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District Department of Transportation

Penn Quarter/Chinatown Pilot Eases Congestion and Makes Parking Easier for Motorists

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts

Penn Quarter/Chinatown Pilot Eases Congestion and Makes Parking Easier for Motorists

(Washington, DC) -- Today, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) released the final report on the parkDC demand based pricing parking pilot in the Penn Quarter/Chinatown area that began in 2014. The results were presented during the 2019 Transportation Research Board conference, an annual event that attracts 13,000 industry professionals from around the world.

The study area included on-street parking spaces bounded by H Street NW, 3rd Street NW, E Street NW and 11th Street NW. The pilot was designed to reduce the time needed to find parking, improve turnover of high-demand parking spaces, provide better parking information to motorists, and reduce congestion by adjusting prices based on observed demand for parking on a block-by-block basis. During the pilot, DDOT applied demand-based pricing principles to on-street parking and commercial loading zones.

The pilot also tested more cost-effective methods of collecting and disseminating parking availability data, information on parking availability and rates. The information was made available via two apps, parkDC and VoicePark, to help travelers make more informed decisions when visiting the area.

"This innovative pilot advanced a cost-effective approach for managing our curbside. We leveraged technology, data, and real-time information to enable more effective use of curbside space by residents, visitors, and commercial vehicles over the last four years," said DDOT Director Jeff Marootian. "Such a data-driven and technology-enabled approach is increasingly important as we work to meet Mayor Bowser's goal of making the District a multimodal city."

  • Based on data from the pilot, DDOT found that:
  • Parking availability increased on high-demand blocks and underutilized spaces found more takers.
  • Better information from DDOT helped drivers understand when and where they could park, and where spaces were available.
  • Circling for parking decreased, as did overall congestion.
  • Applying pricing to loading zones began to address issues with double parking and illegal use of loading zones.
  • The program did not negatively affect local businesses.
  • The pilot area still has high usage of non-driving modes.
  • The final report is available here.

Based on the success of the pilot, DDOT is continuing demand-based pricing in the Penn Quarter/Chinatown area and is looking to expand the approach to other performance parking zones in the future.

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The mission of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is to enhance the quality of life for District residents and visitors by ensuring that people, goods, and information move efficiently and safely with minimal adverse impact on residents and the environment.