Good Afternoon Wiltondale neighbors,
The purpose of this message is to summarize the current situation relating to
permit parking enforcement in Wiltondale, and to outline our approach going
forward. You may disregard if you do not live in the permitted parking areas
on Worcester, Aintree, Hastings, Coventry, Yarmouth and Wilton Roads, as well
as Cedar Ave.
I will start by saying that it will be our ongoing policy to work with
Baltimore County Police (BCP) to enforce permit restrictions in the designated
areas. The conditions that prompted our community to implement permit parking
in the first place some 6 years ago have not changed. Specifically, students
from Towson University and Towson High School will not hesitate to park here if
they view our streets as free, convenient, and available parking. Lack of
enforcement encourages this perception. It is true during the past several
years (i.e. the COVID era), we have seen changes - reduced demand for parking
and reduced enforcement. Recently, encroachment on our streets has increased
dramatically as the demand has returned but the enforcement has not, and that
is why we have been in touch with BCP to restart enforcement of our permit
restrictions.
With all of this said, we recognize that not all residents are prepared for
enforcement. There are various things in play - challenges with the online
facility for permit acquisition/renewal, difficulty obtaining guest passes,
permits that have simply lapsed and not been renewed during the period of
'COVID complacency’, etc. With all of this in mind, we will implement a ‘grace
period’ prior to restarting enforcement: all residents of permitted parking
areas should take the next month to get things in order - permits renewed,
guest passes obtained, etc. - and we will restart enforcement in approximately
30 days, no later than April 15. We have cleared this approach with BCP - they
have been very cooperative and will follow our lead. If you have had
difficulty with the online facility and would like to apply by mail, here is a
link to the forms:
https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/pai/miscellaneous-permits/residential-parking
Over the coming days, as you take the steps necessary to achieve compliance,
please let us know about any obstacles you encounter. Contact me at
president@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, or Debbie Jones at COP@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx - Debbie and I
are working together to move this forward, and we’ll do our best to help with
any issues. I want to take this opportunity to thank Debbie for her work on
this.
The decision made years ago to pursue permit parking was not taken lightly, and
was the product of broad engagement and support by neighbors in the affected
areas. Parking by non-residents on our streets is a real quality of life issue
for those impacted. We believe the plan outlined above balances our own
readiness with the need to re-establish and maintain a posture of enforcement.
So, to reiterate, we will return to enforcement of parking permit restrictions
no later than April 15, 2024.
Thank you for your attention to this.
Regards,Tim LotzPresident, WIA
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