Imagine one-hour parking along Main Street, a costumed guide who directs you to parking lots, and a cable car-like lift to carry you from the hills above Historic Ellicott City to the streets below.
Those are among the recommendations outlined in a draft parking plan prepared by FeinDesign Associates, a Frederick-based design and planning firm.
Released Jan. 26 during an open house at the Thomas Isaac Cabin on Main Street, the draft suggests long- and short-term solutions to the area's parking crunch. A final report is expected later this month.
"This is the kind of stuff Ellicott City can start thinking about," said Sharon Suarez, vice president of FeinDesign. "We're trying to make the best use of the land available."
According to the report, Historic Ellicott City has plenty of parking spaces, but they are distributed unevenly throughout the town and not used efficiently. Of 1,085 parking spaces, more than 420 are unoccupied at any given time.
"The good news is there's plenty of parking in Ellicott City," said Ed Williams, director of the Ellicott City B&O; Railroad Station Museum. "The bad news is, it's not all on Main Street."
The report confirms that the Ellicott City parking shortage is concentrated in the eastern end of the historic district near the Patapsco River, while there is an abundance of space in the western end.
The study also found that many cars remain parked all day on Main Street, preventing others from parking there.
"That really hurts customer access," said Ms. Suarez, who suggested paid parking or free short-term parking along Main Street. Currently, there are no parking meters along Main Street or in any of the lots.
By limiting parking to one hour along the congested street, consultants say about 330 motorists could use the 82 spaces along Main Street during each four-hour period.
"There is a lot of parking when you get those permanent parkers off the street," said Alan Feinberg, president of FeinDesign.
The consultants also suggested charging motorists a nominal fee, such as 25 cents an hour, for popular parking lots near the post office, the Patapsco River and along Maryland Avenue, while offering free short-term parking along Main Street.
"It's a way of letting people voluntarily select where they want to park," said Marsha McLaughlin, deputy director of planning and zoning.
The study estimates that paid parking lots could generate about $53,000 the first year of operation.
One of the most radical recommendations calls for a cable car-like mechanical lift that would transport shoppers down to Main Street from parking lots surrounding the Circuit Court, which is on a hill above the historic district.
"It's a tourist attraction," Ms. Suarez said. Shoppers "would park at the courthouse lot just to ride the lift." The lift could cost up to $1 million to build, the report says.
The report also advised against establishing a parking garage, concluding that the county would lose money for several years.
The study also included results of a four-week shuttle service, used by 155 people between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The report found that most people used the service only to qualify for a merchant discount. Many people did not ride the shuttle because motorists parked in front of shuttle stops along Main Street.
The shuttle will not succeed unless shoppers are encouraged to use it through incentives such as a shopping discount, the study concluded.
When the report is made final later this month, it will be examined by a group of officials from the county government, Historic Ellicott City Inc., the Restoration Foundation and the Ellicott City Business Association.
The group will make a list of recommendations and submit them to County Executive Charles I. Ecker.