Fenty Suggests $3-Per-Hour Parking

One of Mayor Adrian Fenty's proposed fees to help solve the budget crisis is another quarter per quarter hour parking meter hike, the Washington Business Journal reported.

That would raise the cost of parking at meter for 15 minutes at the National Mall, downtown and into Northwest to 75 cents, or $3 per hour. Last year, the rate was raised from a $1 an hour to $2 per hour.

“In my ward, businesses are very concerned about charging for parking after 6:30 and the doubling, tripling of the parking meter fees,” said Councilman Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, whose constituency includes downtown and Georgetown, during a public budget briefing with the mayor. “I can’t eat out anymore without being accosted by the owner of the restaurant.”

Fenty said the fee wouldn't necessarily be final. The city would consider scaling it back or adjusting it at different times of the day until finding a fee that works.

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