Photo by Dave Adams
When an overhaul to the city’s visitor parking pass program was announced last year, there weren’t many fans.
The new rules allowed for any household on a street with residential permit parking to obtain a visitor pass. Instead of being automatically mailed to certain areas, eligible households could apply online or via the phone for a pass. The Council passed emergency legislation to put the plan on hold and extend the life of passes to December 2013, and passes were once again mailed out in October 2013. (Yes, this was confusing.)
Now the District Department of Transportation says passes scheduled to expire at the end of September will be good through the end of the year. This will give residents time to comment on new proposed rules, and DDOT the ability to implement a plan by January 2015.
From a release:
These proposed rules will require eligible households (within Wards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F) to register either online at http://vpp.ddot.dc.gov, or by phone at (202) 671-2700 to receive an annual VPP. The revision to the program will help DDOT better manage the demands, and evaluate program needs going forward. Depending on the outcome of the comment period, DDOT anticipates opening up registration in late October 2014.
Additionally, the proposed rules clarify the privileges and restrictions of a VPP, that it provides temporary residential permit parking privileges to a vehicle, as long as that vehicle displays a valid pass on the driver’s side of the vehicle’s dashboard, and is used only within the ANC boundaries indicated on the pass.
The proposed rules also give ANCs in Ward 2 the ability to pass a resolution to request the passes. As Greater Greater Washington previously reported, Dupont Circle’s ANC 2B opposed expanding the program to its area.
The new application process will require people to provide “confirmation of District residency,” although the rules do not specify how.
“We appreciate that this has been a popular program in areas that use the passes,” DDOT interim director Matthew Brown said in a release. “These regulations will enable us to streamline the program, expand the eligible recipients and improve the management of the program. We encourage the public to weigh in on the rules.”
