New overnight parking restrictions frustrate Fells Point businesses

Yahoo

30-04-2025

Overnight parking on weekends will be restricted this summer along a stretch of Fells Point populated with bars, restaurants and other late-night businesses — a change that both frustrates and worries people who work in the area.
New signs posted around South Broadway and Thames Street say no parking is allowed between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Friday through Sunday. The area is labeled as a tow-away zone.
The current parking restrictions will be in place throughout the summer, according to a spokesperson for Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's office. They were enacted to create a safe loading zone to 'support logistical needs and promote pedestrian safety.'
Employees of Fells Point businesses have not been keen on the new parking limitations, however.
'I think it sucks,' said Alex Evans, who works at Kooper's Tavern on Thames Street.
Evans, a Pasadena resident, said he found out about the new parking rules Friday. He said he tries to park close to his workplace, but he and other employees said they don't feel it's safe to walk longer distances to their cars late at night after their shifts end or if they're carrying cash from work.
Some employees said they take Ubers if they're carrying cash, though the cost of rides can add up.
Enforcement of the restrictions started not long after the signs went up. Jillian Garner, a bartender and server at Kooper's, said police came in late Friday night to announce that towing would begin, advising patrons to move their cars.
Rob Caruso, a bartender at Max's Taphouse on South Broadway, said many customers left the bar around 10:30 p.m. last Saturday night to move their cars after towing began roughly 15 minutes earlier.
'I don't see how it could do anything but hurt business,' he said of the restrictions. 'I haven't heard an explanation as to why they're doing it or what they hope to accomplish by doing it, but I don't see how anything could happen but less business on Friday and Saturday nights — the biggest nights of the week for all the bars and restaurants.'
Patrick Russell, who owns Kooper's and Slainte Irish Pub and Restaurant, also on Thames Street, said if city agencies, such as the police department or parking authority, properly enforced laws in the area, Fells Point would not be facing these challenges.
'We'd have a flourishing neighborhood; bars and restaurants would be busy; we'd be generating more revenue; we'd be hiring more people; we'd be paying more taxes,' he said. 'That's the solution to the problem, not shutting the streets down.'
The new restriction comes in addition to existing ones: Parking on South Broadway, for instance, is not allowed from 2:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. seven days a week. The Baltimore City Department of Transportation has also implemented road closures in Fells Point before, such as for holidays and festivals.
In a statement, the mayor's office said 'efforts are underway to establish a designated loading zone to support the logistical needs of events, performers, and related operations.'
That includes a implementing delivery access point at South Ann and Thames streets, creating entry protocol for the area and designating an exit route via Thames and Caroline streets, the spokesperson from the mayor's office said. Residents with valid residential parking permit stickers can access any 'hard block' location.
Working with the Parking Authority, the city is offering $5 parking at the Fleet & Eden Garage after 4 p.m. to support event participants, according to the spokesperson.
In general, crowds in the Fells Point area are not a new phenomenon, though. As the weather warms, city residents gather in outdoor spaces, sometimes fighting. Last year, Baltimore Police officers increased their presence in the area.
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