D.C. Councilman Jack Evans told Newstalk Wednesday he will soon propose that D.C. roll back parking meter rates to where they were before recent increases kicked in. The increase approved by the Council this spring made it so 25 cents purchased eight minutes of parking time; the second quarter, seven.

Soon after tweeting this announcement, we started to see the reaction and ideas roll in from the D.C. Twitterverse. Here's the gist of it (some multiples by the same users are combined):

bonappetitfood: @TBD ha no kidding people are angry! A quarter gets you 7.5 minutes. It's ridiculous!

GeorgetownMet: Future article: People angry about not finding a space MT @TBD: Evans proposes park'g meter rate rollback: People are angry about the meters

pwthornton: @TBD - It's called supply and demand. Parking spots take up very valuable real estate. It should cost a lot to park in city. DC has some of the best public transportation in the world. There is no need to drive in DC. It just makes it less safe for peds.

HH57: @TBD Meter rates should be higher in an effort to deter people from driving to lower traffic, eliminate gridlock, and make DC a better place

pbsenerchia: @TBD They can only charge that much where they have the machines that accept cash/cards. Can't carry a roll of quarters everywhere you go.

perkinsms: @TBD it depends on whether the street is crowded. The same $2 per hour doesn't make sense citywide, but in some areas necessary for demand

tbridge: @TBD if we switched to pay by phone or multispace CC meter across town, it'd be easier to swallow. Carrying rolls of quarters sucks. The street is still vastly cheaper than garages. Make it easy for me to pay legit fees. I don't mind paying a little more if the process of payment is easy. The park by phone solutions kick ass. Easy.

eclisham: @TBD A parking space is not an entitlement, despite what most people seem to think. Depends on objective: discourage car use or generate revenue? High rates, or longer hours/more days/shorter limits?

imgoph: @TBD i don't agree. it's still cheaper than most parking garages.

ppanepento: He has my support RT @TBD: DC Councilman Jack Evans to formally propose DC parking meter rate rollback. "People are angry about the meters."

turnageb: @TBD If it convinces more people that the real costs of driving are too high, and gets them to walk/bike/Metro instead, I'm for it.

jtedc: annoying to carry that many quarters, but pricing is fine. we should raise prices and move to more credit card kiosks.

PressTerp: Absolutely. Are they trying to turn away business?!

wickering: talking about rolling back meter rates is an odd topic on car free day, no?

DCRadioDan: @TBD uh, $2 an hour for on street parking is a pretty sweet deal. It's that or way more if you find a garage. What's all the fuss about. That will help the budget- not [the anger].

marctomik: @TBD Why should private garages be the entities that profit off of parking? Let the city take its share.

greggadren: @TBD The issue isn't price as much the method of payment. If I only get 5 minutes for a quarter, the meter better take plastic.

ajfroggie: @TBD I'm with @perkinsms , set meter rates to match market demand. Also need multi-payment options (besides just quarters).

stanton816: @TBD they may complain, but they're still using them. Meters are also more flexible and convenient than a garage.

kcivey: @TBD The need for quarters is ridiculous, but how can people say $2/hr is some kind of outrage?

 

TBD Community Network partner Greater Greater Washington has a post up on Evans' proposal with suggestions as to what changes should be put into legislation in regards to parking rates.