The future of increased parking rates along Arlington’s commercial corridors is expected to go before the County Board later this month.
The Board is on track to decide whether to eliminate the “performance parking” pilot project or make the rate changes for about 4,500 parking spaces permanent.
Currently, rates for meters in the pilot program — which mostly focuses on Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors — range from 75 cents to $4.75 per hour. If the program ends, costs will return to what they are in other areas of the county: $1.50 to $1.75 per hour.
Funded by a $5.4 million Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) grant, the project launched in March 2024 after a year of preparation, including installation of sensors.
The goal is to maintain sufficient available parking, not increase county revenue, county officials say. But revenue increased 12% per meter from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025, according to county data.
Meter compliance is low in Arlington, with only about 40% of occupied metered spaces being paid for. Despite a slight tick up in 2025, the number remains below the level desired by county officials.
Over the past few years, parking spots in the most expensive areas — $2.75 per hour or above — have higher-than-average compliance rates. Meters that cost less than $2.75 generally have compliance rates below the overall average.
The reason could be a cost-benefit analysis made by those parking, who could be wary of enforcement in high-density areas where the rates are higher.
Final Board action is expected to follow public comment on either Feb. 21 or 24.
County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti told ARLnow there will be plenty to discuss.
“I don’t want to get ahead of my colleagues, staff’s full presentation and the public-hearing opportunity in February, but I do look forward to more discussions on what staff has found, how we can better improve parking for our residents, and what implementing such a program could mean for the overall parking experience for drivers,” he said, adding:
“As a locality that prides itself on multimodal infrastructure, I’m keenly interested in making sure every transportation experience, from walking to taking public transit to driving, is accessible and easy to navigate. Finding places to park — especially for those who solely rely on driving for their transportation — is an important aspect of that. I believe Arlington drivers echo this sentiment. A program that allows the county to price and parking data to improve parking options and choices, from my perspective, is a meaningful way to respond to those priorities.”
“In addition to addressing these priorities, I am also interested in costs for individual users and how these decisions would impact what drivers pay,” de Ferranti said. “That’s an important part of the experience, as well.”
VDOT has been supportive of Arlington’s efforts, seeing the pilot program as a way to gauge whether to promote the concept of performance parking in other urban areas across the commonwealth.
