Support

Emergency No Parking Frustration from Both Sides

3706724395_e40fb16a9f_z
Photo by PoPville flickr user John M

On the one hand:

“I’ve seen quite a few posts on Popville about little or no notice when posting emergency parking signs, but not much about enforcement. I recently moved between apartments within the district and found the enforcement to be essentially non-existent.

New rules have been put in place to help avoid ticketing and towing when the signs are not posted at least 72 hours. Now the signs must be posted in advance and verified by DDOT in order for vehicles parked in the reserved spaces to be ticketed and towed. Well, at least in theory…

During my recent move, I had my signs up on a Sunday in advance of a Friday morning move. The exact start time was 5 PM on a Thursday as I anticipated vehicles would be parked in the spaces regardless of hanging the signs for the moving truck. I was right.

At 10 PM the evening before my move, I called to request the four cars to be ticketed and towed. The next morning, I got up at 6 AM. No tickets. No towing. I called to follow-up on the status of my request and was informed that there is a bizarre Cinderella rule and my request whether addressed or not was closed at midnight and that I would need to file a new one.

Subsequent to filing a new request, I was informed that the city workers who can actually write tickets would not be clocking-in for work until 7 AM and that I should then allow 2 hours for them to arrive. In addition, the police are not able to write tickets now because they do not have access to know whether the signs were verified as hung at least 72 hours in advance.

In short, there is absolutely no way to enforce these signs for an early morning move and I essentially paid $55 in order to avoid a larger ticket for having a moving truck blocking the street. Not being able to park in the designated spaces also complicates the moving process and can increase the amount of time professional movers are on the clock (i.e., I pay more). I’m wondering if anyone else has a similar experience, especially with getting a refund. I’ve contacted DPW, Office of the Mayor, and two city council members with little progress.”

and on the other hand:

“I live on a block that manages to have a lot of resident turnover – brownstones with group houses and apt buildings. It follows that there are frequent moving trucks and no parking signs. A few between trees is to be expected and understood. Moving sucks and you don’t want to have to lift or move furniture and items any farther from your house than need be. But recently I have noticed people stretching out their private moving zones longer than the Middle East peace process. Just tonight someone thought it within their right to rope off almost 90 feet of public parking space to enable their move. That’s just shy of seven average car lengths, a full three more than I believe DDOT allows. I took down one of the signs in order to call the offending party, but I am curious if PoP folks have grumbled about this recently. My car has been towed several times when people throw the signs up a day or two, or even the night before they move, when they are supposed to have them up, what five days in advance? Just strikes me that this issue is ripe for debate. How many others are riled? Having a car in the city is a luxury, but the oversight over the moving sign industry is certainly lax, in my experience.”

Recent Stories

From an email: “We have an upcoming free yoga weekend event happening at Reunion 4/6-4/7: Join Reunion Hot Yoga in Park View, DC for a free weekend of yoga Saturday…

Sweet City Ride

Thanks to Mandi for sending: “1930 Oldsmobile? That’s just the best guess of someone who knows nothing about cars but faithfully attended the Iola Car Show with her dad every…

Photo by Julian Ortiz Ed. Note: If this was you, please email [email protected] so I can put you in touch with OP. “Dear PoPville, Man in Ovi jersey headed towards…

“Taylor with her duck at a dog park in Old Town.” If you have any animal/pet photos you’d like to share please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com with ‘Animal Fix’…

Calling all bookworms, thrill-seekers, supporters of the arts, and ping-pongers at all skill levels! Sign up for Paddlestar Galactica, the ping-pong tournament supporting 826DC’s youth writing programs.

826DC is a local nonprofit that offers free writing programs, homework help, and publishing opportunities for DC students ages 6-18, in our Columbia Heights writing center and in learning spaces across the city.

Paddlestar Galactica helps keep writing education 100% free and accessible for all of our students! It’s also extremely fun.

This year’s games will be Saturday, April 27th, 1 PM to 4 PM at SPIN DC. It’ll be a chaotic afternoon of ping-pong, costumes, terrible Battlestar Galactica puns, and good cheer. We’d love to have you join us!

Read More

Submit your own Announcement here.

Well-Paid Maids, the only certified living-wage cleaning service in the DMV, has added a new service to its online booking menu: office and building cleanings.

This includes offices, building lobbies, shared amenity spaces and more throughout D.C., Arlington, Alexandria and more.

Unlike so many other cleaning services, you can feel good booking Well-Paid Maids to clean your office or building. Cleaners get paid a starting wage of $24 an hour. Plus, all employees are offered health, dental, vision and life insurance; 24 paid days off per year; 100% employer-paid commuting costs; and more.

Read More

Submit your own Announcement here.

Vakili Band at Pie Shop!

Three band rock n rolll lineup at DC’s Pie Shop! Vakili Band with “if you know, you know” DC rockers, Lot 18, and the many minds and songs of artist Kind of Christine.

“If you love Vakili Band like we

×

Subscribe to our mailing list