Photo by Mike Diegel
The County Council has unanimously approved changes to the regulations concerning the residential permit parking guidelines.
According to the staff report on Executive Regulation 24-16, the changes will:
- Increase the number of transferable visitor permits per household from one to two
- Split the previous Employee and Contract Work Permit into two separate permits: Employee Permits and Contract Work Permits
- Include a new three-month Temporary Medical Condition Permit, for which up to three transferable permits may be issued free of charge to a household, with the transmittal of certain documentation.
- Allow for the removal of residential permit parking restrictions on a block if 50 percent of residents vote to do so; the current requirement is a two-thirds vote.
- Redefine Metro Impact Area to include the area around light rail (i.e., Purple Line) stations.
The final item is in response to reports of Purple Line construction workers parking on neighborhood streets, and that in the future, Purple Line riders will be tempted to park in neighborhoods as well. Those areas will be eligible for permit parking.
In August, the Department of Transportation announced it would send physical parking permits to all residents who have registered vehicles under the digital permit parking system.
In addition, resident can request physical visitor parking permits, or continue to use the digital system for these permits, but not use both.
The action came in response to numerous residents’ complaints about the digital system.