Friday, March 2, 2012
The Reply to CM Brown's Recent Email
FW: send to Bloomingdale
Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 9:27 AM
To: "Sadler, Carol (Council)" <csadler@dccouncil.us>, dmeadows@dccouncil.us, "Brown, Michael (Council)"
<mbrown@dccouncil.us>
Councilman Brown-
While I appreciate your staff taking the time to follow up with me, given our exchanges on Twitter, I would have expected to hear from you. Unfortunately, encouraging MPD to "monitor the area and assess fines for egregious violations" is not going to stop the problem. Former Councilman Harry Thomas, Jr had also asked for MPD to enforce parking in Bloomingdale and as you can see from the photos which are on the blog, Where Would Jesus Park in Bloomingdale, the enforcement by MPD has not slowed or deterred the problem.
When I first Tweeted at you, it was when I heard that you were looking at ending student's abilities to park in DC because it was frustrating neighbors in Spring Valley. While at first glance, student parking and Sunday church parking might seem to be mutually exclusive, they are not. While students studying in DC pay for the ability to park in the city, folks who attend church here on Sundays are able to park for free, with one big difference. Those attending church are often times illegally parked. As a result of DC not enforcing parking regulations in neighborhoods on Sundays, these illegally parked vehicles often times will never be ticketed. The result is extremely frustrated DC residents, who see folks attending church not being ticketed, for the same violation that Monday through Saturday would be ticketed by parking enforcement.
As a resident of DC, I believe that the ability for people to park illegally to attend church must stop. I had hoped based on your previous messages on Twitter that you were more willing to help us out in Ward 5, as we attempt to function without a current member on the DC Council. However, today when I received a forwarded message, crafted by your communications director, I now know that your offer was a gesture.
I assure you, that I will continue to address this issue with my neighbors. While I know in the past, this issue has not met with much success in previous mayoral administrations, I will press to make this a bigger issue until one of my elected officials decides they want to help out the tax paying citizens of the District. As I told former Councilman Thomas, you have a responsibility to the citizens of DC and not to residents of Maryland and Virginia that come here to attend church. Your responsibility to the DC residents is to work to address our concerns about illegal parking on Sundays, through something more meaningful then asking MPD to monitor the situation. Given the spike in robberies in the District, I would argue that MPD has more important things to do than write parking tickets because DC does not wish to send parking enforcement officers into neighborhoods to enforce parking laws on Sundays. I will remind you that DC does have parking enforcement officers who enforce violation in the downtown corridor on Sundays, but there has never been a push to have them come into the neighborhoods to do them same. It is ironic, that parking enforcement writes tickets to people on 6th St NW between M and O Sts, who don't move their parallel parked vehicles on Sundays for back in angle parking which
is permitted during the hours that churches in that area have services.
I hope that in the future you and I can work together to make a serious attempt at addressing this issue. When you are ready to work for the residents of Bloomingdale and other Ward 5 neighborhoods affected by this same issue, please feel free to let me know.
Sincerely,
Brice
Resident of the Bloomingdale Neighborhood
CM Brown's Office Replies to Emails about Illegal Church Parking
After numerous emails and Tweets to CM Michael Brown, this is the reply which was crafted by his Communications Director and forwarded to me from a staff member. Obviously, this issue isn't important enough to the CM to respond in person. The reply is nothing, but more of the same from another of our elected officials.
FW: send to Bloomingdale
FW: send to Bloomingdale
| Sadler, Carol (Council) <csadler@dccouncil.us> | Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 10:16 AM | |
To: Brice
| ||
| ||
Sunday, February 26, 2012
I'm back after a brief vacation
Bloomingdale's Continued Sunday Parking Woes
for 2/26/2012
Yep, still illegal to park in this spot.
Parking here makes me closer to God.
It may not be illegal to park like this in Maryland (where the car is from)
but it is in DC.
I'm sure this big Suburban doesn't make it hard for someone pulling into the intersection
to see other cars or pedestrians.
Yep, the sign behind the Jeep says No parking here to corner.
PS- The Lexus in front of the Jeep is MPD Staff Tag from a few weeks ago.
Seems she though parking illegally a block away was better.
Maybe the sign in front of my car doesn't apply since I'm rolling in a Land Rover.
Hey Mazda- That fancy brick area is actually a crosswalk! You can't park there.
Hmm...Maybe know one will notice that I'm parked in a Metro Bus Stop.
Apparently double parking is acceptable when you're going to church.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Super Bowl Sunday Edition
When you're trying to pray for your team to win the Super Bowl,
don't let a fire hydrant get in your way!
I didn't see a no parking sign?!
No parking from the sign to the corner.
What do you mean I can't park here and go to church?
It's ok to block someones driveway, I'm going to church.
Yes, we're taking your picture.
Oh, am I stopped in a crosswalk?
That sign can't be for me.
What bus zone?
All the cars in the photo are parked in the bus zone!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The following email was sent to Reverend Streeter of Mt Pleasant Baptist Church:
Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:19:49 -0500 To: "churchsecretary@viewfromthemount.org" Dear Reverend Streeter- I wanted to make you aware of an ongoing issue which I know was previously brought to your attention by former councilman Harry Thomas, Jr and ANC Commissioner John Salatti. The parishioners of your church park illegally every Sunday in the Bloomingdale neighborhood, blocking fire hydrants, parking in crosswalks, limiting the sight of vehicles entering intersections, and parking in bus zones. I have heard that in the past, you did not believe that your parishioners could be responsible for such actions. As a result, I have taken the time to create a new blog documenting the illegal parking of folks attending your church on Sundays. Please feel free to view it and let me know when you are ready to work with the residents of Bloomingdale to eliminate the illegal parking offenses committed by parishioners of Mt Pleasant Baptist Church. The blog is located at http://wwjpinbloomingdale.blogspot.com. I welcome any comments or feedback regarding this issue. Sincerely, A Concerned Bloomingdale Resident
Illegally parked vehicles around Mt Pleasant Baptist Church
1/29/2012
This must be the best illegal parking spot in Bloomingdale, this is the 3rd car there today.
What fire hydrant? I'm later for church and need a parking spot.
Weird how all the illegally parked vehicles are around only a few of the 8 churches in Bloomingdale
The no parking sign in front of this car must say, "Except Sundays"
I didn't see the no parking sign
If you're attending services at Mt Pleasant Baptist Church, this is like rock star parking. Nevermind the no parking sign.
Oh, there's a bus zone in front of our church?
Bus zone
Bus zone
Buses are small, they can fit in the single car space we left them, right?
Lady in red...or as I like to call her, the lookout. Don't want those pesky neighbors taking pictures of all our illegally parked cars and ruining the great illegal parking that we currently use.
One more in front of the no parking sign.
Photos from 1/29/2012
Maybe some day these photos will actually be enough to get our politicians attention?
These two are part of the repeat offender program.
Did I mention the Lexus has an MPD Staff Parking Tag in the front window?!
I guess when you have to get to church on time, finding a legal parking spot isn't an option
So much for being able to have line of sight when pulling into the intersection at 2nd at T St
Yes, that's MPD Staff Parking Tag #53 from the Lexus illegally parked in the crosswalk. I'm sure it will be ticketed soon.
Never mind the sign right in front of your minivan that says no parking, Jesus is waiting for you at church.
More of the same.
One more to finish out the intersection
MPD Staff #53 is from Maryland, big surprise.
Friday, January 27, 2012
See this email sent to CM Michael Brown regarding the Sunday parking issues associated with church parking:
Subject: Bloomingdale Sunday Parking Issues From: A Bloomingdale Resident To: "Brown, Michael (Council)" <mbrown@dccouncil.us> Councilman Brown- Thank you for taking the time to reach out to me regarding the issue of Sunday parking in the Bloomingdale neighborhood. I have lived in Bloomingdale for a year and half and parking in the neighborhood is always an issue on Sundays. The largest issue that I have involves the influx of vehicles, most of which are from Maryland and Virginia who park illegally to attend church every Sunday. As you may or may not be aware in the Bloomingdale neighborhood there are 8 churches. I began addressing this issue with former Councilman Harry Thomas last year. While he and I didn't always agree on the issue, he did put me in contact with MPD 5th District Commander Andrew Solberg. The Commander and I exchange emails more or less weekly about this issue and often times I speak with the patrol lieutenant that is on duty on Sunday. While I appreciate the attention that MPD has tried to devote to this issue, it shouldn't be their responsibility to come through and write parking tickets for illegally parked vehicles. The officers should be devoting their time to patrolling our neighborhoods, in an effort to prevent and detect the increase in crime that we are currently seeing. In a perfect world, DC would increase the number of parking enforcement officers working on Sundays and allow them to come out of the business core of the city to enforce parking in the neighborhoods, like they do Monday through Saturday. For some reason, DC chooses to continue to provide "amnesty" to folks attending church. I have been reading articles that date back to 2006, when Anthony Williams was mayor that discuss the District's unwillingness to ticket illegally parked vehicles in proximity to churches. In response to your tweet to me, I would like to draw your attention to some of the largest trouble areas in Bloomingdale. The intersections of Rhode Island Avenue at 2nd Street NW; Rhode Island at 1st Street NW; T Street at 2nd Street NW, 2nd Street at S Street NW and Seaton Place at 2nd Street NW, always have a large amount of illegally parked cars. These vehicles commit parking violation to include, parking in front of fire hydrants, parking in no parking zones, parking in bus stops, parking in crosswalks, etc. As you may or may not know, stopping in a crosswalk is a $150 fine. If parking enforcement came through and issued tickets on Sundays between the hours of 9am and 1:30pm, the District could see a substantial increase in its ticketing revenue. More importantly, the District would be taking a proactive approach toward improving the safety of residents and visitors. When vehicles are illegally parked on Sundays, they often times limit the sight distance at intersections, which put vehicles attempting to enter the intersection at risk of being hit from oncoming traffic. They also limit the ability of pedestrians to be seen as they enter into a crosswalk. What is most frustrating to me about this entire situation is that it comes down to convenience. Every weekend, I walk through the neighborhood and see the amount of illegally parked cars in proximity to the local churches, and as you get away from those churches, the parking violations stop and available parking spots are plentiful. If folks coming into the District would take the extra minute and subject themselves to a short walk, they would be able to park legally and safely. I appreciate you taking the time to follow up with me on this issue and I look forward to working with you to continue to address these concerns. Yours in a Safer Bloomingdale, Bloomingdale Resident
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Sample of Illegal Parked Vehicles
**All photos were taken on a Sunday mornings while church services were in session**
Most violations are From 24 DCMR, Chapter 18:
2405 [PDF] Stopping, Standing, or Parking Prohibited: No Sign Required
**All photos were taken on a Sunday mornings while church services were in session**
Most violations are From 24 DCMR, Chapter 18:
2405 [PDF] Stopping, Standing, or Parking Prohibited: No Sign Required
 |
| Parked beyond parking zone - feet from intersection |
 |
| Outside parking zone - hindering line of sight for other drivers attempting to enter traffic on 2nd Street. |
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| Again, too close to stop sign. |
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| Again, stop sign and too close to intersection |
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| More... |
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| METROBUS stopping in traffic to pick up passenger at designated bus stop - but can't pull off because cars parked in bus stop. |
**New Photos from Sunday January 22, 2012**
Parked in a crosswalk
In the crosswalk again
Blocking the alley
A VA resident illegally parked on a Sunday for church?!
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