A year into a project experimenting with parking prices, the divide between the most and least expensive street parking in Arlington continues to widen.
The latest round of changes increases the prices of 29% of parking spots included in the program, but decreases the cost of 12% of parking spaces.
Many of the priciest spots continue to be in Ballston. Starting March 10th, some parking spots near the intersections of N. Quincy Street and N. Randolph Street on Wilson Blvd will cost as much as $4.25 per hour during part of the day.
Less expensive parking can be found around Pentagon City, where spots on S. Hayes Street and S. Fern Street — as well as the Long Bridge Park parking lot — will land in the $1.00-$1.50 per hour range.
“These adjustments are the fifth price change related to the pilot project and are based on parking occupancy data gathered at over 4,500 parking spaces between Dec. 9, 2024, and Feb. 16, 2025,” a project page says.
According to a map of meter rates, parking spots costing as little as $0.75 an hour can currently be found in East Falls Church, Penrose and Arlington Heights.
The goal of the “performance parking” pilot project, which launched in March 2024, is to make it easier to park in areas that currently have high parking demand, while encouraging drivers to look for parking in areas that are not as in demand.
This is meant to reduce the time drivers spend looking for spots and minimize issues like double parking and erratic driving.
Thousands of parking spaces fall within the scope of the project, in commercial areas including the Rosslyn-Ballston and Crystal City-Pentagon City corridors.
Some areas now have electronic signs showing current parking prices. Rates are also listed on the ParkMobile and eXactnav apps, as well as on parking meters.
