On Friday’s Kojo Nnamdi Politics Hour, DC Councilmember Jack Evans (Ward 2) answered questions about the new bag fees and meter rate hikes.

Evans, Chair of the DC Council’s Committee on Finance and Revenue, generally opposes taxes and fees. However, he did vote for the 5¢ bag fee as well as the most recent budget which contained the increase in parking meter rates.

He avoided the temptation to attack these fees even though the interviewers asked a fairly leading question. Many politicians around the country have seized on this chance to demagogue on the issue. Evans, though, understands the policy reasoning and stuck up for the bag fee.

He also said that Maryland and Virginia will be adopting something similar; we know delegates in both states plan to introduce the bills, but can this really make it through the dogmatically anti-tax Virginia legislature?

Evans is less supportive of the meter hike, but voted for it because everyone votes for the final budget. He also knows his district, where most trips to work or shop don’t involve driving. It would be nice if he had also noted how underpriced meters that are always full don’t help drivers either, by forcing them to circle fruitlessly for parking.

Continue the conversation about urbanism in the Washington region and support GGWash’s news and advocacy when you join the GGWash Neighborhood!

Tagged: bag fees, dc, dc council, government, jack evans, meter rates, parking, sustainability

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.