In a twist, Baltimore residents ask for less parking

Baltimore residents showed up at a public meeting to protest the high number of parking spots proposed for a new development, reports Fern Shen in BaltimoreBrew.

According to Shen, residents said that they supported the new supermarket, but do not believe it needs the 65 off-street parking spaces requested by the developer, which would require a zoning variance. 

The city recently repealed its parking minimums, and new regulations would only allow for 36 spots at the planned project. However, the developer is asking for extra parking and for the city to give up part of a bus lane on North Avenue in favor of parking spots. 

"I’m quite sure 90% of the neighborhoods in Reservoir Hill, the students from MICA, the people of Bolton Hill will be walking to this grocery store," one resident said. Others argued that removing the bus lane would increase bus travel times by over 1,100 hours each day. "Residents pointed to their own experience of hazardous traffic condition, in addition to DOT data showing North Avenue as the the city’s second worst location for traffic crashes."

The city's Department of Transportation initially agreed, saying in a statement, "Proposed on-street parking was rejected over concerns that it would diminish the effectiveness of dedicated bus lanes and create new conflicts between MTA buses and parked cars, potentially contributing to crashes." However, the department posted a contradicting statement one day before the hearing, saying it "has no concerns and requests a favorable report."

The developer, head of MCB Real Estate, was a major campaign donor for Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.