Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D) has secured an agreement with Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham over the parking restrictions proposed for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon scheduled for March 10. Both the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) will not ticket and tow cars parked in residential blocks on Capitol Hill. Cars parked in commercial corridors will still be subject to towing and ticketing under MPD’s “Clean Streets” policy, as previously reported by the Hill Rag.
Regardless, MPD strongly recommends that Capitol Hill residents not park on the marathon route.
Allen is working to secure a similar agreement for the 2018 Capitol Hill Classic scheduled for May 20.
“Like everyone, I always want to hold safe and successful events. However, these take place in residential neighborhoods and the decisions we make must take into account the lives of those residents,” Allen stated. “Trying to find that balance, I requested the Mayor and Chief not to ticket and tow on residential blocks for the Rock and Roll marathon. I appreciate that they have agreed to my request. I intend to ask the same thing on the behalf of the Capitol Hill Classic.”
“Even though I disagree with Chief Newsham over the Clean Streets policy, he has been very attentive to Capitol Hill community concerns in our discussions. He worked collaboratively with me to fashion this compromise that maintained our shared goal of a safe and secure event,” Allen stated.
The Chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6A, Phil Toomajian (6A02), stated, “Our commission was extremely concerned about reports that this year’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and Capitol Hill Classic races were going to result in many residents having their cars towed.”
“We opposed to application of the ‘Clean Streets’ initiative because of the impact it would have had on our community; and the extreme financial burden it would have posed for the Capitol Hill Classic, which provides crucial funding for the Capitol Hill Cluster public schools,” Toomajian continued speaking on behalf of the commission.
“We’re grateful to Councilmember Allen for his tremendous leadership in convincing the Administration to reverse its earlier decision to impose this burdensome requirement,” said Toomajian.
This story has been updated to reflect the comments of the chair of ANC 6A and Councilmember Allen.
