Washington DC is considering eliminating its minimum parking requirements for retail establishments

Washington, DC, is considering eliminating its minimum parking requirements for retail establishments, offices, and apartments near Metro stations, according to a report in the Washington Post. The city has discovered that parking requirements based on typical retail formulas lead to excess parking in walkable, mixed use areas served by transit. “The concept is that in a city like ours, with so much transit and so many transportation choices, demand for parking is on a glide-path downward,” Harriet Tregoning, director of the District’s Office of Planning, told the Post. “It’s become more the fashion not to get in your car.” A good example is the bustling redevelopment that has occurred around the Columbia Heights Metro station. The city built a large garage to serve an urban mall and lure a Target store to a part of the city that was economically depressed for decades. Despite cheap rates, the lot sits mostly empty. Across the street from the mall, The Highlands residential building has been unable to lease a third of its parking spaces, according to architect Brian O’Looney of Torti Gallas and Partners.