[Chat] [Fwd: JHU's Community Parking Dialogue]

[Stephen J Gewirtz]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	JHU's Community Parking Dialogue
Date: 	Mon, 14 Nov 2005 16:06:33 -0500
From: 	Wilson <portlight at compuserve.com>
To: 	Steve Gewirtz <gewirtz at bellatlantic.net>
CC: 	Mary Pat Clarke <mclarke at baltimorecitycouncil.com>



Steve,

I thought it would be important to get this information out to as many
people in the community as possible so I ask you if you would kindly post
it to the Discussion List and the Chat List (if you are on that).

Many thanks,

Pamela


A report on Johns Hopkins University's (JHU) "Community Parking Dialogue"

On Thurs., Nov. 10th, JHU held a "Community Parking Dialogue", the second
of two to date, to which JHU stated it had invited "the leadership" of the
communities.  A total of 15 people attended this latest meeting including
three JHU representatives, Larry Kilduff, Salem Reiner and Greg Smith, two
City Parking Authority employees, Councilperson Mary Pat Clarke, a
representative from Greater Homewood Community Corp., and eight people,
several from each of four communities/community associations: the Greenway
Condominium Association, Tuscany-Canterbury Association, Oakenshawe, Wyman
Park Community Association and Peabody Heights Resident Homeowners
Alliance.  The Peabody Heights Alliance representatives attended only as
observers and not as participants in this JHU agenda.

JHU representatives opened "The Dialogue" with a brief description of the
parking problems that had escalated in the area due to a number of JHU
projects and their simultaneous timing.  The removal of most of the former
on-campus parking, the construction of the underground garages on the
western corridor near Wyman Park, the Struever Bros. demolition and
construction work on the 3200 and 3300 blocks of St. Paul St., and the
closing of the "death lane" on N. Charles Street, all occurred within
approximately the same time period.  Together these projects had displaced
a great number of formerly available parking spaces.  The result was that
JHU employees and students were now using diminished amount of parking
spaces that were left in the communities surrounding the Homewood Campus. 
The JHU representatives explained that they had available large parking
space capacity to relocate their employees and students cars.  However
fewer chose to take advantage of these charged-for, satellite spaces,
opting instead for free parking in the streets closer to their employment
and classes.  JHU explained that they were now looking to the communities
to enforce existing parking regulations, such as RPPs, and to request
imposing additional parking regulations, such as new parking meters on
streets presently without the meters.  Through the demands of stricter
enforcement of the existing restrictions and imposition of additional
restrictions the communities would force JHU's lower paid staff into using
the available fee-charged parking at the distantly located JHU parking lots
at Ellersby and Eastern High School.

To this end, sometime between the two Community Dialogue Meetings, JHU had
asked the City Parking Authority to take a walking tour with them of the
various areas surrounding the Homewood Campus to see the parking problems. 
The result was a JHU "wish list" of parking restrictions that the Parking
Authority thereafter reviewed for possible enactment.  At the Nov. 10th
meeting City Parking Authority employees read the list of the initiatives
JHU had asked for and those that were considered by the City to be
"doable".  When the community people expressed serious concerns about the
JHU "wish list", the City Parking Authority quickly assured the audience
that these were merely JHU's suggestions the Parking Authority thought
could be put into place if requested by the communities involved.

Some of these were - install at:

1.  W. University Pkway - San Martin to Charles St., South side - short
term meters (2-4 hours), M-Sat., 8am.-8p.m.

2.  Wyman Park Dr., 3100 block, both sides - change timing of the meters
presently there to long term and increase the number of metered spaces.

3.  2900 block of Remington Ave.- possibility of meters although it could
cause more problems nearby.

4.  3100 block of Remington Ave.-East side is unrestricted now/West side
already restricted - possibility of East side being restricted or
possibility of metered parking.

5.  West Side Hungtington Ave. - no meters but restricted parking day-time,
M-F for more turnover.  (The Parking Authority thought there was a business
located there but Christian Wilson corrected it and told them it was a
school).

6.  Charles to University to 29th St. - meters on both sides of the death
lane; presently there is a lack of enforcement and signage indicating "no
parking" and "no stopping"; eliminate parking in the service drive.

JHU Community Relations Director, Salem Reiner, asked that the City present
the full list in written form to all the involved community associations by
the following week.  Within a month after that JHU would hold a third
meeting to discuss the possibility of the community associations requesting
the implementation of these parking restrictions.  This was met with
greater concern and objections by the community people attending the
meeting as well as the concern that one month's time would not allow this
information to make it to the community newsletters or for the community
associations to fully consult with their members.  Councilwoman Clarke
firmly stated to JHU's representatives that the process had not even yet
begun as all the community associations needed to be informed and weigh in
on these suggestions.  As more irritation was expressed by those present
with what JHU was requesting of the communities, Mr. Reiner stated that if
the communities did not want to support any of these initiatives, JHU would
not push forward with them.

The gist of some of the questions asked by the community people and the
City Councilperson were:

Comment:  Scheduling all this work to be done almost simultaneously was
really bad planning on the part of JHU.

Response:  No it wasn't bad planning.  We have lots of parking capacity but
most people do not want to use it.

Question:  So you want the communities to be the bad guys and force your
lower paid employees to use your parking.  Why not just provide free
parking to the lowest paid employees as an incentive to use your parking
lots?

Response:  They still won't use them.  They don't want to have to spend the
extra time taking the shuttle from the parking lots to their jobs.  [Also] 
It's beyond our control.  It's the debt service on the garages. 

Question:  If as JHU states, the parking problems will be fixed once all
the construction on the surrounding streets is completed and the spaces
open up again, will those additional restrictions and meters JHU wants the
communities to have the City install then be ended.

Response:  (No response from either JHU or the City Parking Authority.)

Questions:  If JHU wants to force their employees to utilize their lots by
way of parking tickets making it costlier and more uncomfortable for those
employees to use on-street parking, by doesn't JHU include parking
restrictions in their employment requirements?  Union Memorial does this. 
Zurich Insurance strictly enforces this.

Response:  We'd have to have a work rule for the entire population.  We
cannot do this.

Question:  What would it take for you to provide free parking?

Response:  If we can get the [parking] taxes off the satellite lots we
could make take the $15. per month tax off the charge.

Question:  Why are you [JHU] doing this [asking the communities to enforce
and increase restrictions]?

Response:  We want to be good neighbors.  [And]  We get a lot of calls
complaining about the lack of parking in the neighborhoods.

After the meeting Peabody Heights Alliance attendees asked one of the City
Parking Authority representatives to be sure to provide them with a copy of
the restrictions list they promised earlier in the meeting to pass along to
the communities. They were informed that first the City Parking Authority
would have to decide whether this list could be passed along to the public.

Reported by: 
Pamela Wilson, Chair of the Peabody Heights Resident Homeowners Alliance,
Inc.
11/14/05



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