real crime and beating poverty? as they say, pick your battles.
for the record, i live in AM and own a car. sure, it sucks to come home at 11pm on a saturday and know you'll never get a spot. the solution? park illegally, then move it the next morning. frankly i like that they loosen the rules a little on weekends and allow people to park in those empty (and illegal) zones. it just makes some sense.
I just wanted to post again so I could have a three-digit post number.
AdMo: Jeebus, and I thought "The Morg(ue)" was bad.
Bridge and Tunnel: DC always want to be like NYC (pronounced "Nyke"). But I like the expression, mostly it's a way to single out people from Virginia (versus Maryland) for taunting.
Parking: An economics problem of supply and demand that, like most such problems, doesn't need solving. When it gets too bad or too expensive, people will simply adapt. People who live there will either move or get rid of their cars, or decide to spring for an offstreet spot. People who visit there will either stop driving or stop visiting.
@ amandaa...yes, because the city hasn't gone out of it's way to "install some fancy schmancy parking scheme" in any other neighborhood (I'm looking at you people who live around both stadiums)...
I don't think anyone was asking for a fancy-schmancy scheme....
Reversing the RPP hours (or making them 24-hour) and making it a 3-hour limit and the city then actually enforcing it's own rules and regulations would go a long way to helping with the problem. The amount of money needed for new signs would probably be made up in the first few weekends of implementation...
"Reversing the RPP hours (or making them 24-hour) and making it a 3-hour limit and the city then actually enforcing it's own rules and regulations"
People say this a lot. But do you really want to create a situation where your legitimate guests, contractors, etc. have no legal parking available? Are you anxious to get a visitor permit every time someone needs to drive to visit you? Even if we all got issued a permanent visitor permit - what if you had more than one guest?
And as I've noted before, it's anti-consumer to make all street parking illegal for people who don't live there in a commercial district.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Wanna fix the issue:
1. Charge premium prices for any and all on-street parking (exceptions: DC Zone 1 permit holders with special parking passes, like the folks in the RFK and Nats Park areas have, though these would require the Zone 1 sticker to be legit).
2. Shut down 18th Street to all but Metro buses during "prime time" (Friday and Saturday evenings from 8pm to 4am).
3. On every street leading into the AM business district, place no-exception drunk driving checkpoints for all leaving the area (same hours as the road closure).
The last bit is key: scare the folks who drive into thinking twice about getting plastered. Perhaps then the taxis and buses (or a proper designated driver) will take better hold.
"2. Shut down 18th Street to all but Metro buses during "prime time" (Friday and Saturday evenings from 8pm to 4am)."
You should allow cabs too. Or at least implement that taxi stand idea. You've gotta give people options up there.