ARLINGTON — Barbara Taylor and her fellow Arlington, Virginia, residents joined community managers on Saturday to discuss the county’s plans to fine tune its residential permit parking program for the first time in over a decade.
Taylor said she is concerned that cars connected to large, multiunit buildings are going to overwhelm local streets if new buildings don’t have enough parking.
“I do think that any new building built should have enough parking for the people living there which, to me, means at least one parking space per unit,” Taylor said.
Stephen Crim is the county’s parking manager. He said Saturday’s meeting was a way to open the conversation between the county and its residents.
“We think it’s really important to start off by getting the broader picture, what works and what doesn’t, so we can go from there,” he said.
Some of the key issues addressed included how residents can be eligible for parking permits, and how the county will enforce the regulations. Crim also said the county will consider new parking regulations around parks and schools.
Taylor said she and other residents are concerned cars from multidwelling buildings will overwhelm the streets.
The next step, Crim said, will be to post a list of concerns and possible solutions online.
Residents still have time to weigh in on the residential permit parking on the county’s website.
Crim said many of the concerns brought up on Saturday will be used to create a survey, the results of which will be brought to the county’s board so it can decide on what changes, if any, will be made to the current parking regulations.
“We want this program to serve those interests, while we’re also being the best stewards of our public asset, which is our streets,” Crim said.
