It’s Getting Tough to Find Parking in Logan Circle

ClevelandDave

This is what happens when you allow developers to build out properties without parking. This is what happens when you turn half of the parking spaces into in-zone only spaces. This is what happens when you have a planning director in a city that rides a bike to work and wants to eliminate cars and has little interest in investing sufficiently in road maintainance and in expanding capacity where appropriate, instead building $400 million streetcars. This is what happens when city council bans the public funding/support for parking garages in places like the West End, M St./Georgetown, Logan Circle and Adams Morgan. We reap what we sow, and I’m afraid this is just one example of poor planning for what we need today and for the next 10 or so years and instead put money into concepts that may or may no be needed or desired 30 or 40 years from now.

dno

No, this is what happens when someone decides their time is more important than the cost of a parking ticket. Up the cost.
- Anonymous
  
  +1
- Anonymous
  
  ^ This. Cars don’t mix very well very well with high-density living. We’ve known this for quite a while. If you’re not willing to deal with the consequences of driving in a densely populated city (DC isn’t even that dense…), then please consider other methods of getting around. Stop whining like a baby – you’re not entitled to parking. This isn’t how it works.
  - ClevelandDave
    
    I suppose you are entitled to your opinion. Get on your bike and go to work…
    
    How about all the people visiting the city to shop, work, play, pray… do they also need to take a cab, ride metro or get on their bike?
    - Anonymous
      
      Yes. This is a city, not suburbia nor a highway. Streets are for people and bikes and transit.
    - Anonymous
      
      If you do not wish to bestow upon yourself the headache of finding parking in a dense urban area, then yes, one of the options you mentioned is much better than driving in. Or just pay the $10 to park at one of the many available garages.
    - Anonymous
      
      everyone has so little tolerance for others. jeeezus.
    - Anonymous
      
      Sounds like three very viable transportation options. Why is it the city’s job to provide a cheap place for you to store your personal property?
    - NoVanHere
      
      I live in NoVa, work in DC, and manage to get in very day – by metro.
      
      I love how the autocentric folks in DC, when they don’t get their way, say “think of the poor suburbanites” when most of us metro in.
      
      Best thing DC will do for us in NoVa is when they increase rail capacity on the Long Bridge, so more VRE trains can come in.
    - dno
      
      Should the city allocate more scarce resources in the hopes of accommodating nonresidents who want to park their SUVs wherever they like? I think that’s a losing argument both from an economic and equity standpoint. The economic benefits of an attractive, less car-centric streetscape outweigh whatever loss of business the parking scarcity creates. And I would argue that the city should think first and second about its own residents (tax paying or otherwise) before concerning itself with people visiting the city.
    - Anonymous
      
      dno,
      our city is very dependent on tourism.
      lets not forget that.
      
      and we don’t have scarce resources. we have a large surplus.
    - Anonymous
      
      “I love how the autocentric folks in DC, when they don’t get their way, say “think of the poor suburbanites” when most of us metro in.”
      
      Let me guess… you live in Arlington and your metro fare is subsidized by your employer? When I lived in NoVA (Landmark area) I had the choice between a very expensive public transit commute that took an hour and a half each way, or a driving commute that usually took around an hour each way and cost half as much, even when factoring in things like insurance and oil changes and wear and tear on the car. Since my girlfriend carpooled with me the driving expenses per person were even lower. This is more typical of the choice a typical NoVA resident faces, and it’s why most NoVA residents drive into the city.
    - Anonymous
      
      Most suburbanites metro in? I don’t know a single person at my office that doesn’t drive to work. It just doesn’t make sense financially or logistically.
    - Not a fed
      
      Anon 10:41, I agree that it is probably wrong to say that “most suburbanites” metro in, but metro is indeed full of people commuting to and from the suburban stations every day. Of course everybody doesn’t do it, but it’s not as if no one does it either. So it seems to work logistically and financially for some.
    - dno
      
      Anon, I’m grateful for and welcoming of tourists. I wish the city were a little more organized in its efforts to attract more and sort out where to park all the tour buses. But that has very little to do with parking in Logan Circle. If anything, reducing auto centrism increases tourism (see most of Europe, for example).
    - ClevelandDave
      
      Because all tourists come on tour busses? That’s silly.
    - BitterElitist
      
      “How about all the people visiting the city to shop, work, play, pray… do they also need to take a cab, ride metro or get on their bike?”
      
      …uhhh yeah.
      
      Frankly, they need to fix the streets for bikes too.
  - Anonymous
    
    High density living. That’s an apt description. Because I would definitely describe the people who think that DC is going to turn into some sort of car-free bike utopia as dense. A transportation plan that functions efficiently for a mid-sized city with sprawling suburbs like ours needs to be balanced and multi-modal.
    - Anonymous
      
      its like how when you go to chicago or nyc or hong kong and you never ever see any cars, you know?
    - Anonymous
      
      Right. And it’s currently not very multi-modal and is instead car-centric. Building out public transit and making life a little bit harder for car users should be a priority for a growing city.
- ET
  
  exactly
- Emilie504
  
  yep! up the cost and tow
Anonymous

I hear there’s plenty of available parking in and around Cleveland. Maybe think about considering a move back? Lovely town, eh?
- spookiness
  
  +1
- Anonymous
  
  I hear there’s a place called Ho Chi Minh City where the streets are completely jammed with bikes. You might want to consider moving there.
  - Anonymous
    
    Actually, no. It’s not 1980 anymore.
    
    Also, the model most people have in mind is Amsterdam or Copehagen, not any given Asian metropolis.
    - different anon
      
      Saigon is still packed with (motor)bikes in 2013. I can only imagine what a s-show it would be if all those motorbikes were cars….
      
      :shudders:
    - Anonymous
      
      Motorbikes, yes. Bikes, no. But I agree. It will be an impassable morass like Bangkok once people have enough money for cars. Another lesson in why cars are the worst mode of transit.
  - Anonymous
    
    wow, what a convincing argument!
MetMet

No, this is what happens when entitled jerks think that they’re above the law.
- textdoc
  
  +1.

anon

I hope it was a really expensive ticket. Because people who do stuff like this deserve it.

Anonymous

$100.
- Loganite
  
  Probably what they paid for the brunch they were late to.
  
  I sold my car almost 2 years ago after never having been without a car since getting my license. The only time I actually truly miss it is when I have to leave the city and go visit family. Even then, I’ve managed with renting a car the few times that happens. In the long run, I probably spend more money on food because it is not particularly easy to get to the grocery store for a big haul. But between car2go, zipcar, and peapod, I’ve managed to not starve to death and the extra money that all costs is likely far less than the time wasted on parking and money forked over to the DMV and to the city for parking tickets.
  
  That said, when I read about people complaining about in zone only parking, I still get a little annoyed. On a residential street, it makes perfect sense that those who live and pay their taxes (income and property) get first dibs on parking in front of their own house. Nothing used to make more fuming angry than driving around forever to find parking near my place on a Saturday night because everyone was bridge and tunneling it into the city and going out (and probably drinking and then driving home). I think on residential streets, it should be zoned parking 24/7. I understand why it isn’t – nearby businesses want customers to find their way into the city to shop, eat, etc. The city should help them by providing more public parking in commercials areas and leave the residential parking to…residents.
  
  Fortunately, I have no vested interest in this anymore.

Anon

There are parking garages all over the city. Just because you are driving doesnt mean you are more important than everyone else.

Anonymous

actually there are not parking garages all over the city.
the demand for parking is much higher than the availability of parking in places like adams morgan, 14th street and h street.
i agree that there is one reason to break the law though.
- annonny
  
  There are plenty of garages within a few blocks of where this jacka$$ decided to rip up the lawn and block the bike lane. He/she deserves the fine and hopefully in the future will pay the $15 to park in a garage rather than $100 as the cost of being a jerk.
  - Anonymous
    
    of course that person deserved the ticket.
    Wheres the nearest garage?
  - Anonymous
    
    not according to goggle maps.
    - Jay
      
      I live near here and can’t think off the top of my head where there’s a public garage nearby.
  - annonny
    
    The surface lot at 14th and S. Or 15th and P in the Metropole. Or 15th and Mass in 1500 Mass. Or Colonial Parking on P Street between 17 and 16. Or 14th and U in the Reeves Center. Just because you drive an SUV doesn’t mean you’re entitled to park a few feet from wherever you’re going. It’s a city, get off your fat a$$ and walk a few blocks.
    - Anonymous
      
      Unrelated, but this is exactly how I feel about people who don’t understand how close together the Metro Center and Chinatown stops are on the metro. All the caps fans who clog up metro center on weeknights during rush hour just so they can transfer one stop annoy me to no end. Get out and walk 3 blocks.
    - Anonymous
      
      Great ideas, unfortunately many of the lots you mentioned are not very well marked as Public Parking lots. This is coming from someone who has lived in the Logan nexus since 1997. Guess I haven’t been forced to look for public parking.
    - annonny
      
      Sorry, but if you want to drive your massive vehicle into one of the denser and more trendy parts of the city, you’re going to have to do better than “the signs are too small.”
    - c
      
      i’d never drive to 14th street, and never ever drive when i go out for a drink, but the reality is that we do need to make it easier for people spending money in our city. the parking signs around 14th are very difficult to read and ticket fines are very high. a public lot really shouldn’t be a very difficult or unpopular choice. also we need far more bike parking rails. what exists is just not enough.
      
      clear wayfinding methods are smart growth solutions.
    - Anonymous
      
      I stated that I have lived in the trendy part of the city since 1997. What I’m saying is that I can see where people might not be able to recognize public parking garages vs private garages. Do I condone the person’s creative parking job? Hell no – but all of the garages mention can and should do a better job of advertising.
    - Anonymous
      
      I agree about the signage being poor. When I go to a city I’ve never been in, I can find parking by following the signs posted at nearly every intersection. The Logan area just doesn’t have the same kind of way-finding signs – you have to drive around and hope you spot a garage or lot. And the density of parking garages in this neighborhood is (understandably) low compared to others (e.g. Penn Quarter), making it that much harder.

Anon no.5

Parking wasn’t that bad in Logan until all the restaurants started offering vallet parking, which IMO critical mass hit in about October of this year. Now it seems the vallets park in any space they can find. But I’ve also seen parking enforcement out at 9pm. I’m not sure if vallet parking in a zoned space would get a ticket, but I hope the answer is yes.

Anon no.5

Whoops, it would help if I learned how to spell “valet” correctly!
Anonymous

This. The valet parking issue has gotten insane along the 14th Street restaurant corridor. Cars are double-parked and blocking streets as customers wait in line to drop off their cars with valet. Valet attendants use cones to block public parking spots. It’s become a total zoo and creates traffic jams within the surrounding residential areas.

Uvaeer

As someone who is very pro-car free/lite living in DC, I do agree with posters that Logan Circle/14th Street needs more parking garages (or use office parking for off hours use). There are plenty in lower Dupont, but not much else between the Reeves garage at 14th and U and the 17th/P (limited hours) garage.

L

Not to defend the bad parker(s), but there does seem to be a lack of pay-for-parking garages in the Logan area, especially along 14th St. There’s the pay lot where Garden District used to be, and one lot near Vida that sometimes has open spots, but otherwise it’s tough to find a pay-for-parking option. Maybe there will be some pay garages added with all the new development..?

carlosthedwarf

A large underground paid garage on 14th Street, open 24-7–as someone who lives, car-free, on 14th Street, I’d accept that gladly, if all on-street parking were eliminated between Florida and Massachusetts, and the space instead used for dedicated bus lanes and wider sidewalks.
- L
  
  Yes, I totally agree!
  - Anonymous
    
    where are you going to put that.
    - carlosthedwarf
      
      Under the rebuilt Reeves Center, perhaps?
    - textdoc
      
      Isn’t there already an underground garage at the Reeves Center?
      .
      I remember seeing an entrance on the north side of U Street with signs indicating that they had nighttime parking — I assumed they were trying to maximize use of what would’ve otherwise been a daytime parking garage for employees.
ClevelandDave

The city, for some reason is not allowed to own parking garages

logancircler

the problem is the valet parkers. Parking around 14th wasn’t that awful aside from weekends until you started having Posto, Pearl Dive, Le Diplomate, etc, offer valet service. They are SUPPOSED to be parking in the school lot at 13th and S. But they will try to double-dip, find a space on the street and only if that doesn’t bear fruit, park in the lot, which is, to my understanding, against the law. Can anyone clarify that? If so, I want to go talk to the managers at Le Dip, whose valets seem to be the most flagrant offenders.

Julie

AGREE!!! I saw this with my very own eyes last week.

babybirdjohnson

Lucille Bluth is in town!
http://arresteddevelopment.wikia.com/wiki/World's_Worst_Drivers

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