After a first vote in late December, on Tuesday the D.C. Council gave final approval to a measure that doubles parking meter rates downtown from $1 to $2 an hour, reports WTOP’s Mark Segraves. The rate hikes will also hit other parts of town, though less so — expect to pay a quarter more an hour. District officials expect the hike to raise an additional $2 to $7 million a year, which will be directed to affordable housing programs and restoring the O Street Market.

The only vote against the rate hike came from Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). According to his office, Mendelson voted against the legislation because he felt that the amount of the rate hike wasn’t based on any local studies of traffic and parking conditions, and that it might not actually help facilitate turnover in on-street parking or promote alternative forms of transportation.

The D.C. Republican Committee also came out against the proposal, though for a different reason. In a statement, Chairman Robert J. Kabel said, “Six days into the New Year and the D.C. Council is already considering a new financial burden to place on District taxpayers. The Council should abandon [Council member Jim] Graham’s meter rate hike, and find ways to cut their bloated budget. If the District’s parking fares are less than our neighboring jurisdictions, why would we get rid of an economic incentive for people to shop and do business in the District.”

In our minds, Mendo has a better reason to oppose the legislation than do the Republicans. We’ve written about making changes to parking rules in the District, and finding ways to make on-street parking more closely match its market value and promote quicker turnover is a good place to start. And while jacking up rates downtown is a political no-brainer — how many people really live downtown? — Mendo is right in pointing out than an arbitrary $1 jump may sound great, but it’s not terribly scientific. The Republican Committee, though, seems to be stretching in assuming that the only incentive to shop in the District is that it has cheaper on-street parking than neighboring jurisdictions. (It might not — Arlington has recently debated raising rates too.)

As an occasional driver myself, I can say that stricter on-street parking rules have had an obvious impact on whether or not I choose to drive somewhere in the city. Though I rarely drive into downtown, pumping that many quarters to park will very quickly dissuade me from ever trying to park there. That’s not to say I won’t ever go there — just that my bike looks that much better now.

Picture by phot0matt