The District government should eliminate free and subsidized parking for its employees, a task force that explored ways to reduce congestion downtown recommended yesterday.
D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams and Department of Transportation Director Dan Tangherlini said the recommendation was worth exploring. Williams and Tangherlini said free parking encourages city employees to drive to work instead of using public transportation.
Evening rush hour traffic is constricted to one lane traveling south on 19th Street NW because of illegal parking and standing on both sides of the street.
(Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)
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Some Proposed Gridlock Fixes
• Improve internal public transit circulation through the Downtown Circulator bus service and other measures.
• Expand intersection management with new traffic control officers and other steps.
• Optimize downtown circulation through traffic simulation models and other methods.
• Improve conditions for pedestrians.
• Improve curbside management by optimizing the availability of loading zones.
• Increase available parking by opening the former Washington Convention Center site to public short-term parking.
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_____Holiday Travel_____
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Getaway Advice For the Holidays (The Washington Post, Nov 23, 2004)
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Damage Can Be Lessened, Road Study Says (The Washington Post, Nov 23, 2004)
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Raising the Stakes on Bad Drivers (The Washington Post, Nov 23, 2004)
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More Fliers, Fewer Workers For the Holiday (The Washington Post, Nov 23, 2004)
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"If you've got free parking, there's no incentive to look at any alternatives," Williams said after a presentation of the task force's recommendations yesterday at the Greater Washington Board of Trade offices.
One question the city wants to answer is how many employees receive free or subsidized parking. Tangherlini said he will ask the city's Office of Property Management to find out the precise number.
The recommendation is one of 20 proposed by the Downtown Congestion Management Task Force, a group of 50 business, government and community leaders convened by Williams (D) and five D.C. Council members in May.
The task force -- which included representatives of the Board of Trade, the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District, AAA Mid-Atlantic and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association -- examined the problems causing congestion on the downtown's 74 miles of surface streets and came up with potential solutions. Some are short-term fixes already being implemented, while others would require legislative and regulatory changes.
The task force urged the city to continue to deploy traffic control officers at seven key downtown intersections. Williams said they have made a "noticeable improvement" in traffic flow, and city officials said they are looking into expanding the program.
Other suggestions included placing parking meters at loading zones, which are currently meter-free. Tangherlini said commercial vehicles that use loading zones as "all-day parking" cause congestion, as others are forced to take up spaces or double-park.
The task force wants to see meter prices rise and fall with supply and demand, and wants the mayor to have the authority to set meter rates. Council member Carol Schwartz (R-At Large), a task force member, said yesterday that such authority should not fall to one person. "Any taxes or fees should be subject to checks and balances," she said.
Another task force suggestion that Schwartz disagreed with calls for decreasing the amount of time cars can park at some downtown meters. The task force is recommending that cars not be allowed to park on rush-hour routes until 11 a.m. instead of the current 9:30 a.m. to create curb space for deliveries.
"I believe that we certainly want to solve downtown traffic congestion problems, but at the same time we must do a balancing act with people who live here and people who want to shop here as well," Schwartz said.
The task force also recommended improving "internal" public transportation, such as the Downtown Circulator buses set to hit the streets in March or April. In addition, the task force called for improving Metro's funding arrangements, authorizing peak-period surcharges on traffic fines and the creation of a city office to better manage and communicate with truck and tour bus operators.
On the issue of free parking, Tangherlini said benefits may be offered to government employees who lose parking privileges, such as allowing workers to choose either the parking space or a cash payment equal to the value of the space.
Representatives of AAA and a union that represents about 7,000 D.C. government workers expressed reservations about the recommendation. "There are some larger concerns here," said Lon Anderson, spokesman for the mid-Atlantic chapter of AAA and a task force member. "We do not want drivers discriminated against."
Geo T. Johnson, executive director of Council 20 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said employees required to use their cars while at work should not be penalized for driving. But he said that parking privileges are used mostly by managers. "If people are just getting free parking to get free parking because they're managers, then of course do away with it," Johnson said.
The public will have a chance to offer feedback on the recommendations at a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 777 North Capitol St. NE.
