We’ve heard a lot of complaints about the situation at various Metro parking lots and garages around the region. Many are filled up by the time the sun comes up, and, to make the situation worse, there are people who park where they shouldn’t or who park too close to the space next to them or who effectively take up two spaces.

While Metro Transit Police do write tickets, they apparently aren’t enough of a deterrent, even though they can be pricey. So what can you do? We have highlighted a number of Web sites that individuals have set up to post pictures of government vehicles parking where they shouldn’t in Arlington, as well as a site for drivers to warn other drivers about people who drive poorly.

Now there is a site to post pictures of offending parking violators. It was apparently started in Oklahoma but seems to have at least one big fan here in the Washington area. It’s www.parkly.net, and it allows you not only to post pictures of the violators or rude parkers, but also to print out a “citation” that you can place on the offending vehicle’s windshield. The site is pretty “in your face,” but that may be the only way to keep repeat offenders to change their ways.

Project hearings delayed

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It didn’t get a lot of attention, but last week, Maryland’s acting Transportation Secretary John Porcari told lawmakers in Annapolis that two big Washington-area transit projects will not go to public hearings as soon as had been planned.

The problem is that officials want more time to develop more accurate ridership projects for both the Purple Line between Bethesda and New Carrollton and the Corridor Cities Transitway that would connect Clarksburg and the Shady Grove Metro station. Accurate numbers are vital to getting money from the Federal Transit Administration. Some have said that one of the problems was that the Ehrlich administration may have been too ambitious in its schedules for them and a major rail project in Baltimore.

The issue of ridership projections is not one to be taken lightly. Estimates that are too high are just as bad as those that are too low.

State officials have pointed to a Council of Governments estimate for ridership at the Shady Grove Metro station that was well under actual. Congress is holding states to very high standards when taking ridership projections into account for the purpose of funding.

Metro and the Riders' Advisory Council will host a public budget information session tomorrow evening at 5:30 p.m. at Metro headquarters.

This is a good chance to see the 2007 budget numbers for yourself and to ask questions of those in charge. If you can’t make this session, which will include a Budget 101 portion to show you how the budget comes together, there will be two more, on March 3 and March 10. Both will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Metro headquarters is at 600 Fifth St. NW. You can get there via the Gallery Place-Chinatown or Judiciary Square Metro stations or off the following Metrobus routes: D1, D3, D6, P6, 70, 71, 80 or X2.

Questions, comments, random musings? Write to Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com.