Latest news with #BaltimoreCityDepartmentofTransportation
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
As Baltimore ramps up parking enforcement, citations for one offense are skyrocketing
Baltimore is issuing thousands more parking citations this spring than it has in previous years after launching overnight enforcement. City data shows agents are writing the most tickets for one particular violation — parking with expired tags. Parking agents have issued over 13,000 citations for lapsed registration stickers in the two months since the Baltimore City Department of Transportation launched its '24-hour parking enforcement' plan on March 10, promising to clear up streets with overnight enforcement. That's 17 times as many vehicles with expired registrations cited for parking on city streets as during the same period last year, when agents only wrote 800 citations for expired tags. The targeting of expired tags this spring appears to be driving the recent bump in overall parking citations. Public data on parking violations shows that at least 51,000 citations have been issued this year since March 10, up 10.5% from the same period in 2024. A mayor's office spokesperson provided figures suggesting the jump in parking citations was actually twice that but did not respond to questions asking to clarify that data. The new overnight ticketing shifts allow parking agents to be 'more focused' on the job, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in a March statement, making enforcement 'more effective and responsive' and giving crews 'the tools they need to get the job done.' Aiming at 'habitual offenders,' the city has ticketed some vehicles dozens of times. One vehicle has received over $1,200 in tickets since March for expired tags and parking in the same tow-away zone in South Baltimore. Cars with Virginia tags made up over 10% of recent citations. The most ticketed make of vehicle? Hondas, followed by Toyotas and Nissans. The crackdown on illegal parking was set to get even tougher, with new fines taking effect Monday aimed at repeat violators in Residential Permit Parking areas. While a first offense for illegally parking in a residential permit area remains at $50, a second offense within the same 12-month period will net a $70 fine. A third and fourth will cost $100 and $150, respectively. Have a news tip? Contact Dan Belson at dbelson@ on X as @DanBelson_ or on Signal as @danbels.62.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Baltimore City Council candidates sue mayor; accuse him of ordering their firing
BALTIMORE — Two city employees who were fired after making failed bids for local office last year sued Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott last week, accusing him of directing their firings because he saw them as aligning with his political opponents. The lawsuit was filed May 2 by Margo Bruner-Settles and Liam Davis, who ran for city council seats in last year's Democratic primary election and were terminated from their municipal jobs in the months following their losses. It claims that Scott ordered their terminations in the months after their campaign losses and his win over Sheila Dixon, because the incumbent mayor perceived the two as being aligned with his opponent. The mayor's administration declined to comment, with a spokesperson noting that the office doesn't 'comment on pending legal issues and will not until those proceedings are complete.' Neither Bruner-Settles nor Davis was given a specific reason for being fired in their formal termination letters The 30-page complaint does not quote Scott directly but cites unnamed city employees who relayed that administration officials 'gave an instruction' at a post-primary meeting to fire both candidates. It alleges that an unnamed mayoral official told Davis that a Scott staffer had overheard the candidate in a restaurant saying he was 'neutral' on the mayoral race — and that comment 'didn't sit well with' the mayor. It also accuses Scott's administration of coercing a city contractor to withdraw a job offer from Davis as he sought new employment. Davis, who ran to fill the District 1 seat vacated by Zeke Cohen, was a legislative affairs manager for the Baltimore City Department of Transportation. Bruner-Settles, who ran against District 3 incumbent Ryan Dorsey, was the chief of the city's Employee Assistance Program. Both candidates were 'at will' employees, their termination letters note, meaning they could be dismissed for any reason without notice — unless the reason is illegal. The lawsuit claims that their firings violated their Constitutional rights to free speech and free assembly, in addition to being 'traumatic' and 'devastating.' Neither of the candidates formally endorsed or exchanged campaign funds with Dixon, but the lawsuit suggests that Scott's administration saw them both as being indirectly aligned with the former mayor's bid to unseat him. Both candidates received financial support from then-Councilman Eric Costello, who endorsed Dixon in the 2024 primary and lost his re-election bid in an upset. Davis did not take a strong stance on the mayoral race, running a straightforward campaign focused on improving city services and infrastructure. The lawsuit notes that Davis is close friends with Costello, and was endorsed by his former employer and Scott's predecessor as mayor, Bernard C. Jack Young. The District 1 candidate received 35% of the vote during the primary but ultimately lost to Cohen's endorsed successor, pastor Mark Parker. Bruner-Settles became a semi-controversial figure during the 2024 primary election, focusing most of her campaign on opposition to bike lanes. She lost to Dorsey, a strong advocate for those, by nearly 40 percentage points. -------------
CBS News
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Baltimore workers petition for special permit program that allows overnight city parking
Baltimore business owners and their employees hope a petition will help them start a special permit program to allow residents with smaller trade or commercial vehicles to park overnight near their homes. In March, the Baltimore City Department of Transportation launched 24-hour parking enforcement to reduce traffic congestion and boost safety. However, Baltimore business owners and their employees believe the stricter enforcement and rules disproportionately impact contractors, technicians, and other blue-collar professionals who rely on their commercial vehicles, work vans, and smaller service vehicles to make a living. Workers fined for violating overnight parking rules Garrett Porte, the vice president of Town Group, started the online petition and said his family's fleet of work vans is more than a mode of transportation — it's their livelihood. "All the companies, commercial vehicles, they take them home. They sleep there," Porte said. "They get up in the morning, take the car, and go right to the job site." But after his employee received a $250 parking ticket in mid-April, Porte realized there isn't a convenient place for their work vehicles to park overnight. "Right now, it's affecting people who are parking at their homes," Porte said. "There's no permanent place for them. So, they are getting $220-$250 fines per night with the new law." Porte's family owns Town Group, a security, locksmith, and alarm company, so their work is always on the go, especially in Baltimore City. "There's really not too many [people] that drive these vehicles down there," Porte said. "So, we like to keep the ones down there that work. I mean, they service the city. They help build it." The former Baltimore City resident believes the crackdown on overnight parking deters skilled workers who want to live and work in Baltimore. "There are definitely mixed opinions," Porte said. "But I think the mixed opinions are more to do with what kind of vehicle or how big, because when someone thinks of a commercial vehicle, they could think anything really large or very small." What would the permit program accomplish? Porte hopes that creating a special permit program will allow residents with trade or commercial vehicles to park overnight near their homes. "Here is a perfect example of what we're trying to get a permit for, under 3,000 to 4,000 pounds, very small," Porte said. "It's only about eight to nine feet in length, if that. I mean, you're talking smaller than a Chevy Tahoe." Porte also told WJZ he has contacted Baltimore city council members about this parking matter and hopes to work with the city to find a balanced, fair solution that supports both sides.
CBS News
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Baltimore City cracks down on parking violations with 24-hour enforcement
The Baltimore City Department of Transportation (BCDOT) launched a 24-hour parking enforcement program Monday. The effort aims to improve parking compliance, reduce traffic and allow agency resources to be better utilized. The overnight enforcement will target habitual parking offenders, including commercial vehicles parked illegally in residential areas, vehicles violating residential permit parking, scofflaw offenders and other traffic management issues. Abandoned vehicles could be cited and towed during the overnight enforcement period, BCDOT officials said. The department will use data-driven strategies to guide deployments and allocate resources. Real-time data will help officials identify high-risk areas and improve response times. "Transportation Enforcement Officers being cross-trained, overnight towing services, and more focused enforcement is going to help deliver a more effective and responsive enforcement program and give our teams the tools they need to get the job done," said Mayor Brandon Scott. City residents are able to report parking issues online or by calling 311. Parking in Baltimore In February, the Parking Authority of Baltimore City launched a new mobile payment option that can be used for metered parking and in city-owned lots. Drivers can use three apps - Flowbird, PayByPhone and ParkMobile - along with a text-to-pay option when paying for parking. The options allow users to receive notifications when their parking time is about to expire and extend their time without having to return to their vehicle. The payment solutions allow the Parking Authority to better manage parking turnover and move the department toward its goal of making one or two spaces available per block. The department manages 12 city-owned parking garages and several parking lots, along with more than 900 multi-space parking meters and 4,000 single-space meters.
