Arlington County may eventually see parking meter hours extended to nights and weekends and variable meter pricing, under a 20-year parking plan passed Saturday.
The county board on Saturday approved a long-term parking and curb space management element to its master transportation plan for the first time.
One of the goals behind the amendment is to accommodate an anticipated 17 percent increase in population and 31 percent increase in employment over the next 20 years. Few of the implementation actions would be adopted soon, said Sarah Stott, the county parking manager.
“This is a well-thought-out parking plan that will help Arlington manage growth in the coming years, by helping us make the best possible use of our limited parking and curb space,” said board chairman Barbara Favola.
Variable pricing has been used in other areas to address parking needs, Stott said. When parking demand is high and prices are low, spaces will be filled, but when prices exceed demand, spaces are likely to go unused, she said. The plan seeks an optimal rate where parking spaces in a given area are occupied about 85 percent of the time.
Both Stott and board members cautioned that any such changes to parking fees or hours would require further board action. Extending parking meter hours would be done only if there is a perceived need from local businesses or residents, Stott said.
“This has had a lot of discussion with many people in the restaurant and business community,” she said.
A few people who spoke at Saturday’s board meeting were amenable to the parking plan, but requested that it be deferred and/or amended.
Board members responded by saying that the plan would be a tool for long-term policy guidance, not an ordinance or regulation.
“I fully expect the strategies outlined in this document will evolve,” Favola said. “This is not a locked-in-stone document.”
Board member Chris Zimmerman pointed out that the plan was a policy statement or outline.
“This doesn’t decide what parking meters rates are going to be,” he said. “You could tinker with it forever…at some point, you’ve got to do it.”
The board approved the measure by a unanimous 5-0 vote.
