Car-sharing

[from 'evc', edited for space]

(Washington, DC) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) today announced the designation of 50 new on-street parking spaces for carsharing vehicles throughout the city, including Petworth, Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant and Historic Anacostia.

The spaces are marked with orange poles, special signage and stencils outlining the parking space and are in addition to 150 spaces already in use. They were picked in consultation with the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, businesses and community leaders. Zipcar and Flexcar are the two companies working with DDOT on this endeavor.

Carsharing allows members to use a car while only paying for the time and mileage that they actually use.

Carsharing can be especially advantageous for low-income persons because their transportation needs are not fully met by transit, taxis or traditional rental cars. The contract with Zipcar and Flexcar requires that cars be available in all wards of the city.

For more information please visit ddot.dc.gov/carsharing.

Location of the Petworth Flexcar space will be 9th and Upshur.

Comments

[Account Deleted]

Excellent pieces. Keep posting such a kind of post on your blog. Its really impressed me.

[Adam]

Checking on the anc4c09 website, I am grateful to see Mr. Martin is working so diligently on the Flex Car/Zip Car issue.

At the very least, the business owners and nearby residents should have more say in the matter.

However, I'd like to make an additional point. The use of Zip and/or Flex cars does not necessarily result in reduced congestion problems. In fact, the opposite may be true.

First, the addition of the cars is exactly that: an addition. Until current car owners are persuaded to sell their cars, the Zip/Flex cars will remain a net addition.

Second, the use of rental cars could actually result in increased congestion because their lower monthly cost lowers makes the entry point more affordable for would-be drivers. More people will drive because the cost will be within more people's reach. That may be a positive development, but it does not reduce congestion.

Finally, it is clearly in the business interest of Zip/Flex cars to have as many of their cars on the road as possible. In this sense, it is hard to say they are advocates of reduced congestion. They would simply like you to drive their cars instead of your own. I'm not sure this for-profit use justifies a public subsidy in the form of reserved public parking.

[Joseph Martin]

I applaud Zip Car and Flex Car.

I have a problem with the DC Department of Transportation (DDoT) allocating public parking spaces in an area where there is a limited number of metered spaces serving several locally-owned businesses without any consultation whatsoever with the affected businesses, local residents nor Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. DDoT's Samira Cook admitted a total lack of communication with locals about this in a phone conversation with me yesterday.

I plan to assist DDoT in finding alternative spaces that will not have an adverse effect on local businesses. They failed on this one, in my view.

This action coming on the heel on DDoT's reconfiguration of North Capitol Street and Harewood Road again without consulting area residents and businesses smacks of a casual, patronizing regard by DDoT for the residents and businesses of Petworth. That is not acceptable.

Please go to my website and participate in the dialogue about why ANCs matter. You will need to join (free) to post comments. You need not join to read other's postings.

Please share your thoughts about this issue with your own ANC 4C Commissioners. We will be taking this issue up among other agenda items at ANC 4C's next meeting on Tuesday, November 8th at the Regional Operations Command building, 801 Shepherd St NW, at 7 pm, in the Community Room.

I am considering asking my fellow commissioners to support a town hall type of meeting on these transportation-related issues. Needless to say, a lot of people are still fuming about the work at North Capitol and Harewood.

Send your comments about the latter to Dan Tagherlini, the director of DDoT:
[email protected]

Joseph Martin
ANC 4C Vice Chair /
4C09 Commissioner
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/anc4c09
[email protected]

[Heather]

I wrote to zipcar and they confirmed that they will have a car parked at 9th & Upshur as well...

[Lisa]

I too am thrilled. I'm glad that DDOT has taken on this experiment with alternatives to individual car ownership. The overriding complaint of any new development is that it will bring in too much car traffic and eat up parking spaces. It's time to separate the idea that one person = one car. Buses, bike lanes and carsharing all help.

[Tim]

This is great! We heard this through Flexcar's member newsletter and got very excited. We use the cars in Columbia Heights and Fort Totten regularly.