D.C. Residents Heavily Subsidize Residential Parking

In an opinion piece in Greater Greater Washington, Joshua Peacock argues that “Street parking in DC is way too cheap,” and taxpayers cover much of the cost.

Charging only token amounts for extremely valuable land creates an incentive for residents and commuters to drive their personal vehicles into the city and store them, using DC’s land in ways that make the streets less affordable, less welcoming, and more congested.

Peacock lays out the landscape: “Released in December 2021, moveDC reported that DC had 150,000 Residential Parking Permit (RPP) spaces, 20,000 metered spaces and 230,000 other spaces.” The construction costs for one parking space is, on average, $8,600. Looking at residential parking permits, Peacock notes that “At the current charge of $50/year for a residential parking permit, it would take 172 years to cover the cost of constructing that space.”

Meanwhile, the District’s highly coveted 20,000 metered parking spaces cost $2.30 per hour, which would add up to $14,352 per space per year if permit spots were priced the same. Private parking costs around $2,700 per year. Peacock makes the case that the $50 residential parking permits are woefully underpriced, meaning that “DC taxpayers are subsidizing 150,000 RPP spaces throughout the city to the tune of up to $558 per resident (all 712,000 of us in the 2020 census), per year.”

Peacock doesn’t recommend a sudden spike in permit costs, but suggests some steps the District could take to start remedying the inequitable situation, such as rewarding residents who do not use RPPs through ‘parking buyouts’ or charging for permits based on vehicle size and weight.

Echoing Donald Shoup, Peacock reminds readers, “There is never such a thing as free parking.”