Illegal Parking and Unpaid Tickets

It's not what you think.

The Post has an article this morning about 1,147 unpaid parking tickets - totaling some $176,000! - racked up in the District and New York by various federal agencies. And which agencies lead the pack in our fair city?

Leading the way in the District were the Army, Navy and Air Force, whose employees ignored 158 tickets for $28,000 in 2007. Most were racked up by recruiters working at the Armed Forces Recruiting Center near 13th and L streets NW.

Let's hope there's no protest in Logan Circle Park over this one...

Street Cleaning

Heads up! All those "No Parking - Street Cleaning" signs you've been ignoring all winter are about to come back into effect. In two weeks, the city will begin ticketing cars in street cleaning zones.

Weekly residential street cleaning operations resume Monday, March 24, 2008. Alternate-side parking restrictions during street sweeping hours will be in effect once again. Parking citations will be issued to vehicles parked during street sweeping hours in areas posted with “No Parking/Street Cleaning” signs.

For more information, you can check out the online DPW calendar. And thanks to Commissioner Benardo for the heads up!

Stepped Up Parking Enforcement

Mike Benardo, the commissioner for ANC 2F06, got a note from Mark Bjorge that MPD will be increasing parking enforcement in our neighborhood.

This message is to inform you that MPD 3D has begun full enforcement of posted parking regulations 7 days per week. We ask for your help in ensuring that residents are informed of this increased attention to parking compliance and safety issues, which will begin immediately.

Given the often contentious nature of the parking issue in the past, let's hope that this keeps up over the long haul. Blocked crosswalks and fire hydrants are simply not acceptable, and neither are residents unable to move their cars.

So make sure you park your car in a legal spot!