Washington D.C.
In DC parking difficulty is highly dependent on the time of day.
There are many spots in DC that are Two Hour Zone Permit limited. What this means is that everybody is allowed to
park there for up to 2 hours. However, only residents who live within that zone and have a zone permit to display are
allowed to park there for more than two hours. On our map if you are a non-resident and request to park for more
than 2 hours we will show those Two Hour Zone Permit limited areas as red, but if you request 2 hours or less we will show those
spots as green.(See zone map to the right). Zone restrictions only apply on weekdays.
That's why parking on weekends in DC is usually much easier than on weekdays.
- Parking meters don't apply on Sundays.
- Street Cleaning only occurs one day a week and not during the winter (only beween Mar. 1 and Oct. 31)
Basic Rules
There are certain parts of the street on which you are never allowed
to park, even if the SmoothPark map shows a green line. Here are
some important rules:
-
Fire Hydrants - Parking is not allowed on both sides of a Fire Hydrant within 10 feet.
- Stop or Yield Sign - Parking is not allowed within 25 feet of these signs.
- Driveways - A parked car is not allowed to park within 5 feet of a driveway.
- On the back of a parking meter you might see the image below left and think that you are not allowed to park there
becuase it has a handicap image on the back, however, you ARE ALLOWED to park at these meters (the sign is just to say that
they are suitable for handicapped people as well). Only when the meter looks like the one in the picture below right are you not
allowed to park
For more information consult the
DC parking rules website.
Neighborhoods
Neighborhoods in DC differ in the ease with which parking spots can be found. Sometimes it may be easier to find a parking spot in one neighborhood and take the subway or other public transportation
to the the neighborhood where you need to be.
Foggy Bottom
Parking in Foggy Bottom is more difficult than most other parts of the city due to all the unvirsity and hospital
related cars coming to the area. Generally, the further you are from the center of campus and from the hospital the
easier it will be to find parking. The most difficult time of day to find parking there is around 6:30pm.
See It on the Map
Dupont Circle
There are many legal parking spaces in Dupont circle. However, the ease of finding parking depends on how long one wants
to stay and the time of day. Spots tend to open up around 8:30am - 9:30am as people head to work at around this time. If you are a
resident of the area and have a zone 2 permit it should be relatively easy to find a spot within 15 minutes. As long as it's not a street cleaning
day you should be able to park there all day and most likely until the next street cleaning day. You can check if there will be street cleaning or
if you can park there all day on the map by changing the requested hour duration to a full day. If you are not a resident you can find a spot
but you will most likely have to move your car every two hour or keep on adding money to the meter. There are some rare streets in the
area in which even a non-resident can park for more than 2 hours (for example: the E. side of 22nd between Newport and N - until 4pm).
At night finding parking after 8pm is generally relatively easy, but between 6-8pm it can be a nightmare especially with all the traffic
slowing down movement in the area. On the weekend it is generally easy for both residents and non-residents to find a spot.
See It on the Map
