|
|
|
Articles
|
| Church agrees to end parishioners’ illegal parking |
VOICE writes, "BY BEN WEINSTEIN
Ward 6 D.C. Council member Tommy Wells recently stepped into a rancorous dispute involving two of the most combustible issues of our time: religion and parking.
On Jan. 19, Wells helped negotiate a deal between Northeast residents and Brown Memorial Church to end parking violations around the congregation’s 130 14th St. NE building.
Brown’s pastor, the Rev. Henry White, agreed to end the parking violations residents found most egregious, and residents agreed to give the church one month to find alternative parking arrangements.
“We’re at a flashpoint and we’ve got some neighbors who are pretty hot,” Wells said, referring to longstanding problems between illegally parked churchgoers and frustrated residents.
But Wells also tried to put the debate into context, saying similar conflicts erupt in other parts of the city with old churches and tight parking.
"
|
“There’s an expectation that when you move to a city it’s not like living elsewhere,” he said. “This is not a new church, it’s been here 125 years. … It’s not because we have a bunch of outlaws that go to church.”
Several residents said they didn’t buy that argument. They said the city’s permissive attitude toward church parking reveals a double standard: Churchgoers, many from outside the city, park illegally with impunity while tax-paying District residents get no leeway.
“I can’t negotiate where I want to park with MPD ahead of time,” said neighbor Keith St. Germain. “I’d get ticketed.”
Residents around the church have complained for years that parishioners double park and block hydrants, crosswalks and bus stops. But the biggest complaint is about cars parked illegally in a Constitution Avenue traffic lane, turning the 1300 block into one lane for several hours on weekends.
Residents said it’s a safety hazard for pedestrians and drivers, and makes the street an obstacle for emergency vehicles.
Parishioner James Short, a former D.C. Fire Department deputy chief, said in all the years he’s been attending Brown, he’s never seen an accident because of the cars parked on Constitution Avenue.
Nevertheless, the church agreed to allow only five cars to park on Constitution Avenue through Feb. 10 and end the practice after that.
In the meantime, White and several residents said they would work together to find alternative parking, most likely at nearby Maury Elementary School and RFK Stadium. White said he’s waiting to get permission to use those lots for parking and shuttle points.
White said the church has taken other steps to improve parking, including valet parking for elderly members and printing maps to show parishioners where they can’t park.
“We’re strongly appealing to the members of where not to park,” said parishioner Robert Jones, saying that includes corners, crosswalks and in front of hydrants.
“We don’t want to be a problem here in our neighborhood,” White said.
But Northeast Capitol Hill advisory neighborhood commissioner Nick Alberti said he’s been dealing with the problem for a long time without resolution. “We met with you 15 years ago on the same issue,” he said, appealing for a firm deadline.
St. Germain said he is hopeful the agreement will work, but so far he has been discouraged. Last Sunday, the day after the meeting, St. Germain said he saw 13 cars with church placards parked in the Constitution Avenue traffic lane.
“No one disputes that Brown plays a positive role in the community,” St. Germain said. “It’s not productive to say ‘This is a custom and we’ve been here a long time.’” He gave Brown credit for being proactive on other aspects of the parking problem, but said with Constitution Avenue, “It’s a safety issue.”
Wells said last Sunday’s illegal parking might have been pushback from some parishioners who were upset about the negotiations, but that he trusts White to straighten it out. He said that after the four-week period is over, he expects police to start uniformly enforcing the parking regulations.
|
Posted on Jan 24, 2008 08:05am.
(Return)
|
|
|
|
|
Categories
|
|
|
