Neighbors: Parking Restrictions Not Needed

In a public hearing before the Hyattsville , residents of the 5000 block of 36th Place protested new parking restrictions on their street and called for them to be overturned. Their message to city leaders was simple: parking was never an issue on the street, and the new restrictions came as a surprise.

"There's never been any problem since I can remember with parking," said Raymond Thomas, a 20-year resident of the 5000 block of 36th place.

The public hearing comes about two months after the parking restrictions first went into effect this past November. Area residents had initially petitioned city officials back in September. A public hearing on October 24 saw three residents express concern over parking on 36th Place. On November 14, the City Council unanimously approved a measure implementing residential parking restrictions on the block as part of its consent agenda. Residents who wanted to park on the street are now required to purchase a lifetime parking pass from the city for $10.

"I was shocked when I came home one day and saw the signs there," said Derrick Jackson, a resident of the 5000 block of 36th Place since November 2000. "I feel that they should be taken down like everyone else here, so please help us."

Another neighbor, Veronica Damne admitted that parking can become an issue when a party is held in the neighborhood, but she also called for the signs to be taken down.

Ward 5 Councilmember Ruth Ann Frazier, herself a resident of 37th Avenue, admitted she signed the initial petition in favor of the parking restrictions, a decision she said she now regrets.

"The way the petition was presented to me was that the overflow would come over to my street, and I was scared to death," said Frazier during the public hearing. "So, I apologize for signing that first petition."

Hyattsville Police Chief Douglas Holland said that his department would next prepare a brief report for City Council outlining the impact of rescinding the residential parking restrictions. He said the report would be ready within a month.