Construction of one of D.C.’s new short-term family shelters presents a parking problem for police.
The city is considering three options for where police can park their cars during the eight-month construction of the Ward 3 shelter in upper Northwest, behind the 2nd District police station.
One option includes parking more than 70 cars on public tennis courts behind the police station. The other plans include restricting on-street parking and using an underground lot at a nearby shopping center.
“We’re asking the community and the ANC to weigh in on which of those options for temporary parking during the eight months of construction of the garage that they’re most comfortable with, but Ward 3 is getting an amenity,” D.C. Department of Human Services Director Laura Zeilinger said. “They’re getting a garage as part of the 2D site.”
Because of zoning issues as well as problems finding eight locations across the District the mayor and city council could agree on, the plan to open the shelters and close DC General is at least a year behind schedule.
“The construction timeline varies a little bit, depending on the site, but we expect that we will have all of those sites open and running before the 2019-2020 hypothermia season,” Zeilinger said.
The zoning board approved the plans to build the Ward 3 shelter and a shelter at an old police station along Rhode Island Avenue NE Wednesday.
