t the January City Council meeting, the Council tackled the subject of what could be done about parking accessibility concerns in the Main Street district. Downtown has been plagued for years, according to the Council, with complaints from both residents and businesses about broken parking meters, drivers not carrying change, and not enough spaces available, explained Economic Development Director Jay Meashey.
A recent survey sent to the City’s 28 business owners returned with a 57% response rate, which noted a difficulty of parking accessibility, not necessarily the cost of parking, being their main concern. Most of the responding businesses answered in favor of stricter parking regulations and enforcement.
Meashey explained that meters were initially installed in the downtown area due to businesses complaining that residents were parking in designated customer spots due to a lack of resident parking. "I think what everybody could agree on about parking is that it’s broken," he said. Councilwoman Judith Fuller pointed out that there is plenty of free parking in Town; it’s just that no one knows exactly where it is.
The City currently has a total of 287 parking spaces and 44 parking meters with some dual meters which serve the space before and after the meter.
A proposal recently came forward for the services of Park Mobile, a prevalent smart phone-based downloaded app that still allows pay by coin at the meter but also offers credit card payments. Apps such as Park Mobile would allow the Town to utilize the current meters, saving the Town money on replacing them.
Councilmembers agreed the main deterrent to switching to smart meters is having to download an app and put in all your personal information just to park for a few minutes in Town. Meashey pointed out that the Park Mobile app would be favorable due to its nationwide use, especially in places such as Ocean City and the Eastern Shore, which are popular vacation spots with many Taneytown residents.
As with anything utilizing credit cards, there are potential fees to be considered. The City’s FY 2023 parking revenue was forecasted to be $7,000 and Meashey noted that in the absolute worst-case scenario, if the City were to partner with Park Mobile, the City would lose about $5,600 of that in fees. Councilmember Chris Tillman noted the City did not charge enough for parking to make the app cost effective.
"The object is not to make money necessarily; it’s to protect our businesses, but we don’t want to lose money either," Mayor Pro Tem and Councilmember James McCarron pointed out.
City Manager Jim Wieprecht addressed what would happen if a vehicle was parked for too long when using Pay to Park apps. "Even with the smart meter notifying the police department for a vehicle parked over the two-hour limit, someone would need to be physically sent out to issue the citation. A lot of this does hinge on enforcement," he said. McCarron reminded the Council that in the past, crossing guards doubled as meter enforcers, adding that as an option for the future.
In early 2020, the City developed a pilot program to allow City staff to issue parking permits for businesses to provide to customers. There is currently no track or serial number on those parking permits, Meashey noted; however, he hopes to develop a system to track the permits in the future.
Residents expressed a desire to continue with parking meters, particularly the convenience of coin-based meters and noted the elderly would likely have difficulty operating parking app technology.
The Council noted parking enforcement is a complex issue to look at from all sides. Considering the time and effort needed to balance economics and manpower, the Council agreed to return to this topic at budget time to consider if anything should be changed or updated.
