From a resident at 13th & M Streets:
I am hoping that Sgt. Emerman or someone from the community can offer some suggestions here.
Our building has a three-car length no parking zone in the front that serves as the building entrance. This space is extremely important as we are currently completely surrounded by construction.
Unfortunately, some folks (very often the same cars) take it upon themselves to use the no parking zone as their personal free parking spots. This creates not only a serious inconvenience for building residents who need to bring up their groceries, but it also presents a hazard for any wheelchair-bound friends we may have.
I've requested that the parking enforcement folks respond to this serveral times, but the response is always along the lines of "no violations found at 4:50pm" and the service request is closed - well of course not, the parking happens overnight and on weekends, not during parking enforcement business hours.
The folks who do this have found a very obvious and easy loophole in the parking enforcement system, and we do not know how to get a better response out of the City. We don't think it would be appropriate to call 311 for after-hours enforcement, unless anyone disagrees?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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21 comments:
I am sure you are talking about in front of 1225 13th Street. Please stop complaining about this. People park there on the weekends and at night because there is no where else to park. I am a resident in this building. It is not a problem. If you live in 1225 13th street you can park in the drive way and unload your stuff on the weekends.
Sgt. This is not a problem and please dont take one persons thoughts on this as a problem.
I agree as long as the vehicles are parked for ten or so minutes max. Otherwise - ticket & tow!
I am not sure parking is not allowed here on the weekends since the city does lift certain parking restrictions on weekends.
Well according to the signs, it is a no parking area even on weekends. Why should the rest of us obey the signs if others are not. If the residents of 1225 agree that it should be ok to park there, then they should lobby to have the signs changed.
Look up and down 13th street on nights and weekends nobody obeys the parking signs. Look all across the city on nights and weekends no parking signs are obeyed. You know why? Becuase if they were obeyed then there wouldnt be enough parking.
Find something to do with yourself and stop complaining about cars parked in front of the building. Why you are at it why dont you complain about the cars that are parked in the alley that arent suppose to be.
The cars in front of the building do not bother anybody. They are not blocking any traffic patterns and it is only done at night and on the weekends.
I find it interesting that Logan residents want parking laws enforced when it comes to double and triple parking by non-residents on the weekends, and at the same time think it's ok to violate them themselves for their own convenience. If we want the laws enforced, they all should be enforced and followed by everyone.
Andover House, at the corner of 14th and N, is advertising spaces for rent. I've seen the ads in both Crescent Tower and Solo Piazza
Either purchase a parking spot, rent one monthly, or get ticketed and towed.
i did not mean to upset anyone. i respect everyone's point of view.
it just breaks my heart when i see wheelchair-bound folks have to pull out into oncoming traffic in order to get into the building because people are parked in a building entrance zone. (it's not just nights and weekends, either.)
clearly there are some very strong feelings about this and i will let the matter drop and not "complain" to anyone anymore.
It is not the fault of the cars parked out front that block the handicap people. It is the construction that blocks the sidewalk. There is not a wheelchair ramp where the cars park at.
And as far as the person who said that Logan Circle Residents want to inforce parking rules for people who dont live there but dont want to follow them thereselves is wrong. Double parking while blocking somebody else from leaving and parking in front of a building that you own are two different things. Hey Pal go look at what we are talking about and you will see that it is a non issue. The issue is that the construction people have blocked off the sidewalk for months.
They are two different things, and that’s my point. All parking regulations should be enforced equally, not selectively. You can't choose which regulations to enforce and which not.
As long as area developments are advertising parking, the argument that there is none available doesn't fly. It may not be the most convenient, but it does exist.
I walk by that area daily and know well the inconvenience that both the construction and illegally parked vehicles cause. There are No Parking signs in front of the building. Vehicles are parking there. This is a parking violation, and therefore this is an issue. The offending vehicles should be ticketed and/or towed.
With the exception of foreign diplomats, no one is exempt or above the law. As previously stated by another, if the residents wish to park there, they should lobby for a change. Until then, they are obligated to obey the regulations and follow the rules. The area is No Parking.
I'm a new "anonymous," and I completely disagree that it's okay to park in front of the building just because there's not much parking in the neighborhood. This is a decision made when buying in an area like Logan, and is not dispensation to flout the parking restrictions. There IS a handicap ramp there, and it should be left open (though I know I use it, when it's not full with long-term parked cars, to run up my groceries, flashers on indicating I'm there for less than 5 minutes...).
I'm also a 1225 resident. I agree that no parking means no parking.
I don't understand, however, why this resident has brought this particular issue to Sgt. Emerman's attention, when there are so many more dangerous crimes in the neighborhood that deserve police attention.
In my opinion, this issue ranks pretty low on the neighborhood safety priority list.
When you see a crime, you address it. This person saw an injustice and wanted something done. Its importance relative to other crimes in the neighborhood is not the issue, and should not have any affect on getting this addressed.
Considering the outrage over the parking violations being committed by members of local churches, it is wholely appropriate that this issue be aired and given the same attention and consideration. As previously stated, ALL parking/traffic regulations should be equally enforced. To suggest that it is somehow less of a problem implies the same sense of entitlement that the members of local churches claim.
If we expect visitors to our neighborhoods to abide and comply with the parking and traffic regulations, we should expect no less of our neighbors. To do otherwise diminishes our argument and weakens our collective voice.
I saw a car being ticketed outside of that building last night (12/28).
Make sure you call 311 when the construction workers are parked out there. I might even call when I see the UPS, Mail Man and Fed Ex out there.
If we, as a community, are going to complain about double parking then we should also complain about other and all illegal parking issues.
I do agree that if we are going to complain about double parking we need to address all parking issues. But if I am going to get tickted for parking in front of my building so should UPS, Fed Ex the US Postal Service, moving trucks etc..... If I do get tickted I will be sure to call 311 everytime I see anybody parked there.
I guess its ok to park illegally, so long as you don't get caught. The selective enforcement is what gets the cops in trouble. Here they are trying to listen to everyone's concerns, small and large, and here the community is attempting to dictate when they should and should not ticket. And there is always the positive side of retribution...if i get a ticket, i'll be sure to make it so everyone else does too. Makes sense to me. How about people obey the law...maybe that's just too confusing. Just goes to show, Sgt. Emerman, guess you can't make all the people happy all the time. But thanks for trying to!
FedEx, UPS, and the Mail are providing a service to others when they idle or temporarily park in front of a building. The same could be said for an ambulance or other emergency response vehicle.
One might even say the same about food delivery vehicles.
So I have to wonder what service your car provides when it's illegally parked - service to others, not just yourself?
True they do provide a service but correct me if I am wrong they are still breaking the law by parking there?
If you want your delivery people to be able to park there you should lobby the DC govt. to put a sign there that says no parking expect deliveries. These types of signs do exist.
I have parked in front of the building. I have also been ticketed. When I did park there, it wasn't a matter of convenience (or entitlement), it was a matter of safety.
I won't park there anymore though. Problem solved, at least on my end.
I just walked outside, however, and saw four cars parked in front of the building, with no tickets. The parked cars are not delivery trucks - and I noticed that one particularly large vehicle has Maryland plates.
Are cars allowed to park in No Standing zones on the evenings and weekends? I would like to know more about this aspect of DC's parking rules before I call 311 to report these vehicles.
Additionally, what about cars parked in the driveway in the north side of the building? It's not really an alley, and there are no signs posted, but some people use it as their personal parking area.
Thank you Officer Caron and Sargeant Emerman - this information is very helpful.
Also, thank you for your service to the LC community over the past several months.
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