DC parking meter rates going up starting in June

WASHINGTON - Drivers in Washington D.C. are about to notice a steep rate increase all of the city's parking meters. Parking at a meter for one hour will cost about just as much as purchasing a gallon of regular gas.

Starting June 1, all 18,000 meters across the city will go up to $2.30 an hour.

This is a $.30 increase from the $2.00 per hour rate for "premium demand zones" such as Adams Morgan, the National Mall, Georgetown Historic District, the U Street NW Corridor, the Downtown Central Business District, Maine Avenue and Water Streets SW, Wisconsin Avenue NW and the Chinatown/Penn Quarter areas around Verizon Center.

The parking meters in so-called "normal demand zones" will see the biggest bump from $.75 to $2.30. Commercial loading zones will also go up from $2 to $2.30 an hour while motorcycle parking will be $0.25 per hour.

The District Department of Transportation will be adjusting all of the meters over the next few weeks. But this change comes at a time when Metro plans to shut down entire portions of the rail system to do much-needed maintenance repairs, which will likely force more people back onto the roads.

We asked D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser about the timing of this rate increase. She would only say it was the D.C. Council that decided to raise the parking meter rates.

DDOT said on its website that despite the $2.30 per hour rate, other major cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore and Philadelphia have meter rates that are at least $3 an hour or more.

The rate increased is expected to create an added revenue stream of about $2 million, which will contribute to D.C.'s share of Metro's operating budget.

More information: ddot.dc.gov/page/parking-meters