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.

Just a few more from 1/29/2012...

 When you're the only car parked in a bus zone, it's a clue that you shouldn't be parked there in the first place.

But I didn't see the no parking sign, because I illegally parked in front of it. 

I'm from Maryland, I can park where I want to go to my church

MPD Staff Parking Tag #53 told me I was wrong because it's Sunday and she was going to church.  Apparently Jesus would park in a crosswalk.  (I don't think she liked me taking her picture either).

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.

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

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

Parked beyond parking zone - feet from intersection

Outside parking zone - hindering line of sight for other drivers attempting to enter traffic on 2nd Street.

Again, too close to stop sign. 

Again, stop sign and too close to intersection

More...

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?!  

About WWJD in Bloomingdale

Welcome to WWJP in Bloomingdale Blog.  This blog is intended to bring attention to the problems surrounding illegal parking around churches on Sundays in the Bloomingdale neighborhood.  It is modeled after a similar blog and effort in the Logan Circle neighborhood.


Please feel free to send photos of illegally parked vehicles or comments about this issue on the blog to wwjpinbloomingdale@gmail.com.  These comments and photos will be used to further the discussion with our political leaders about illegal parking on Sundays.