Is a Parking Lot the Solution To Logan Circle's Parking Woes?

• April 9th 2013

by Shilpi Paul

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At ANC meetings all over DC, parking has been a hot topic of discussion lately. Multi-family residential projects have been increasing the density of cars per neighborhood right along with the population. Additionally, the expanding bar and restaurant scenes on corridors around the city are putting additional stress on the street parking system.

Though the city has tried to mitigate the problem through initiatives like dedicating one side of the street to residential parking only, the measures have been more of a band-aid than a long-term solution. New efforts are necessary, and some neighborhood groups and city officials have been brainstorming.

ANC 2F, which covers Logan Circle, a neighborhood that is particularly burdened by the parking issue, is in the midst of a series of targeted discussions on the topic. At the most recent forum, Sherri Kimbel, the Director of Constituent Services for Jack Evans’ office, mentioned that the city was exploring the idea of using a parking lot to take some cars off the streets in Logan.

“There has been discussion of putting a parking facility somewhere in the Logan area,” Kimbel told UrbanTurf. Though the District itself can’t build a lot, she said, they are looking at a couple existing and planned lots in the area. “There is a bus parking lot on S Street between 13th and 14th, and there has been talk of using that for parking,” she told us. “More immediate help may come from the O Street Market, which is supposed to have nearly 500 spaces for cars.”

Other solutions we have heard include encouraging rowhouse dwellers to use the parking space behind their homes, rather than taking a street spot, and metering all street spots in congested areas, with residential parking permits exempting residents from paying.

Readers, what do you think about these ideas? Can you come up with any others?

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/is_a_parking_lot_the_solution_to_logan_circles_parking_woes/6903.