Residential parking permit district near NOVA could be expanded
People who live along the Wakefield Chapel Road area in Annandale have long complained parking problems caused by people going to the Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and parking in front of their homes.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will consider a measure proposed by Supervisor John Cook to address that problem by allowing the board to expand the area covered in a Residential Permit Parking District.
A public hearing on the proposal will be held during the board’s Feb. 22 meeting at 4 p.m.. If you want to speak at the hearing, you can register online or call the board clerk at 703/324-3151 by 10 a.m. on Feb. 22.
Current regulations allow the board to establish a Residential Permit Parking District in an area within “2,000 feet walking distance from the pedestrian entrances of an existing or proposed high school, existing or proposed rail station, or existing Virginia college or university.”
Cook’s amendment would allow a Residential Permit Parking District (RPPD) “encompassing an area within either 2,000 feet walking distance from the pedestrian entrances and/or within 1,000 feet from the property boundaries of an existing or proposed high school, existing or proposed rail station, or existing Virginia college or university.”
This change is needed because “out-of-the-area vehicles are being parked at an increasingly high rate in portions of residential neighborhoods near colleges and universities,” says Ryan Kelly, Cook’s chief of staff. These drivers “are creating walking paths into the facilities through portals that are not official pedestrian entrances. Expanding the criteria would allow residents near these unofficial entrances the opportunity to apply for an RPPD.”
People who park in an RPPD without a permit are subject to a $75 fine and their cars could be towed.
NOVA students who drive to campus must purchase parking permits for $75 a semester or pay a daily rate of $8. Staff can request permits at no charge. Visitors must use metered spaces or pay to park in a garage.
