County Will Study Expanding Public Parking

Baltimore County officials and Catonsville business leaders are moving forward with a plan to look at expanding public parking in Catonsville.

Recently the Board of Directors for the Catonsville Chamber of Commerce voted to approve the study of existing public parking along Frederick Road and if it is being fully utilized.

Wayne Mixdorf, director of parking for Baltimore County, wrote in an email the study will take place in several stages.

First, the county will look at existing parking meters and if they are being utilized. Officials will also look at possible places to expand the meter district around Frederick Road.

The county will also install several single space meters that accept credit cards as a trial to determine if they are used more frequently. Once those meters are installed, signs indicating the new meters will be put up.

"This will help the general parking public develop an understanding of how they work and what they look like so that they can give us feedback," Mixdorf wrote.

The chamber vote is a result of a series of meetings organized by residents and business leaders with State Highway Administration officials and the county government to make improvements to Frederick Road.

Sally Griffin, president of the chamber board, said that board members were pleased to have a viable solution for parking presented to them from the county.

"We're very anxious to see what the results wil be," she said.

Griffin, who is a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker, said that customers visiting her office at the intersection of Frederick Road and Ingleside, often use the meters, but there could be more visible public places to park.

As a visitor, it is hard to know which lot enforces a tow-away policy and which doesn't based on the signs, she said.

The study is expected to be completed over the summer.