The approval of the new parking restrictions in Hampden is wrong on so many levels ("City Council approves new parking restrictions in Hampden," Feb. 9). Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke was uncharacteristically bullish in her push for its approval, even with the Hampden Community Council, Hampden Village Merchant Association and many residents opposed the plan. Many found it unnecessary or not a solution to a broader problem with the end result only making matters worse. Additionally, the City Council process was a farce with members supporting their colleagues out of "professional respect" instead of what they actually thought of the bill.
Moreover, this does not solve any of the more pressing concerns in Hampden — the lack of parking for visitors, the lack of off-street residential parking, poor and unreliable public transit connections to other parts of Baltimore and poor bicycle infrastructure. Now, residents living outside of the residential parking permit zone will be forced to find fewer and fewer places to park while residents living in the zone will be able to park up to four cars per house with two additional visitor parking permits. When parking spots within the parking zone run out, those residents will still be able to park outside the zone (which they most certainly will) while those of us outside the zone are out of luck. What's worse, residents inside the zone who are trying to do a good thing by getting by without a car will be ineligible for visitor permits, making guests and out-of-town visitors unable to park nearby and taking spots from residents who live outside the parking permit zone.
The parking permit zone for North Hampden should not have been thrown on the residents as it was here; instead the normal block-by-block request should have been allowed to proceed for residents of blocks who wanted it. This is what residents of Chestnut Avenue and Keswick Road have done to keep their sides of the streets with houses protected from Johns Hopkins employee parking. What Hampden has now is a potential snow-ball effect with more blocks petitioning to be added to the parking zones, making fewer spots for visitors while not addressing any of the larger aforementioned issues.
Chris Boyle, Baltimore