I read an article in The Economist - I think it was before we moved to India - that DC was a leader in the e-government initiative. I remember forwarding it to skeptical family and friends who still pictured a corrput DC under the era of Marion Barry. Once again, today, I was pleasently surprised by the level of service provided online.
I needed to get a street parking permit for the moving truck which will pack up Ian's "layette shipment" back to Manila (back up disposable diapers, back up formula, baby cereal, and a few other random things acquired in three months in the US). I went to the d. ("D-Dot" ie, DC Department of Transportation) website which said it could be done almost exclusively online. Could this really be, I asked myself? Sure enough, it was.
After a simple registration process and questionnaire, and fee payment online, I was given a permit number and instructed to go to the permit office in SW. When I arrived at the office, I figured I must be in the wrong location - and even called my mom to get her to look it up and confirm - because the building looked so clean and modern. I was in the right place. Turns out, the DC government has also embraced mixed use buildings, with a Safeway, Starbucks, and a few tasty looking restaurants on the ground level.
I headed up to the second level, which was so clean and bright, with floor to ceiling windows. A bow-tie-wearing young man (chanelling the former mayor Tony, perhaps?) sitting at the information desk said my only step left was to print the signs, which I could do myself at one of two kiosks. When I arrived at the kiosks, though, both were in use. A lady behind a nearby desk (not for permitting), who was free, noticed me waiting with Ian in the Ergo carrier and asked if she could help me. I gave her the permit number which was emailed to me, and, voila, emergency no parking signs in hand in under five minutes.
I had expected this to take hours. The efficiency was so surprising, I complemented the staff.
I needed to get a street parking permit for the moving truck which will pack up Ian's "layette shipment" back to Manila (back up disposable diapers, back up formula, baby cereal, and a few other random things acquired in three months in the US). I went to the d. ("D-Dot" ie, DC Department of Transportation) website which said it could be done almost exclusively online. Could this really be, I asked myself? Sure enough, it was.
After a simple registration process and questionnaire, and fee payment online, I was given a permit number and instructed to go to the permit office in SW. When I arrived at the office, I figured I must be in the wrong location - and even called my mom to get her to look it up and confirm - because the building looked so clean and modern. I was in the right place. Turns out, the DC government has also embraced mixed use buildings, with a Safeway, Starbucks, and a few tasty looking restaurants on the ground level.
I headed up to the second level, which was so clean and bright, with floor to ceiling windows. A bow-tie-wearing young man (chanelling the former mayor Tony, perhaps?) sitting at the information desk said my only step left was to print the signs, which I could do myself at one of two kiosks. When I arrived at the kiosks, though, both were in use. A lady behind a nearby desk (not for permitting), who was free, noticed me waiting with Ian in the Ergo carrier and asked if she could help me. I gave her the permit number which was emailed to me, and, voila, emergency no parking signs in hand in under five minutes.
I had expected this to take hours. The efficiency was so surprising, I complemented the staff.
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