Parking Disappearing in the Region?

• October 20th 2009

by Mark Wellborn

In an effort to wean people off their car dependency, DC and close-in counties are putting measures in place to drastically reduce the amount of parking spaces in the metropolitan area. The Washington Post has a story today that examines what is being done in Northern Virginia, Montgomery County and DC to reduce the number of parking spaces.

The catalyst behind this movement is a plan that will be up for approval next month by the county board in Arlington to remove thousands of spaces in the area. DC and Maryland are following suit.

From The Post:

“The District is pulling up parking lots and putting in expensive meters to get drivers out of their cars and onto a train, bus, bike or their feet. Montgomery and Fairfax counties are thinking along similar lines, considering changes to codes to reduce the number of parking spaces builders have to include.”

For the environmentalist in you, it is nice to hear that measures are being taken to reduce congestion and pollution. However, if you are a prospective home buyer with a car, the news that less developments are going to be built with parking spaces might make you cringe. And, according to some interviewed by The Post, if you already own in Arlington and are facing the prospect of losing your existing spot, you are thinking of taking some steps of your own:

“Arlington might be the region’s most transit-friendly suburb, with 11 Metro stations. But Wildwood Towers isn’t near one of them. An express bus a block away can take residents up Columbia Pike to the Pentagon Metro station during rush hours. But taking public transit to work would be inconvenient for Sarah Brodfuehrer, 25, a Fairfax teacher who, with her roommate, searched for four months for a building that had a spot for her Toyota Corolla.

‘If they started charging, it would certainly make me consider moving,’ she said. ‘Parking can add hundreds of dollars to your rent.’”

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/parking_disappearing_in_the_region/1427.