Less Parking Is Not the Answer

One of the most enduring issues confronting Georgetown since its early days is again inspiring new proposals by various neighborhood players: parking. And one of the items discussed at the April 3 Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E meeting was a proposal by the District Department of Transportation to remove up to 50 metered street-parking spots along K Street and its continuation west, Water Street. 

The K Street stretch at the Georgetown waterfront is indeed a special case — there are no traffic signals from 27th Street to 34th Street — and quite the traffic mess. It is a not-so-pretty mix of pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and truckers. There should be traffic signals at certain intersections, if that can be shown to control traffic flow. (It doesn’t help that south of K is the end of the line: the Potomac River.)

With the removal of parking spots, a dedicated bike lane could be created between 34th Street and 30th Street and larger bus stops and wider crosswalks would be possible. The project has been costed out in the low six figures, according to the Georgetown Business Improvement District, which tends to favor bicyclists.

At the ANC meeting, DDOT conceded that, while traffic flow would not change, the loss of parking could make matters worse. There are many spaces in parking garages (though they aren’t well marked), but drivers will still search for street parking, the closer to restaurants and retail the better. According to the BID, visitors provide more than 90 percent of the retail dollar in Georgetown. That’s right, let’s say it again: taking away parking is bad for business.

Taking away parking spaces is not the answer. Let’s step back and approach the interrelated issues — parking, signals, pedestrian flow — more comprehensively, then take coordinated action, but without sacrificing parking.