Cannon Parking Garage Now for Members Only (Updated)
Updated 5:15 p.m.| New parking rules adopted Tuesday dictate that only members of Congress will be allowed to park in the Cannon House Office Building parking garage.
“Due to the Cannon construction, only members with a Cannon-designated member plate can now park in the Cannon garage, which is new this year,” House Administration Chairwoman Candice S. Miller, R-Mich., said at the committee’s organizational meeting Tuesday morning, where the new rules were adopted.
According to a House Administration Committee aide, staffers who will no longer be able to park in the Cannon garage will be relocated to spots in other parking garages that have enough space to accommodate them. Former members of Congress will also not be allowed to park in the Cannon garage, though ex-members (unless they are registered lobbyists) are permitted to park in other areas if they have a temporary permit or a member parking plate from a previous Congress.
In late December, work began on the Cannon Renewal Project , which will revitalize the entire building over the next 10 years. The $752.7 million project is now in its first phase, which centers on the Cannon basement and involves installing building systems in the basement and the moat areas of the courtyard.
Miller, whose committee has jurisdiction over daily House operations, noted that the new policy was developed in consultation with the committee’s Democratic members and parking security.
Though the parking change is due to construction, two arrests over the summer involving men who attempted to carry handguns into Cannon revealed a security lapse at the parking garage. Security was tightened following the incidents, but staffers criticized the heightened security as ineffective.
Related:
Work Begins on 10-Year Cannon Renewal Project
In Wake of Recent Arrests, Security Tightens at House Garages
Staffers Criticize Security Changes at House Garages
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