Ellicott City Parking Plan B

I had intended to write a post about the latest news on the Ellicott City parking situation yesterday but I got a little sidetracked. Both my real job and my paid writing gig interfered with my blogging time. This morning I was able to steal a few minutes before running into Baltimore to show a property.

According to this story by Mike Santa Rita in the Howard County Times this week, “county officials are considering installing a paid parking system or making the entire street into a timed zone where parkers would have to leave after a certain time period without simply moving to another spot along the street.”

Parking in Ellicott City has been a hotly debated topic among the locals for some time now. While some, including me, have advocated for a parking garage and the elimination of on-street parking on Main Street, others have insisted that there is plenty of parking already in the old town and that the parking problem is overstated.

Steve Lafferty, the Director of Special Projects for the Department of Planning and Zoning thinks a paid parking program might address some of the parking issues that some merchants believe are a detriment to business.

“Currently county officials are in discussions with Ellicott City merchants to decide whether to pursue paid parking on Main Street or whether to make the entire street a timed zone, Lafferty said. Meetings on the topic are planned for August, he said.”

Stay tuned