Baltimore City Council To Hear Hampden RPP Scheme Legislation

Wednesday, January 28.
1PM. Council Chambers
City Hall, 4th floor
100 North Holliday Street
(Picture ID is required for admission to City Hall.)

Baltimore City Council's Land Use and Transportation Committee will be hearing the very controversial Mary Pat Clarke-sponsored legislation, 14-0397 Residential Permit Parking Hampden

This is for the new Residential Parking Permit scheme introduced by Mary Pat Clarke in 2014 that will convert a number of blocks around the Rotunda and JHU building on Keswick into 1 hour only, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week parking, unless you are a resident who lives within a certain zone who is eligible for, can afford to, and has taken the time to purchase a permit.

I have attended a number of community meetings about this, and from what I've seen, this proposal is overwhelmingly unpopular. These parking restrictions are not only some of the most severe in Baltimore, they are the most restrictive in the Hampden area. These restrictions will not solve a parking problem, it will just create worse parking problems for neighboring blocks to don't have these restrictions. 

Both the Hampden Community Council and the Hampden Village Merchants Association oppose this legislation.

Regardless, Councilperson Clarke is continuing to press it forward at the request of a small handful of residents.

For more context and the history of this issue, please read our previous reporting on this issue here:
Report from the Hampden Parking Fiasco

American Standard: Hampden Slated for Parking Problems

As these things go, of course the timing is very inconvenient, but if you can, please attend and testify.

Also, please email your comments regarding this RPP legislation to the following committee members:

Edward Reisinger, chair
James Kraft, vice chair
Warren Branch
Mary Pat Clarke
Bill Henry
Sharon Green Middleton
Nick Mosby

To email all at once, just copy and past these addresses:
Edward.Reisinger@baltimorecity.gov; James.Kraft@baltimorecity.gov; Warren.Branch@baltimorecity.gov; marypat.clarke@baltimorecity.gov; bill.henry@baltimorecity.gov; Sharon.Middleton@baltimorecity.gov; nick.mosby@baltimorecity.gov

Please share this with friends, neighbors, and others you think might be interested in this issue.

Comments

[Jack]

Hmmmm...I wonder who all the people are who find this "overwhelmingly unpopular." Is it Preller Properties, which built two apartment buildings across from my house on Elm Ave. and provided a grand total of 6 parking spaces for the apt. residents? Is it the employees of the Wine Source, who walk by my front porch every morning. (I know where they work because of their logos.) Is it the merchants who love the idea of their customers getting free parking a block or so from the Avenue? I know that future residents of the 379 Rotunda Apts. will hate it, because Hekemian is going to charge them monthly fees to park and parking on Elm would be, uh, free. I have owned my home on Elm going on 15 years now and I say bring on permit parking. Either that, or strip all permit parking from the area; e.g., the west side of the 3800 block of Elm which somehow contrived to get permit parking years ago, which is how I got a $52 ticket when I neglected to move my car quickly enough the next morning. I am a sport, though--I would be fine with a 2 hour limit. Then, let the ticketing begin!