Category: Parking
As an Information Technology professional, I'd prefer to setup a database of "topics" organized by "category" to be discussed by the RAC.
For now, I'll establish a BLOG posting for each category. If you have comments on a specific category, please post a comment to the appropriate category:
(Index to Categories)
Parking Issues
P.1 - Alternate Parking Fare Cards
Can't Metro come up with another method that works for visitors? Maybe they could allow the use of the paper "charlie tickets", or a one-time scan card that works with the readers. Even better would be the use of Credit Card, Debit Card, or Gift Cards.
An even better policy would be the ability to use EZ-Pass or the EZ-Pass technology used on Toll Roads. Wow! It would be great to have one regional technology for all my transportation needs.
P.2 - Review Monthly Park Policy
I don't know about you, but in my 19 years as a Metro rider, I've never been accepted for the "Monthly Parking Program." If my getting on the RAC is harder then getting into Harvard, then maybe getting a "Monthly Pass" is harder then getting into NASA's Astronaut School?
Why is this such a scarce commodity? When I used to park at the Montgomery County lots near Metro, everyone could buy a monthly pass. I'm not looking for the "Special Spaces" designated for Monthly Pass holders; I'd just like that monthly discount. Maybe, I could just pre-pay for the Monthly Parking using my Smart Benefits? If the lot was full, then maybe I could still use my Monthly Parking at another Metro Station or at another "participating partner's" lot?
Well, maybe I would like to use the "Special Spaces", but that's the second problem with the policy that needs addressing.
How often do these monthly passes turnover? Are they passed down form generation to generation like Red Skin tickets?
I'm guessing ever once in a while, they purge the list and start over. Because, overtime I get frustrated and sign-up again ... still no monthly pass. If they don't purge the list then my name is probably on some lists 10 or more times.
Maybe there should be a lottery every year or two, like they do at some of the business downtown. Maybe they should expire after three years kind of like the RAC and then you get to re-apply.
This policy needs to be revisited so that the Average Joe has a chance at the "Monthly Parking Program."
P.3 - Notification When Lots are Full
At Metro Parking Lots, I've experienced the frustration of looking for a space only to come up empty. This was a greater problem when I parked at the Glenmont Station, but on rainy days many of the other lots fill up early. It would be so much less frustrating if Metro notified customers when the lots where full, so we can go onto another station or find an alternative.
Metro recently responded with the following change in policy:
New system-wide time change for pay-to-exit parking starts Jan. 2
Effective Monday, January 2, 2006, people using a Metrorail parking facility will pay-to-exit from 10:30 a.m. to closing Monday to Friday, as part of a new system-wide time change designed to make it easier for people looking for a parking space. The pay-on-entry collection time will not change.
Previously, payment to exit Metrorail parking facilities was at 9 a.m. The time change to 10:30 a.m. will allow patrons unable to locate a parking space after 9 a.m., not to be charged, and provide greater flexibility for patrons searching for a parking space. After 10:30 a.m., "lot full" signs will be posted at the entrances of parking facilities that are full.
Last June, the Metro Board agreed to eliminate parking lot cashiers by requiring parking lot users pay with a SmarTrip card. Under the plan, payment hours were from 9 a.m. until closing Monday to Friday. Customers seeking a parking space after 9 a.m., have been unable to do so, and in some cases have paid to exit without parking at a facility.
Metro's Board of Directors approved the time change on December 15.
Starting Tuesday, Metro will post signs after 10:30 a.m. at its parking lots informing motorists whether lots are full. Also, until 10:30 a.m., drivers looking for spaces will be able to drive through lots and exit if they cannot find a space.
Previously, drivers who entered after 9 and failed to find a space had to pay to exit the lot.
For years, drivers using Metro lots paid only between 2 and 10 p.m. on weekdays. That policy ended June 28, 2004, when the transit agency switched to a cashless parking system and instituted longer hours to pay.
On Monday, a federal holiday, parking will be free at lots that Metro owns.
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posted by I. Michael Snyder @ 2:27 PM
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