Permits to provide residential parking in North College Park

City looks to discourage commuters from parking in neighborhoods

Thursday, Aug. 17, 2006

by Dennis Carter

Staff Writer

In an ongoing effort to push out-of-town commuters from parking in North College Park residential areas, the City Council is creating a permit-only zone to ensure spaces for residents.

The zone will be reserved only for residents on the portion of Narragansett Parkway between Muskogee Street and Lackawanna Street in North College Park. Extending permit parking for city residents was deemed necessary after commuters – most of whom park in neighborhoods and ride the nearby Greenbelt Metro – began using Narragansett after the city restricted parking on Lackawanna in the spring. The city received complaints from many residents who came home in the afternoon or evening with no available parking near their homes, said Jim Miller, the city’s Parking Enforcement Supervisor.

College Park officials hope that restricting parking in the north end of the city will eventually force commuters to use Metro parking, he said.

‘‘You reach a point where people are not going to park too far away” from the Greenbelt Metro, choosing to leave the neighborhoods and use the Metro’s parking lot, Miller said. ‘‘The city is just trying to provide a little relief for residents.”

Permits for the 600-foot section of Narragansett Parkway will only be given to residents of that street to ensure that they have parking, Miller said.

‘‘The drawback is that even if you’re a taxpayer in the city, you still can’t park on [the newly restricted section of Narragansett Parkway].”

Miller and Councilman David Milligan (Dist. 1) said College Park would continue to protect parking for residents, even if it means more permit parking.

‘‘[The City Council] is trying to determine just how far commuters are willing to go [away from the Metro] in terms of distance,” Miller said. ‘‘Frankly, I’m surprised people are going as far as they do right now.”

Milligan said the city would continue to monitor parking complaints in North College Park.

‘‘It’s all a matter of tinkering,” he said, adding that parking at the Greenbelt station often leaves commuters with a lengthy walk, which spurs many to park in nearby neighborhoods. ‘‘The question is how long until you can discourage people from parking in the residential zones.”

The new measure on Narragansett Parkway will require permits from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Permits for residents will cost $5 per vehicle per year, with a limit of five permits per household. Visitor parking passes will cost $1 per vehicle.

Councilman John Krouse (Dist. 1) said every home on the newly restricted stretch of Narragansett Parkway approved of the permit zone.

‘‘It’s very popular overall,” he said.

E-mail Dennis Carter at dcarter@gazette.net.