In Shaw (an historically gentrified blog)

Let's make illeagal behavour legal, then it will B OK

According to the Washington Times, the city may consider making double parking legal. My response, no, no, no. Bad people, bad.
I'm thinking the law of unintended consequences. Imagine a church, they have a parking lot, or a hunk of land where cars park. Ya know if the city is starting to allow double parking... Sell the land, or throw up an administrative or mission focused building instead. It would take away the incentive for places that have responsible parking policies to remain responsible. More so if those places are near to others who have their irresponsible parking policies catered to by the city.
Before anyone says it's just a few hours once a week, let me just say that some churches are more active than others, and the bigger the church the more activities. You've got early morning service that may be at 7:30 or 8AM. Then there is the regular time service at 10 or 11AM. Between the early and the regular there is Bible Study or Sunday School. The regular service can be over 2 hours long, depending on the domination and or if any baptisms are occurring that day. So you could have parking problems from 7:30AM till sometime after 1PM. Almost 6 hours during the day.
And under fairness would any other non-profit or a business who has peak business for 6 or so hours once a or twice week also be eligible for double parking? If the restaurant and bar owners got together and said, "hey we need more parking on Saturday night from 9PM to 2AM!" Would they also get a concession?
You know what would be helpful? A study. No keep doing what ever you're doing 'cause I wouldn't want to delay things for the sake of a study, but a study would help. Get the location of every single church, mosque, temple, meeting house, coven and what religious have you and map it. Find out when are their peak times (Sunday morning, Friday night, Saturday sundown, Wednesday night, etc). Map where people double park in mass (regardless of assumed reason). Detail (size, DC/MD/VA tag, if DC what ward)what cars are parked in and what cars are blocking, and for how long/ when. I'd bet that you'd find that most religious places of worship practice responsible parking practices by having parking lots and more or less respecting the laws of the city during their peak times. And where people are double parking en mass, are near a few large churches, making up a small percentage of the District's whole worship population. A large number, maybe not a majority but a large number, of double parkers are from one of the surrounding states, possibly followed by DC residents from various Wards. A majority of the blockees would be DC residents, if there is regular parking on that street. But that's my guess.

posted by Mari @ 30.6.06