WASHINGTON 鈥� Everyone knows that parking in the D.C. area is a challenge, but where is the toughest place to park in the entire area? 蜜桃视频app asked several area residents their opinions recently, and perhaps not surprisingly, almost everyone seemed to think their own neighborhood was the worst of all.
Bari Biern, of D.C., says that the main problem with parking in the District is the cost.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 even think you鈥檙e even allowed to use nickels鈥� in the parking meters anymore, Biern says. 鈥淚 think you have to have an American Express Gold Card in order to park for an hour in the District.鈥�
Scott Sedar, also of D.C., says the worst spot in the area is at 14th and S, 鈥渞ivaled only by 16th and S.鈥� He says you can鈥檛 even park on those streets, because there are so many local-only spots. All of which makes it difficult to enjoy the night life.
鈥淭hat is the worst place in town, if you鈥檙e going to the theater especially,鈥� Sedar says.
Annette Woodside, of Bethesda, Maryland, however, says it鈥檚 鈥渄efinitely Bethesda.鈥� There just aren鈥檛 enough spots, she says, especially since a lot was recently replaced by apartments. The only areas with plenty of parking, she says, are places 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 want to go to.鈥� She鈥檚 not crazy about the fees, but is especially peeved that they鈥檙e in effect 鈥渦ntil 10 o鈥檆lock on a Thursday.鈥�
The only suggestion is patience.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 going to be bad,鈥� Woodside says, 鈥渁nd I just do it. 鈥� You have to kind of suck it up.鈥�
Benjamin Lin, of Chevy Chase, Maryland doesn鈥檛 suck it up. He says the worst place to park in the area is near the National Mall, and he just avoids it. 鈥淚 never park there.鈥� He takes the Metro, although even then, he says, 鈥渢he Red Line is pretty awful on the weekends.鈥�
James Murphy, of Reston, Virginia is retired, so he can plan his day around finding off-peak times to park.
鈥淧eople are very stressed in their cars, and they act it out,鈥� Murphy says.
Downtown Bethesda can get lively on Saturday nights, but you won鈥檛 find Lisa Sorkin there. The Bethesda resident says you just can鈥檛 find a spot there. Adding that Friendship Heights can be a pain for parking as well, she says, 鈥淚f the bus ran more frequently, I鈥檇 be more inclined to take it.鈥�
Asked their suggestions on how to relieve the parking crunch, public transit was a common thread among most respondents.
Andrea, of Rockville, Maryland says of the problems, 鈥淚鈥檓 just as guilty, because it鈥檚 my car taking up space too,鈥� and suggests people, 鈥淭ry not to drive.鈥�
The only suggestion Biern, of D.C., can come up with is from the distant future:
鈥淛etpacks, perhaps?鈥�
Where do you think is the worst place to park in the area? Let us know on the 蜜桃视频app Talkback line at 1-877-222-1035, post a comment in this story, comment on or use on Twitter.
蜜桃视频app’s Dennis Foley contributed to this report.
