D.C. lifts evening time limits on parking meters

In its ongoing struggle to make parking easier for District drivers, the City has lifted evening time limits on parking meters and plans to introduce a pilot program next month to find ways to alleviate parking difficulties in D.C., the Washington Examiner is reporting.

The evening time limits, or "premium demand zones" that D.C. imposed in January had found vocal opposition among drivers and businesses alike. They limited parking to two hours and forced drivers parking in busy areas like Georgetown and Adams Morgan to move their cars frequently or else limit their nights out. Residents near parking hotspots complained that the limits caused congestion on their streets, too.

The lifted limits will not mollify District drivers who complain about the cost of parking, however. They will still need to feed meters until 10:30 p.m., the Examiner's Kytja Wier writes, and $2-per-hour rates and Saturday fees still apply.

But the District is trying to make it easier to pay or find one of the 17,000 or so spots in D.C. Writes Wier:

"It plans to have several 90-day pilots started by July 19, including "pay-by-space" programs in which drivers enter the parking space number when they pay. Those spaces would have sensors that could tell if the spot was empty, which could help drivers find available spots.

"Officials also plan a pilot in which drivers enter their license plate numbers so the city can tell who has paid. Finally, it will add a pay-by-phone feature, including a smart phone application, to 1,000 spots in Foggy Bottom, Georgetown and around Washington Nationals stadium.

"The city already is trying out solar-powered meters that take either credit cards or coins. It also started a pay-by-phone pilot in April at 700 spaces around Dupont Circle, Union Station and downtown that city officials said had been used by more than 3,200 people."