Parking Pass Mix-up: Green Means Stop and Red is a Go

Imagine that you do your due diligence, you give a visitor parking pass to a friend or nanny who parks on your street. The green pass clearly states that it does not expire until July. Just the same, your friend or nanny is written a ticket. This is the problem neighbors to Georgetown's north in Glover Park have been experiencing.

How did this all happen?

In 2009, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) issued Visitor Parking Passes as part of a pilot program. Those brown and white passes expired in the summer of 2010. The program became permanent and residents received new green and white passes that expire July 31, 2011. Those passes are now receiving tickets.

Why?

According to Councilmember Cheh's office, the green passes were mailed in error to residents in Ward 3 because they sent at the same the Ward 5 passes were mailed. DDOT recently started issuing new red and white passes for Ward 3 residents that invalidate the green passes.

Except not everyone got a red pass and residents claim to have received no notice that their green passes are no longer valid.

Jackie Blumenthal, a commissioner on ANC3B, explained the frustration of Glover Park neighbors, "the problem is that DDOT and parking enforcement decided -- without notifying anyone, which is the real problem here -- that as of April 15, 2011, the green-and-white passes would no longer be honored."

The DDOT website does say that the old green passes would be honored until April 15, 2011. But many neighbors assumed that the July 31, 2011 date was valid and had no reason to check the DDOT website; until they got a ticket, that is.

Residents of Ward 3 who have not received a new red and white visitor pass should contact DDOT's Damon Harvey at damon.harvey@dc.gov  or 202-671-0493.

If your visitor was ticketed for having the green pass displayed, Councilmember Cheh's office is working with DDOT to try to have those tickets nullified.

So again, stop using the green and start using red.