As Far As We Can See
IN DC IT AIN'T OVER TIL ITS OVER. Hope no one got blocked in on the way to brunch, on the way to an open house or after a few drinks late at night.
Once again double parked cars and no tickets in Logan Circle on Sunday afternoon. As you can see lots of Maryland cars parked illegally here in DC. The pictures below were taken around 1 p.m. Don't believe reports that the police will be issuing tickets.
DC Bubble believes a solution to this situation must be brokered. Churchgoers have been double parking and parking on the curb for years and years without complaints, but now the neighborhood is up in arms about it. The status quo does not really cut it.
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Notice the "No Parking Anytime Sign" | No Parking Tickets |
13 comments:
Would you be opposed to changing the law so that double-parking is available on Sundays?
when you say "you" i assume you mean me....
if a law goes unenforced for decades is it still a law? the parisioners may enjoy the equivalent of an easement. sodomy laws, for instance, are still on the books in some places and go unenforced too.
the photos illustrate the worst of the parking practices, but some of the practices(such as on 15th street) seem less intrusive.
Keep up the good work. Its a shame these church goers feel they are above the law. What a lack of respect they show for DC law and its residents.
It's a separation of church & state issue (even though DC isn't a state). The law that says that people going to church will not be ticketed shouldn't have been written in the first place, making it an illegal law. Leave it to the incompetent DC Council and their idiot ways.
The only "law" that allows churchgoers to park illegally is MPD's policy of refusing to enforce the law.
There are places where illegal parking on Sunday doesn't hurt anyone; a good example is the 1300 block of NY Ave NW (where NY Ave Presbyterian parishioners park in the inner/median lanes in both directions, leaving one travel lane each way). If there were any local residents inconvenienced by this custom, it would need to stop, but -- unlike the Logan Circle situation -- it's a win-win.
As between residents and visitors, even pious visitors, it's an easy call. The folks who live and pay taxes here should come first, and need to make their displeasure known. Otherwise, DC politicians will continue in their craven acceptance of the status quo (driven by fear that the churches will turn the voters against them).
Once you start attending a church, you might change your perspective. If you live in DC, embrace its culture - century old church traditions that do not fit into man made state boundaries.
The comment by anonymous "once you start attending church ..." is a prime example of the problem. In this country, we have separation of church and state. Moreover, we are all entitled to be treated equally under the law. The fact that someone is attending church should be no more important and convey no greater rights than my decision to take my child to Sunday school, meet friends for brunch, play sports or whatever. We can all coexist peacefully without imposing our beliefs and practices on one another. The answer is simple ... everyone needs to abide by the law, be held to the same standard, and most importantly ... be a good neighbor. Afterall, if over 100,000 federal employees can come to the city every weekday and find legal parking, I think a few thousand church parishoners should be able to do the same.
Why are the streets clogged on Sundays by people attending a church within a few blocks of Metro? Answer: some people feel so precious that they are too good for public transportation.
DC should ticket these illegally parked, mostly non-taxpaying out of state, cars aggressively.
If not, I'm opening the Holy Church of the Harried Parent, so when I come home on a Saturday evening after filling my car with groceries and diapers and a screaming child and it's whipping cold outside I'll just park wherever I want, including fire hydrants or the middle of road in front of my house. With God on my side the MPD will let me get away with it, right?
This is not a Sunday only problem. I live in the Logan Circle area, and I struggle finding street parking on a daily basis. It pretty much doesn't matter what time of day. So my friends who prefer to drive now practically refuse to come visit, as parking is a nightmare.
I live in this neighborhood and this is getting out of hand. When you turn a 2-way street into 1-way because of creative parking is just irresponsible. There is a metro station 2 blocks from these churches -- USE THEM. Further, there is additional parking on other close by streets that doesn't require this practice. To top it all off a good portion of this ILLEGAL activity is being committed by drivers from outside the District. DC Government, you better wake up and take care of this problem. You have been warned. If there is a fire or an emergency where the appropriate personel can not gain access through this area don't be surprised to find the City and these churches named in a lawsuit.
T ST NW Resident
I agree with T ST NW
I moved into the Shaw area the end of 2003 and just figured the Church parking was just the way it was. No tickets, double parking. But, the new convention center and its events really cause a traffic nightmare on Sunday (case in point the auto show) Think about taking the METRO everyone----but soon DC should start ticketing.
U ST Resident
I live and DC and attended one of those churches for many years, of which 3 years I resided in MD. I have never double-park because to me, it's just clearly wrong to block in a vehicle. There have been ocassions when I could not find a space nearby, and have parked far away, or even returned home. I put myself in the position of someone who is blocked in, and I never assume that their need to exit a parking space is unimportant. As a resident of this city, I have been inconvenienced and outraged by the inconsistent and often unduly punitive enforcement (or lack thereof).
I often go to gay bars like the Eagle late Saturday night, and early Sunday morning I can rest assured there will be a fat ticket on my car for even the slightest parking infraction. Example: in the block the Eagle is in there are 'curb cuts' for buildings that have not been there for ten years. There is absolutely no harm in parking there. But I know for certain I'll be ticketed by MPD for that.
But, eight hours later I can block NY Avenue traffic by double-parking, with impunity.
This is clearly selective enforcement, and I for one am tired of it.
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