Residents Say New Park DC System Opaque New Permitting System Raises Issues of

RESIDENTS SAY NEW PARK DC SYSTEM OPAQUE

New Permitting System Raises Issues of Equity, Access

by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Hill resident Michael Briggs was expecting painters at his house. Like many on the Hill, Briggs lives on a street zoned for Residential Parking Permits (RPP), meaning non-residents who need to park for longer than two hours need to have a Temporary Parking Permit (TPP).

So Briggs did what he had always done before. He went down to the Metropolitan Police District (MPD) substation today to get the permit.

“I discovered that this service, which has worked well for decades, is no longer available through the police,” he wrote on social media. “Instead, the District has turned a smooth efficient process into another cumbersome, complicated bureaucratic mess.”

What is ParkDC?

ParkDC (parkdc.com) is a new, centralized digital system for DC residents and their visitors to manage visitor, temporary, home health aide and contractor parking permits via a single online portal. It launched District-wide July 1, 2021 after a brief pilot.

Before ParkDC, each DC resident was entitled to one annual Visitor Park Pass (VPP) placard, linked to their home address. These could be placed on the dashboard of visiting vehicles, allowing them to park on blocks zoned for residential parking only. Residents could also get a shortterm VPP for visitors, health care workers or contractors, which were good for 15 days, by walking into a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) station.

All of these functions have now moved to the ParkDC system, meaning people have to interact with a lengthy technological process in order to get any type of parking permit.

How to Use it?

Residents and visitors must first register themselves on the system, entering their address and identification, usually a driver’s license.

Once a resident account is verified and approved, they can view their dashboard and unique code by clicking “get visitor codes.” They can share that code with a visitor and manage visitor requests to park. All parking is controlled by the resident’s unique code and linked to the license plate of the visiting vehicle.

Health home aides and contractors must also register for an account, entering their registration information (with the Department of Health and Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs) as well as a code provided by the resident. Contractors are required to pay a $10 fee.

The new permits must be printed, either by the resident or the visitor, and displayed on vehicle dashboards.

Challenges

The website is intended to streamline services, making it more user-friendly and convenient to manage from home. But many residents say it is anything but.

ANC 6B Transportation Committee Chair Kirsten Oldenburg said that many of the initial issues reported by residents were with the data used by the system, which had difficulty verifying identification and street addresses during the pilot. A lot of residents had trouble simply being registered. That meant they couldn’t get through to the second part: obtaining the passes.

Some simply gave up. “I’m not a technical wiz,” Hill Resident Norman Metzger told the Hill Rag. “But I’m on the computer a lot. I use a lot of different apps–and this just baffles me.”

First, the program did not recognize his address. Metzger alerted DDOT, and the correction was made. Then, the system didn’t recognize his block as a location eligible for VPP.

“I’ve tried to actually use the system, such as it’s called, and I gave up,” Metzger said. “It’s too complex, too many steps. It’s not well thought out.”

Eventually, Metzger just borrowed a 2020 VPP placard from a neighbor.

Other residents had trouble determining how to issue a permit. Part of the problem is that it isn’t clear on the ParkDC dashboard how to initiate the various types of permits. DDOT Program Analyst Joseph Kerwin told a June meeting of ANC 6B that DDOT had received feedback from the pilot indicating that the system was not totally clear. In response, DDOT created howto videos and additional instruction available to users as they work through the process.

However, the system remains complex. That’s partly because of the multiple steps required to initiate requests. To request to park, visitors must register on the site with valid identification. Once that is approved, they then request a resident’s visitor code. They then enter the code, their vehicle information and the time they wish to park. The resident must then go in and approve the request, after which either party can print the actual permit.

It’s also not immediately clear that, if a user has their visitor’s vehicle information, they can simply enter it all and print the permit themselves by pressing “schedule vehicle” in the permit section of the dashboard.

DDOT has tried to rectify the issue, adding ‘How-To’ guides, instructional videos and additional instruction available to users as they work through the process.

Equity Issues

Still, critics point to the complicated process, saying that the reliance on technology and printers is an issue of equity.

At the June ANC meeting, ANC 6B01 Commissioner Jennifer Samolyk said she was concerned especially for her older residents, who she said often have visitors. “Some people just don’t have computers or aren’t as computer savvy,” she said. “I have an elderly dad, and I know he probably wouldn’t be able to work something like this.” She encouraged DDOT to consider providing an alternative paper pass.

Kerwin acknowledged these concerns. He said printing was possible at DC Public Libraries, and both application and printing could be done via kiosks located at DDOT offices. The system can also be fully accessed via a dedicated call center.

However, these requirements have prompted concern from Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D). In an August 18 letter to DDOT, Allen said the technology required to access a parking pass was problematic.

“First, and most importantly, not everyone has a printer at home, which raises real equity concerns,” Allen wrote. “Second, the ParkDC system, for those who, per my first point, can’t easily print a permit, makes it difficult for residents who need to provide a visitor pass for friends and family visiting on short notice.”

On Sept. 22, DDOT announced they had agreed to Allen’s request to extend the validity of the 2020 VPP placards to the end of the calendar year, to give time for residents to learn to navigate the ParkDC Permit system.

At the ANC meeting, Hill resident Marian Connolly said the system was a step in the right direction. “I think that this is such a step forward for the city in managing this program,” she said at the June meeting of ANC 6B.

But Metzger thinks the city should go back to the drawing board. “As Samuel Beckett once wrote,” Metzger said, quoting the Irish writer, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”

Learn more about ParkDC by visiting ParkDC.com, or by calling the 24/7 call center at 202-671-2631. Get the ParkDC Permits mobile app from the Apple Store or Google Play. u