Longtime real estate agent Glenn R. Barnes was thrilled when the Baltimore County Council authorized an improvement plan for Reisterstown's Main Street in late 2008.

He thought that would bring streetscape enhancements and address persistent problems such as parking. However, his optimism and enthusiasm have faded in the wake of several meetings that he said have yielded few results. Now he's wondering about prospects for growth along the sluggish commercial corridor.

"Everyone's been just waiting for something to happen, and basically we've just been having meetings," said Barnes, president of the Reisterstown Improvement Association. "Local business people want to see results and see something happen."

Revitalization can be a slow-moving process in flush economic times, but when money dries up, it can grind to a halt. Barnes hopes Reisterstown can avoid that fate.

An eclectic mix of bookstores, antiques shops, consignment stores and auto repair shops — many in converted two- and three-story homes — the community's Main Street resembles others throughout the county that struggle to find a niche. Some stores need a face-lift, and some owners say they need help with marketing. Potential shoppers are discouraged by irregular business hours and heavy traffic along Main Street, which makes it difficult to cross the road and go from one store to the next.

Officials insist that they haven't given up on Reisterstown.

"They're certainly not forgotten," said Baltimore County planning director Andrea Van Arsdale. "We're just trying to figure out how all the pieces will fit together."

Representatives from the county Planning Department and the office of economic development first met with the Reisterstown business community and residents in February 2009 to discuss concerns. Since then, there have been more than 10 meetings, including a "community visioning workshop" last June.

After the June workshop, merchants asked county officials to focus on zoning and parking improvements — which Barnes and others say are essential to any revitalization efforts. But county elections last fall, along with the economic downturn, have delayed plans to move forward.

Van Arsdale, a former economic development official who has only been on the job as planning director for three weeks, said she intends to meet with Barnes this month.

"The good news is that the program was not cut, and we are blending it into what will be a very strong department," she said.

Inside the renovated, two-story, farmhouse-style building that houses Constellation Books, Lauretta Nagel sees the cars and trucks whizzing by, just steps from her front porch. She believes that traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps, signals and crosswalks would help.

"It's very difficult to cross the street here. Sometimes it takes as much as 10 minutes," she said. "We have heard people say in restaurants and cafes, 'Oh, it took too long to cross the street, so I never checked out the businesses on the other side of Main Street.' We don't need that."

Merchants have pushed for a zoning overlay to make it easier for new businesses to obtain building waivers from the county without forcing older businesses to undertake costly upgrades.

"We want to preserve the character of Reisterstown. A lot of people like the fact that it's this old, but in order to encourage new businesses to move in and turn them into offices and retail establishments, they need some help from the county."

Nagel said she believes the zoning and traffic issues have been "not so much ignored but they've fallen by the wayside."

Barnes said he is sympathetic to the county's economic woes — "We know what we're up against" — but that he does not understand why relatively inexpensive measures, like the zoning overlay, have not happened yet.

The council resolution passed in December 2008 authorized a study for a revitalization plan, which set in motion the series of meetings between merchants and county officials.

While it awaits help from the county, the Reisterstown Improvement Association is doing what it can to improve the corridor's aesthetics. The group purchased benches, planters and trash receptacles. "Ravenstown" banners hanging from lamp posts, like those hanging from downtown Baltimore streetlights, have helped to brighten up the area.

Barnes said he hopes Reisterstown won't be waiting much longer.

"We want our project that was already started to not get passed over by new projects," he said. "I'm afraid this will get delayed until 2013 when we've already been waiting since 2008."

raven.hill@baltsun.com