Day: December 30, 2005

Neighbors,

A couple of residents have approached me lately about the possibility of acquiring Residential Permit Parking (RPP) for the 200 block of Bates Street, NW. The feeling is that parking opportunities on these blocks are becoming increasingly limited as more properties are developed and more residents move in. The RPP is already in place in the Unit block of Bates Street, NW and in the 100 block of P Street, NW. Because of this situation, residents of the 100 and 200 blocks of Bates Street, NW are subject to ticketing, if they park in the Unit block of Bates Street and/or in the 100 block o P Street, essentially, because they have no parking sticker (and are ineligible for one) that allows them to park in those locations for more than 2 hours (up until, I believe, 8:00 p.m. daily).

The last time this issue came up, a number of residents of the 100 and 200 blocks of Bates Street, NW, did not want to pursue RPP for a variety of reasons, including not wanting to pay the $10.00 per year for the sticker; folks didn’t want visitors to be ticketed when coming to their homes, etc. Because that was a number of years ago, I wanted to revisit the possibility and find out from you guys how many neighbors on those blocks who would be interested in signing a petition to get this done in the near future.

If you have an opinion on this subject, for or against the pursuit of RPP on the above blocks, please return it to me as soon as possible. If there is sufficient interest, I plan to pusue this goal with Ward Five Transportation Planner Sharlene Reed.

Best,

Jim Berry
ANC 5C

I have a lot of hopes for next year. I hope that the mayoral race works out well. I hope that the Mondie project works out in a way that it is profitable for him and suitable for the residents of Square 507. I hope that somebody or groups of somebodies in the DC govt realize that having a concentration of group homes in a transitional area doesn’t help the clients the residents living near the group homes.*
This is not a year in review post, but the last year wasn’t all that bad for the eastern end of Shaw. Well compared to the years before. In the past there were more dealers hanging out, nastier crackho’s, and more rowdy houses. Each year the neighborhood gets a bit calmer, and I hope that gives those of you who come to Truxton and Mount Vernon Square hope that things will get better. Because they have gotten better, at a snail’s pace, and after some battles won and lost, but still better.

* Okay now tell me if this is a good idea… You’ve gotten a drug addicted prostitute off the street and in a group home, a few feet from her old dealers and johns. Tell me how much time will it be before she’s hookin’ and smoking again?