Photo by John M
A previous version of this post stated that Park Van Ness’s data was from January 2016, but the article has been updated as the data was from March of this year.
As basically no one is immune from getting ticketed in D.C., many of us are often wondering how to ensure that the despised pink and white slip doesn’t land on our windshields. Well, in addition to adhering to the city’s extensive parking laws, you can check out some research conducted by the marketing team at Park Van Ness, a new luxury apartment complex on Connecticut Avenue.
The unscientific study uses one of D.C.’s public databases to retrieve parking records from March of this year. Among other things, the findings point to when, where, and how parking tickets were handed out in the city.
In March, meter maids issued the most parking tickets in the afternoon, early in the four o’clock hour, according to the team’s research.
Photo courtesy of Park Van Ness
They also found that, during that month, the most ticketed block in the city was Thomas Jefferson Street in Georgetown, which is home to Baked & Wired (maybe the cupcake fad isn’t over?) An analysis released by Greater Greater Washington in June seems to back this up with a finding that says parking enforcement is most concentrated in areas like Logan Circle/14th Street and Georgetown—even more so than downtown.
But GGW found that the presence of parking enforcement didn’t necessarily correlate with the number of tickets issued. In June of last year, for instance, their study shows that the most tickets were issued closer to downtown in places like Capitol Hill and Dupont Circle where neighborhoods are densely populated with higher-income residents and entertainment corridors.
And why are folks getting fined? According to the Park Van Ness team’s research, the number one violation earlier this year went to parking at expired meters, which raked in more than 17,400 tickets during the time span.
Photo courtesy of Park Van Ness.
The Washington Post found that, in 2014, the majority of unpaid tickets issued in D.C. were for 278,295 parking violations, which valued nearly $30.9 million.
And who is getting ticketed? According to the team’s research, drivers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Florida, and Texas accumulated the most tickets, respectively, from cars registered outside Maryland, D.C., and Virginia.
