Photo by Maryland Route 5.The transition to street sweeping season is always a stressful one for drivers around the District of Columbia — moreso when drivers are getting tickets during the so-called grace period.

There’s been some confusion about when various District agencies were scheduled to begin citing drivers for parking in street sweeping zones. Sweeping began on March 1, but enforcement of the parking rules was only to begin on March 21. Some drivers have been receiving tickets in the interim, though — enough that Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham has interjected himself into the issue. Graham contacted DPW Director Bill Howland, who told the Councilmember that not only will those who were ticketed in the grace period be able to have those tickets voided, but that DPW is willing to give people an extra week of clemency. Here’s Howland’s explanation, shared by Graham via email:

There should not have been any enforcement for street sweeping prior to March 28th. Anyone that has received a parking ticket for the street sweeping violation should contest the ticket and should forward to me the ticket number. If the ticket was issued by DPW I will have it voided. If the ticket was issued by DDOT or MPD, I will advise them that it should be voided. I will also send to DMV that the hearing officers should dismiss any street sweeping ticket that was issued in 2011 before March 28, 2011.

I also realize that some residents may have gotten rush hour violation tickets that were issued because they were attempting to comply with the street sweeping regulations. I need those ticket numbers. If the ticket was issued on the day of the new street sweeping day or the day that the old sign allowed, we will void the ticket.

It appears that the streets that allow parking on both sides of the street have the correct signs. The difficulty exist where parking is not allowed on one side of the street except on the day the other side of the street is being cleaned. We are working with DDOT to get this resolved.

We will not enforce on these one side only parking streets until the signs have been corrected. I apologize for the confusion.

The key part of Howland’s statement: if you received a ticket for a street sweeping violation, you must contest the ticket in addition to forwarding him the information. Usually, D.C. residents can avoid a whole lot of messiness by contesting a ticket in the first 30 days after it was written — otherwise, one risks having fines and penalties assessed to the bill. Besides, with both Graham and Howland actively looking to rectify the issue, now seems the time to get it taken care of.

Of course, if you get a ticket today for street sweeping, well, you’re out of luck.