DC Government

Dear PoP – DC vehicle usage and parking

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I live on the 1300 block of Belmont St, NW. My question comes at a particularly relevant time in DC vehicle usage. There is a large “DC Meters” van that parks on my street overnight. It’s huge and it takes up a lot of very precious parking. The fact that it’s there overnight and gone during the day leads me to believe that someone who works for the city is using this city vehicle as a personal vehicle as well. So, is there a special lot that these vehicles should be parked in overnight? How do I tell if the driver of this van is abusing their “power”?

Bottom line, it takes up an obnoxious amount of room on the street when people seem to be ready to cut each other over parking.”

Hmm, I think some DC jobs (no I’m not talking about that one) allow their workers to drive vehicles home. Anyone else ever hear/see that as well? Do you think “non essential” employees should be able to drive DC vehicles home?

Dear PoP – DC Ban on Roll-Up Garage Doors?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user ewilfong

“Dear PoP,

I am looking at having a new patio and a garage door installed at my townhouse in Shaw. I received the email below from the landscaper, notifying me that DC passed a law in August prohibiting the installation of roll-up garage doors. Given the hundreds / thousands of roll-up doors in DC, could that possibly be true? Are any of your other readers familiar with this law?

Unfortunately the salesman at [redacted] I spoke with informed me that as of August of last year, there is a law prohibiting the installation of automatic roll up gates on residential property where it is not protected by an overhead carport like structure. He told me that they if they have any mechanical failures that they (or any manufacturer) would not replace any of the automatic components on the existing gates. This was enacted for some sort of liability issue. I imagine that you would still be able to find someone to install one but it seems that any type of warranty would not be honored. This is of course the situation as of now. A future solution may be reached.”

Whoa! Anyone else heard of this law? Does it make any sense?

Dear PoP – Sherman Avenue, NW Reconstruction Update

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

The complete chaos on Sherman Street came up in the comments on yesterday’s taxi post. Yesterday I counted seven backhoes in a three-block stretch, so today I had my partner take a photo from the passenger seat (only three backhoes and a crane in this photo). I asked for details about this intense construction and commenter jcm helpfully provided:

RECONSTRUCTION OF SHERMAN AVENUE FROM FLORIDA AVENUE, NW, TO PARK ROAD, NW – Total redesign and reconstruction of the roadway and sidewalk;upgrade of ramps, streetlights, traffic signals and drainage. New median with street trees. Scheduled completion date is July 8, 2012.

Sounds like a great improvement to what was a fairly sketchy few blocks. Any more information? Are there sketches of what the final result will look like?

Yes, there is a phenomenal Web site from DDOT devoted entirely to the Sherman Avenue Reconstruction project:

“The Sherman Avenue, NW Streetscape project will provide modifications and safety improvements for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic within the Sherman Avenue corridor from Barry Place, NW to Park Road, NW. The project is a reconstruction and streetscape project that will also include elements of safety improvements, traffic signaling, pavement marking, signage and bicycle access modifications.”

You can see the construction schedule here.

And here’s a rendering:


Rendering from DDOT

Dear PoP – Not so Supercans

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

What is the origin of the DC version of a supercan? This is one of the most boneheaded designs I have ever seen. It is extremely top heavy (height to width ratio with most of the base being wheels), only takes small width tall kitchen bags and will only stand on completely flat surfaces.

The old regular trash cans worked fine and these seem to offer no benefit to the DPW workers accept the lids cannot come off.

I have never been a fan of these, but with the wind this year……………….I want Blood!”

Hahaha, it’s a very good question. Any engineers out there think think this is actually a useful/good design? When did these cans go into circulation? Anyone remember what was used before these?

Signs Say Street Sweeping Starts March 1st!

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I’ve never lived in an area with street sweeping before…and it starts just before I leave the country for two weeks. It’s one side of the street on Tuesdays, and the other side Wednesdays; the blocks around me all seem to have street sweeping as well, so I’m not having much luck finding a safe parking spot. What do people typically do when they’ll be out of town and can’t move their cars once a week?”

We spoke about unzoned parking options back in Jan. ’11. So don’t forget that street sweeping starts up soon! The signs say March 1st but DPW hasn’t officially issued a press release for the exact date. I’ll update when they do.

Dear PoP – SUV Scandal

By Prince Of Petworth


Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

“Dear PoP,

I am absolutely livid that we, as DC taxpayers, are paying nearly $100,000 per year to lease four luxury vehicles for Mayor Vincent Gray and Council Chairman Kwame Brown. Why do our elected officials need the most expensive luxury cars available, especially when Washington is facing a $400 million shortfall. (As a point of reference, top-of-the-line Mercedes S-Class sedans only cost $1,300/month to lease, whereas the brain trust’s Lincoln Navigators almost cost $2,000/month….) I was wondering if your other readers are similarly outraged?”

The Washington Post reported:

“Several weeks after Kwame R. Brown was elected D.C. Council chairman in November, city officials were asked to order for him a “fully loaded” Lincoln Navigator L with a DVD entertainment system, power moonroof and polished aluminum wheels.”

I imagine (and certainly hope) most readers are similarly outraged. This is outrageous. And quite frankly embarrassing for our city. What do you think Chairman Brown needs to do to make this right? Zip car or metro for a year?

Dear PoP – Elimination of the “Green Team” in Wards 1, 2 and 4

By Prince Of Petworth


Georgia Ave, NW on Saturday Feb. 12 in Parkview Ward 1

“Dear PoP,

I know that you have posted plenty on the issue of illegal dumping and trash removal in the past. My neighbors and I learned of some very sad news last night that affects us all. Funding for the District’s “Green Team” has been completely eliminated. This DPW team had been tasked with taking care of the following services in Wards 1, 2 and 4 for the past 4 + years:

• Trash Collection & Bulk Trash Removal• Street Cleaning• Beautification Services• Landscaping & Green Space Maintenance• Graffiti & Illegal Sign Removal• Snow Removal

The services that this team provided were invaluable to us as we battle illegal dumping in our alleys, and in making sure that our streets remain clean and safe. In addition, the loss of this team means the loss of meaningful jobs for those who really needed them to support their families as well as reach personal and professional life goals. This team and this service enriched us all. Over the past two weeks, my neighbors and I have encountered illegal dumping of items on an enormous scale in our alley.

Today a press conference was held to discuss this very unfortunate turn of events in our community. CM Graham has been instrumental in making this program work and the loss of finding is truly devastating. If at all possible, can you post this so that other residents can send a note to CM Graham or their own CM?

These city services are crucial to making our city a beautiful, livable place. We neighbors get together to pick up trash and follow the rules when putting out bulk items, but many, many people just do not care. Without the extra support of the city we face an uphill battle. The cost to the former Green Team members is even greater.

We know there are so many city issues out there that need to be addressed – crime, education, etc. But living in a clean environment is essential to making our lives healthy and safe.”

This is horrible news. You can find contact info for your Council Member (and at large members) here.

Dear PoP – Handicap Parking Discount?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP:

I work in a large building downtown, between George Washington University, a park and several Federal government buildings. Due to medical appointments about twice a month I drive to work and pay to park at parking meters, moving my car several times a day to avoid being ticketed.

It used to be quite competitive finding a space until DC raised its hourly meter rate to $2 an hour. After that most people seemed to give up on the street parking and instead parked in garages or took Metro which I guess was the point of it. However, in the past few months more and more of the parking places are taken up by those with handicap placards and most of them are from Virgina and Maryland. DC allows 4 hours of free parking at a meter if you have a handicap placard so if these people move their cars once (and I rarely see the parking control officers monitor this) they get free parking for 8 hours valued at $16!

At lunch today I did an informal survey and noticed about 75% of the cars parked on my block were getting free on-street parking at meters. Has anyone else noticed this in other areas? Is it fair that DC allows out-of-state commuters this free parking benefit if they have a handicap placard? From my observation most drivers seem to be heading across the park to Federal office buildings, so should the Feds be paying DC to accommodate the parking needs of their handicapped employees?”

I think the bigger questions is whether or not the people are really handicapped. I remember the Post had a story (and a number of follow up stories) about this after a women complained that her car was towed but she said it had a handicap placard then it turned out the placard was for her husband (who wasn’t there).

But to the original question – do you think there should be a discount for handicap parking?

Your Input Wanted in Making DCRA Rental Housing Licensing Easier

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour

This morning I received an email from DCRA’s Helder Gil asking if I could ask for readers’ thoughts on how the city could simplify the licensing process for someone looking to rent out their home/condo/basement. I think it’s great DCRA is soliciting feedback like this:

“Dear PoP,

“Generally, we have different license types depending on whether renting out a multi-unit building, a condo unit, an entire house, or a basement. We list the info on requirements here.

We often hear complaints from small landlords about the time and hassles it can take for them to get a rental license from us. Partly that’s because we require the property to pass an inspection before we’ll issue a license. One idea that’s been suggested to us is to issue the license and conduct a property inspection afterwards (we also conduct inspections any time we receive a tenant complaint). I’m interested in gauging people’s reaction to that idea, as well as to try to get other thoughts on how that process could be simplified.”

How would you like to see the process changed?

DC residents to be excluded from paying federal taxes?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

The Hill is reporting:

Florida Rep. Allen West (R) said he’s unsure whether the District of Columbia should be a state, but suggested its residents be excluded from paying federal taxes.

“If you live in the District, perhaps an exclusionary zone should be set up where District residents do not pay federal taxes,” he added.

I think we may have discussed this once before – but I’ll ask again – would you trade representation in Congress if you didn’t have to pay federal taxes?

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