NEWS
September 17, 2008
What grounded the last downtown shuttle in Baltimore wasn't too few riders. It was an insufficient funding source. Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration has decided to put a fleet of shuttles back on the street and pay for them through parking taxes. Commuters and tourists will have to pay slightly more to park at area garages and lots, but the free daily shuttle should provide a quicker, less harried way to get from midtown to the Inner Harbor and across to East Baltimore. The real payoff should come in energy savings and reduced traffic.
NEWS
May 6, 2003
Meters serve those who need to park quickly As executive director of the Parking Authority of Baltimore City, I am writing in response to The Sun's editorial on the need for additional short-term parking in the downtown area ("Short-term parking woes," May 2). Within the central business district, we have 1,429 on-street parking meters, which are meant for customers visiting the retail businesses and those who only need to park for a short period of time. Unfortunately, many others also use these meters, and this is why rates were increased to deter those parkers from feeding the meters and parking all day. We actively manage these meters to provide a supply of immediate, short-term parking in the downtown area.
NEWS
May 2, 2003
THE CITY COUNCIL'S tentative decision to increase parking fines to up to $40 may indeed produce $5 million for the badly depleted municipal coffers. But it fails to address the real issue: a desperate shortage of short-term parking, particularly in the Inner Harbor area. The City Council ought to mandate municipal traffic planners, the Parking Authority and the Downtown Partnership to come up with quick and innovative ways to create more one-hour metered parking downtown. "If you just need to run in somewhere to pick up something, it's very, very difficult to find a space," acknowledges Downtown Partnership's Michele Whelley.
NEWS
By Stephen Kiehl | March 23, 2003
The "early-bird special" is back. In hiding for years, the discount parking rate for early risers can be found again in downtown Baltimore - a sign that garages are having trouble filling spaces and that the parking crisis bemoaned by businesses is over. One new parking garage opened last month, another will open next month, and three more will be ready by the end of the year. They will bring 3,500 new spaces to downtown and provide more parking than ever before. "There are vacancies everywhere," said Chris Sherman, general manager for Central Parking System, the city's largest garage operator.
NEWS
By Maria Blackburn | March 12, 2002
The Westminster Common Council appointed a committee last night to devise a comprehensive plan for the city's parking sites, including two downtown parking garages slated for construction this spring. The 12-member committee, consisting of elected officials, city staff and business owners, will meet throughout the next year. Councilman L. Gregory Pecoraro will be committee chairman. "Within the next 12 months the city has to take a real hard look at how to maximize not just [parking] spaces but permits and metering and use of other lots," said Council President Damian L. Halstad.
NEWS
March 2, 2002
BALTIMORE'S nightmarish downtown parking situation is about to get some relief. Starting Monday, frequent Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) buses will transport commuters from satellite parking lots to the business district. And for the long term, several big parking garages are under construction. But these are inadequate Band-Aid solutions that offer no real cure. The reason: Shortsighted public policies over the last four decades have created an abysmal shortage of parking spaces. Downtown parking will remain a problem as long as city zoning laws are interpreted so loosely that they allow developers to erect skyscrapers without adequate parking.
NEWS
By Maria Blackburn | January 8, 2002
Looking to add more parking to downtown Westminster, the Common Council introduced an ordinance last night that would allow the city to use $2.6 million in state bond money to build a parking garage. The city wants to fund the $2.5 million Longwell Parking Garage through the State Infrastructure Financing Program, part of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The extra $100,000 would cover the costs of bond counsel, insurance, printing and related expenses. "This is a big step toward the revitalization and continued redevelopment of downtown," said Council President Damian L. Halstad.
NEWS
By Maria Blackburn | July 23, 2001
Westminster has more than 1,100 downtown parking spaces at city-owned parking lots and at street meters but that's not enough, according to area merchants and shoppers who have long requested that the city increase parking. Tonight, Westminster's mayor and Common Council are expected to award a contract for engineering services for the proposed Longwell parking deck. The deck, which would be built over part of the Longwell parking lot, off Longwell Avenue, would add about 220 parking spaces.
NEWS
By Paul R. Schlitz Jr. | July 13, 2001
DEAR GOVERNOR Glendening: Why not help Baltimore City, which supported you overwhelmingly, with Smart Growth? There are several Stupid Growth plans afoot here awaiting your attention. If Baltimore City can't get Smart Growth right, what's the hope of convincing those running the ex-urban counties that cities have anything to offer? The more questionable schemes: The city's recent fixation with creating excessive downtown parking, much of which is subsidized. A recent letter to The Sun indicated that eight 19th-century buildings must go to make room for parking.
NEWS
By Maria Blackburn | May 13, 2001
Hard-pressed to find any single issue driving city elections, candidates for Westminster mayor and Common Council have focused on more minor concerns such as parking, police benefits and downtown foot traffic. City police want better benefits, and there aren't enough downtown parking spaces, candidates for mayor and two council seats say. Hoping to succeed Mayor Kenneth A. Yowan, who announced in February that he would not seek re-election, are council members Suzanne P. Albert and Kevin E. Dayhoff.