Drive a car in D.C.? Here’s some more not-so-great-news.
The District wants to raise the cost of parking at a meter in some neighborhoods to $3 an hour to help close the city's budget shortfall, according to the Washington Business Journal.
Now, here's the somewhat-better news.
The D.C. Department of Transportation official has decided it won't push ahead with the higher rates until some new, high-tech parking meters can be installed that let drivers pay with a credit card or cell phone.
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“We’re not going to ask people to carry $3 in quarters,” Gabe Klein, DDOT director told the council’s Public Works and Transportation Committee during a 2011 budget hearing Friday.
DDOT wants to raise rates on approximately 2,800 meters in Ward 2, which includes Foggy Bottom and Georgetown. At three bucks per hour, that’s about five minutes for every quarter and an additional $3.6 million a year if approved.
Creating “premium parking zones” isn’t the only way DDOT hopes to raise funds, according to the Journal. Residential parking permits could jump from $15 to $25. And if you have more than one vehicle, you may have to pay a little more for those extra stickers.
The city has already extended meter hours to 10 p.m. and added them on Saturdays in some areas.
