Today, GM turns over the reins of the Georgetown Metropolitan for a day to his friend and fellow Georgetowner Ken Archer to discuss Jack Evans recent parking proposals:
Councilmember Jack Evans’ proposal to roll back parking meter rates and hours of enforcement in commercial corridors is based, according to Evans, on the complaints and requests of businesses and residents in his ward. However, a survey of organizations representing residents and businesses in Georgetown fails to find anyone asking Evans for his proposal.
His proposal passed out of his committee by a 3-2 vote and Evans frequently points to these complaints in defending the $5.2 million measure.
Evans told the Washington Examiner, “I get consistent complaints about the parking meters everywhere I go in my ward from residents. I can’t go into a restaurant without the owner coming out to complain about the cost of the parking meters.”
Despite this, neither the Georgetown BID nor the largest owner of Georgetown restaurants support the proposal.
The Georgetown ANC and Citizens Association have passed no resolutions and sent no letters to Evans requesting reductions in either meter rates or enforcement hours. In fact, the ANC has been working with DDOT for a couple years to put in place a performance parking pilot that would increase parking turnover and availability by charging market rates at meters. Continue reading