Sunday, June 09, 2013

one side of the unit block of R Street NW gets Zone 5 resident permit only signage installed

I don't know the other blocks nearby that also had this signage installed.  Perhaps someone could share the comprehensive list.

Note that the stated period of enforcement is from 7 am to midnight, 7 days a week.

Except.
  
On Sundays.

MPD has indicated that it would * not* issue tickets on Sundays for vehicles not displaying the zone sticker that are parked on the resident-permit-only side of the street.

So the actual enforcement is just six days a week -- Monday through Saturday.

I look forward to hearing in a few months from residents on the impacted blocks how the one-side-of-the-street-for-Ward 5-residents-only parking is working out.


See this comment from a Seaton Place NW resident:

Congratulations to R Street!  Zone 5 resident permit parking is needed on Seaton Place NW with all of the new businesses opened in the area, it is needed.  we are happy to have the businesses in the area and support them.

See this Email exchange between a resident on the unit block of R Street NW and 5D Commander Solberg:

From: "Solberg, Andrew (MPD)"
To: Tom Moreno ; "Mendelson, Phil (COUNCIL)" ; "abonds@dccouncil.us" ; "Catania, David A. (COUNCIL)" ; "vorange@dccouncil.us" ; "dgrosso@dccouncil.us" ; "Graham, Jim (COUNCIL)" ; "Evans, Jack (COUNCIL)" ; "Cheh, Mary (COUNCIL)" ; "Bowser, Muriel (COUNCIL)" ; "kmcduffie@dccouncil.us" ; "Wells, Thomas (COUNCIL)" ; "Alexander, Yvette (COUNCIL)" ; "Barry, Marion (COUNCIL)" ; ATD MPD2
Cc: ATD EOM3 ; "scott@scott-roberts.net"
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 8:42 AM
Subject: RE: [BloomingdaleDC|#2293] Zone 5 resident permit only signage installed on R St NW, nearby

Mr. Moreno,

It is not accurate that we do not ticket cars on Sundays.  We do.  In some case, we relax enforcement near houses of worship, though this is only during hours of worship, and not  just on Sundays.

Andy Solberg
Commander, 5D

  
From: Tom Moreno [mailto:tommoreno@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 8:37 AM
To: Mendelson, Phil (COUNCIL); abonds@dccouncil.us; Catania, David A. (COUNCIL); vorange@dccouncil.us; dgrosso@dccouncil.us; Graham, Jim (COUNCIL); Evans, Jack (COUNCIL); Cheh, Mary (COUNCIL); Bowser, Muriel (COUNCIL); kmcduffie@dccouncil.us; Wells, Thomas (COUNCIL); Alexander, Yvette (COUNCIL); Barry, Marion (COUNCIL); Solberg, Andrew (MPD); ATD MPD2
Cc: ATD EOM3; scott@scott-roberts.net
Subject: Fwd: [BloomingdaleDC|#2293] Zone 5 resident permit only signage installed on R St NW, nearby

Councilmembers, Chief Lanier and Commander Solberg,

I received the following message from my neighborhood list serve which I found quite upsetting.  Before I ask any questions, if the statement regarding Sunday parking enforcement is inaccurate, please let me know and accept my apologizes for the message and thank you for your time.

If the statement is accurate regarding Sunday parking, can you please explain the rationale behind it?  I find it troubling that if the most minor infractions aren't enforced or are easily dismissed by the DC MPD, what motivation should we have to continue relying on the MPD for more severe infractions that take may place in our neighborhood.

Also, if this is true for our zone, is the same true for other zones (Eastern Market, Georgetown, etc.)?  If so, I would like to know, as driving to those locations is much easier for me if I can park at will anywhere in the District on Sundays without worry about ticketing for parking infractions.  If not true for other zones, why is ours not enforced?

This has previously been discussed in our list serve which I have yet to see a response (I may have missed it though).  A link to that posting is:
http://bloomingdaleneighborhood.blogspot.com/2013/06/neighbors-raises-issue-about-parking.html

I appreciate your time and attention to this message and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Tom Moreno

Unit Block, R Street NW
  
And see this Email exchange from the LeDroit Park list at Yahoogroups regarding the same issue on 3rd Street NW:
            
From the LeDroit Park list:

From Nina Brown:

Dear Lt. Jova,

I was instructed by the 5th district responding officers to send an e-mail out
to the list serve addressed to you. As you may know, many of the neighbors on
the 1800 block of 3rd St. NW (Between Rhode Island Ave NW and Anna Cooper
Circle), worked diligently to sign a petition to request zone 1/2 parking. The
original signs only offered protection Mon-Fri to 8:00 p.m. Since the zoning
originally did not meet the needs of the residents, a number of neighbors worked
diligently to get another petition signed and work through the proper city
channels to have it changed to be effective Mon-Sun 7 am – 12 midnight.

Yesterday around 12:45 p.m. I placed a call to 311 who directed me to 911 to
report approximately 6 cars parked on the Zone 1/2 permit side of the street.
The responding officers were from the 5th District. Both officers were very
friendly and courteous but directed me to post my concerns related to the
outcome on the list serve as the infraction is occurring in 3rd District.

When I spoke with the 5D officers they informed me that they don't ticket
vehicles on Sunday's out of courtesy because they belong to the parishioners of
the churches. I informed the officers I was not trying to be difficult or
disrespectful to those worshipping, however, on Rhode Island Ave NW in between
6th & New Jersey, there are signs that explicitly state cars can park there on
Sundays from 10 or 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. On 3rd street it explicitly states only
zoned residents can park Mon-Sun 7 a.m.-12a.m. If the city doesn't enforce
parking on Sundays due to church, why would they issue a sign where it
explicitly states that this is a violation of a city ordinance?
Sensing my frustration, the officer informed me that when they write tickets,
the parishioners complain to the pastors, the pastors call the commanders, and
the tickets just get voided. His solution was that they would record the plate
numbers, go to the church and make an announcement, and then in 5-10 minutes
come back and issue tickets if the cars were still there. 3 hours after the
call, many of the cars were still there with no tickets. I also informed the
officers that information seemed strange, because when I visit Eastern Market or
U Street on Sundays and I am parked illegally in a Zone 6, I receive a ticket,
even on a Sunday. The officer then informed me that these neighborhoods have
special arrangements with DDOT to pay overtime for Sunday enforcement.

I find it alarming that District police and City Government would blatantly
ignore a law or statute just because it's Sunday. I think it sets a dangerous
precedent. If I go to Macys on a Sunday, steal a dress for church, will I not be
prosecuted because it's Sunday and I'm going to church? I highly doubt it. The
next time I get a parking ticket or my car gets re-located for street cleaning
should I contest on the premise that I was engaged in religious worship which
gives me immunity from city laws and regulations? That probably wouldn't work
either. In addition, not enforcing the parking laws on Sunday sets a horrible
precedent for further lack of enforcement on Fridays and Saturday nights when we
also have a large number of non-residents frequenting the area.

I think the most disturbing and frustrating part of this is the fact that
certain neighborhoods are given special protections. I'm not naïve to the fact
that Ledroit Park may not experience the same traffic volume as Eastern Market
or U Street, but the last time I checked, I'm paying city taxes just as they
are. If these special arrangements are covered through all District residents'
taxes, and not through an additional tax subsidy or fee for those neighborhoods,
the same "perks" should be offered to all residents equally. It's a blatant
inequity that is unjust and uncalled for.

I'm not sure the solution to the problem, but if the city is going to
selectively decide when to enforce the parking laws, then there should never be
another parking ticket generated ever.

Nina Brown
1848 – 3rd St.
  
From Leemah:

I find it alarming that the residents or whomever involved could not allow one day, Sunday to be exact, for outsiders to come in and worship at a church they have been members of for decades.

I'm sure the church(s) and the members there of do much for the community.
Could we not be a little inconvenienced for a few hours one day for those who have demonstrated good service to this community for many many years?

It's called "hospitality."

From Anita Norman:

I also, contacted 311 on Sunday afternoon around 4:20 pm, only to get the same warm and fussy response from MPD 3rd District. I spoke to dispatcher  8307. I asked her to send the police for parking enforcement in the 1800 block of 3rd St. N.W. which is zoned for Ward 1 and Ward 5 residents only from Monday thru – Sunday 7 am -12 mn . She began to explain that they do not do parking enforcement. Mr. Cross of Parking Enforcement/DPW directed us to call 311 for ticket enforcement on Sundays,

who would dispatch someone from MPD. Dispatcher 8307 asked me several questions like the type of violation,  the make and model of the vehicles and tag numbers. I do not believe that this is the responsibility of the residents to perform when requesting parking enforcement of a restricted area. This isn’t the first time that I have been met with resistance from MPD to come to enforce parking rules/ laws. I think that when a resident calls and identifies that there is a parking violation that that is enough to dispatch MPD. Please do not make us targets of retaliation by having us go outside to write down makes and models, color of vehicles and license plates.

Thanks,

Anita Norman

From Dina Lewis:

Thanks all—I am looping in Lt. Jova and, at his suggestion, DDOT on this issue. Mr. Harvey worked with the community on the Zone parking issue so that we can get resolution on this problem.

D.

From Justin:

Thank you for starting this conversation.

When there this is an influx of cars in the neighborhood, Sunday to be exact.  Drivers have blatantly parked their cars illegally in the neighborhood (i.e. blocking the crosswalks at Anna Cooper Circle, parking their vehicles past the "no parking signs" at the corner of 2nd & T / Old Maple Ave NW streets and obstructing a driver's line of sight in either direction...etc.).

This behavior creates a dangerous environment for all the residents walking/driving, including those traveling into the neighborhood to worship.
For years, there has been little, if any Sunday parking enforcement, so aside from calling 911, I will be curious to hear any additional suggestions from Lt. Jova & DDOT.

Sincrely,

Justin

And here are some tweets:

  1. wait so it's only on R st? Great, we push non-zoned people to the already crowded surrounding streets
  2. Amen McDuddie knows that FOM has wants! DC has needs! FOM sucks to want when people are in need!
    1. has indicated that it won't ticket on resident-permit-parking only streets on Sundays
    2. Then change the signs! “: has indicated that it won't ticket on resident-permit-parking only streets on Sundays

2 comments:

Bloomingdale Resident said...

Second Street, north of Rhode Island has enhanced RPP. I don't know how long they have had it, but I don't recall community discussion about it. There was quite a bit of conversation about R Street.

I would prefer MPD enforce fire hydrant, crosswalk, alley and intersection encroachment over RPP violations.

LOL Captcha - presbytery

Scott Roberts of Bloomingdale said...

At least there is now heightened awareness of the newly installed Zone 5 resident permit only parking signage in Bloomingdale.