Ah yes, the double-parking churchgoers are once again the news.

But this time, it looks like they may have their way. The Washington Times is reporting that a taskforce appointed by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams to consider solutions to the controversial problem may just end up legalizing the practice. Reads the article:

A D.C. task force is considering a plan that would make double parking legal at churches on Sundays. “One of the things they are trying to do is look at whether the law should be changed,” said Vincent Morris, a spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams. “They are looking at: Does the law make sense when you have churches scattered throughout neighborhoods that once or twice a week need many places to park? Does it make sense to have the same parking rules in effect for churches?”

Well, yes, Mr. Morris, it does. We sympathize with the important role that churches play in the city’s social fabric. Moreover, we understand that many of the churches’ most faithful parishioners have been forced out of the District by sky-rocketing real estate prices. And yes, we recognize that there are many of them. But this hardly justifies carving out an exception for them in the city’s parking regulations.

We’re not lawyers, but we’re guessing that some residents might see such an exception as the state unfairly favoring religious institutions. Why shouldn’t secular-minded District residents who similarly participate in weekend activities get to ignore the city’s parking laws also? Furthermore, this law just screams for trouble. While double-parking in some parts of Logan Circle or Shaw may not have that big an impact on local traffic, we can only imagine the hell that would come along sections of 16th Street, a traffic artery with the highest concentration of churches in the city.

There must be a better solution. It can’t be that hard to imagine ways to satisfy both the churchgoers and the residents whose cars are regularly blocked in by double-parking. Simply changing the law to satisfy one group isn’t a solution — it’s giving up.

>>DCist on the double-parking churchgoers.