Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and the Parking Authority of Baltimore City (PABC), in partnership with the Mayor’s Office on Disabilities, announced today that Phase 4 of ProjectSPACE, the parking program aimed at combatting the abuse of disability placards, creating reserved, accessible on-street parking for people with disabilities, and making more available parking for everyone, will launch in Mount Vernon October 30, 2017. As in Phases 1, 2, and 3, the fourth phase will require all people parking on-street to pay the parking meter, including vehicles displaying disability placards or tags.
“ProjectSPACE has been successful in the Central Business District, Harbor East, Fells Point and Federal Hill, increasing the number of available parking spaces by nearly 20% on some blocks, and decreasing the number of disability placards stolen in Baltimore City by over 85%. We expect that Mount Vernon will see similar results with the implementation of ProjectSPACE,” said Peter Little, Executive Director, Parking Authority of Baltimore City.
As part of ProjectSPACE, Phase 4 reserves 40 on-street parking spaces for vehicles displaying disability placards or tags. Each space will be equipped with a single-space parking meter that meets the newest Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. Additionally, the card readers and coin drops of 75 multi-space EZ Park meters throughout Mount Vernon will be lowered to meet the most-current ADA standards. The meters will provide people with disabilities equal access to on-street metered parking. Meters that meet the ADA standards are marked with the universal accessibility logo. Payment will be required after October 30, 2017 at all accessible meters. The cost to park will be the same for everyone, including those using a disability placard or tags. As in previously launched Phases 1, 2, and 3, all time limits for on-street parking spaces within the area will increase to four hours to give people with disabilities additional time to get to and from their destination.
ProjectSPACE is part of an ongoing, long-term solution to a major parking problem in Baltimore City. Current policy in all areas of the city except for the Central Business District (Phase 1), the Fells Point and Harbor East neighborhoods (Phase 2), and Federal Hill (Phase 3) allows individuals displaying a disability placard or license plates to park on-street at meters free of charge. This often results in illegal use by motorists parking for long periods of time and thefts of disability placards. Disability placards were the number one item stolen out of motor vehicles before ProjectSPACE Phase 1. By removing the financial incentive to park on-street free of charge in Mount Vernon, PABC anticipates increased parking turnover similar to the effect Phases 1,2, and 3 have had on parking in the Central Business District, Fells Point, Harbor East and Federal Hill neighborhoods. Ultimately, ProjectSPACE makes it easier for everyone to find an available parking space in Baltimore City.
Each phase of ProjectSPACE introduces accessible parking meters to a designated area of the city. The new single-space meters and multi-space EZ Park meters will be accessible for people with disabilities, unlike the old crank-turn meters, as determined by the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. ProjectSPACE Phase 4 is launching in Mount Vernon — in an area approximately defined as the streets bounded by Mt. Royal Avenue (North), Guilford Avenue (East), Franklin Street (South), and Howard Street (West).
ProjectSPACE Phase 1 launched in July of 2014 and is an area defined as the streets bounded by Franklin Street (North), President Street (East), Key Highway (South) and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (West). Following the success of Phase 1, Phase 2 of ProjectSPACE launched in September of 2016 and is the area defined as the streets bounded by Eastern Avenue (North), Wolfe Street (East), Thames Street (South) and the Inner Harbor water near Pier Six (West) and Phase 3 launched in April of 2017 and is the area defined as the streets bounded by E. Montgomery Street (North), Light Street (East), Ostend Street (South), and Sharp Street (West). Following the launch of Phase 4, the campaign plans to expand to Hampden and the remainder of Baltimore City in 2018.
For more information on ProjectSPACE, visit www.MoreSpace4All.com and join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Parking Authority of Baltimore City
Parking Authority of Baltimore City (PABC) is a quasi-governmental agency of Baltimore City and a registered 501c3 with a mission to find, or create, and implement parking solutions for Baltimore City, and to be the resource on all things "parking" in Baltimore. PABC oversees the management of 17 parking garages, numerous lots, over 800 EZ Park Meters, over 1,500 reserved residential handicap parking spaces, and 46 residential permit parking areas.
About the Mayor’s Commission on Disabilities
The Mayor's Commission on Disabilities was created by the City of Baltimore Ordinance #93-237 to promote equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. The Commission assists the City in assessing the accessibility of city facilities, programs and services for citizens with disabilities; providing information and education programs to city government, businesses and industries concerning issues relevant to citizens with disabilities; and complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
