Permit Parking Coming Soon to the Riverside Community

The Riverside Neighborhood Association (RNA) has been trying to get Residential Permit Parking (RPP) from the Parking Authority of Baltimore since 2011 and now it could be within 12 months of becoming a reality. RNA has created a pilot area of Fort Ave. to Randall St. south to north and Light St. to Battery Ave. east to west to launch the program.

Each block in RPP must have 60% of the residents to sign a petition and RNA volunteers are currently canvassing to petition residents in the pilot area. Once the pilot program is launched, all blocks within RNA will become eligible to petition into the newly-formed Area 48 RPP.

Though Riverside Neighborhood’s boundaries split Light St. and Fort Ave., both sides of the street will be eligible for Area 48 RPP with the exception of the 100 and 200 block of E. Fort Ave. The north side of those blocks will be added to Area 19, while the south side will be in Area 48. Much of the South Baltimore Neighborhood, which ends at the west side Light St., is in Area 30 and much of the Federal Hill South Neighborhood, which ends at the north side of E. Fort Ave., is in Area 19. RNA wanted to make sure no side of any block was left isolated without access to any parking that surrounds those sides of those blocks.

Area 48 will not have any parking restrictions during the day from Monday to Saturday. It will be two-hour parking for non-permit holders from 5pm to 11pm Monday to Saturday, and no parking for non-permit holders from 11pm to 7am. The side of the blocks on Johnson, Randall, and Covington adjacent to Riverside Park will not have any restrictions until 11pm.

There will be two-hour parking for non-permit holders on Sundays from 1pm to 11pm. There will be a two-hour parking limit during stadium events and vehicles can be towed after two hours.

Each household will  be allowed four parking permits, which are $20 each, along with a guest pass, which is $20 as well. Single Day Passes are available for free and each home is eligible for up to four per month. Homes with parking pads have the same rights to parking permits as homes without them. Some RPP programs have punished homes with parking pads by eliminating passes.

There will be no RPP signs in front of businesses and businesses will be eligible for four permits and one visitor permit. These permits will be valid until 11pm seven days per week. National Federation of the Blind, Thomas Johnson Elementary Middle School, and churches are eligible for up to 10 permits which are valid until 11pm each day.

Jeffrey Brown, who has been the RNA Parking Chairman in recent years, told SouthBMore.com that a big reason for the RPP program is to prevent the overflow cars from Area 30 and Area 19 that use Riverside to park. “It’s been a long process and we are happy to see it go forward,” said Brown.

Brown noted that RNA just wants to get RPP going and that the neighborhood wanted to take a softer approach with less restrictions than many other RPP programs. He said there has not been a lot of controversy during the process and that he has received about 15 ‘yeses’ and one ‘no’ since he began knocking on doors to petition blocks.

If the Riverside Neighborhood does successfully cover much of the neighborhood with RPP, it would leave Locust Point as the only neighborhood on the South Baltimore Peninsula without RPP or metered parking. The Locust Point Civic Association membership did not vote in favor of granting RPP on select blocks of the neighborhood in 2015.

Part of the reason for the delay in getting Area 48 was due to the South Baltimore Gateway Parking Study. This study identified many blocks on the South Baltimore Peninsula that could potentially add angled parking with a one-way conversion. They are:

• Covington Street between E. Cross Street and E. Gittings Street
• Jackson Street between Key Highway and E. Fort Avenue
• E. Clement Street between Covington Street and Key Highway
• E. Barney Street between Light Street and Johnson Street
• E. Heath Street between Covington Street and Webster Street
• Byrd Street between E. Fort Avenue and Randall Street
• Henry Street between E. Fort Avenue and Randal Street
• Covington Street between E. Fort Avenue and Randall Street
• Randall Street between Light Street and Webster Street
• Webster Street between Randall Street and Key Highway (coordinate with circulation on E. Clement Street at Key Highway)

*Bolded points would impact RNA blocks. 

Brown said RNA is in a wait-and-see mode on how the City will handle angled parking. He said that he doesn’t think there is a lot of enthusiasm for angled parking on Randall St. because Fort Ave. is the only other east-to-west street in the neighborhood.

via http://www.southbmore.com/2018/08/24/permit-parking-coming-soon-to-the-riverside-community/