Reserved Parking: Come and Get It

A reader asked why they'd seen a reduction in the number of reserved parking spots at the Greenbelt station. This seemed odd to us since we thought surely reserved parking at Metro would be a hot commodity for the many who need to drive to a station, so we did a little digging.
Surprisingly there are only five Metro stations with a waiting list for reserved parking. Those are, according to Metro, Rhode Island Ave, East Falls Church, Largo Town Center, Glenmont and Van Dorn Street.
Metro sets aside a maximum of 15 percent of its parking spaces as reserved spots. If they don't get 15 percent worth of applications for reserved parking, those spaces become unreserved.
According to a Metro spokesperson, “we have a couple of stations that have less than 10 permits sold.”
The spokesperson continued “If your reader noticed a decrease in the spaces at Greenbelt, it is because there was a reduction in permits sold. If they need a space and pay for it, unless the station reaches its max, they would get it.”
Reserved parking costs $55 per month plus the daily parking fee, and if you don't claim your spot by 10 a.m, it reverts to an unreserved spot. For more information about reserved parking, click here.
Metro operates approximately 60,000 parking spaces at 42 stations

Photo: mindgutter

Another Trial Balloon

There certainly are appropriate times to float trial balloons, especially if you're going to be eventually giving some bad news, but Metro seems to think it's the smart thing to float out every negative idea for saving money given the dire financial straits in which it finds itself. First it was cutting service, and now it's charging for parking on the weekends.

We think the problem with this PR approach is that now everyone is going to remember the uproar, further deepening the negative image Metro has among so many, particularly those who would pony up real money, like say the Virginia legislature. Even if tomorrow someone were to magically put Metro's books back in the black, many people would still be irate that it was even considering service cutbacks or charging for parking on the weekends.

At least Metro seems aware that charging for parking could deter many from even riding. How much revenue would really be generated from charging for parking on the weekends?

Do you think these "nightmare scenario" trial balloons help or hurt Metro?

Photo: John Morris