Charging people to park at Baltimore Peninsula?

Nobody asked me, but charging people to park their cars on a surface lot at Baltimore Peninsula, a new neighborhood still waiting to happen in South Baltimore, is one of the most daft ideas I’ve seen within the city limits. Does Kevin Plank know about this?

The sign accompanying this post stands on a mostly vacant parking lot off East Cromwell Street, at the entrance to the central part of the big redevelopment project, where there are office buildings and apartments but, as yet, not a lot of people. (The new Under Armour headquarters and store is directly across the street.)

Granted, the first two hours of parking are free, and most people who come to the place for lunch or an appointment will probably stay no longer than that. It’s the idea of having a regulated parking lot — with a posted threat of being towed for lack of compliance — that seems so foolish, out of place. It’s at the least inhospitable, at the most a turnoff to would-be visitors. And, at this point, the BP can use all the visitors it can get. 

Nobody asked me, but, at the start of a new project, on a relatively isolated, post-industrial stretch of the city, shouldn’t promoters be doing everything possible to make the public feel welcome?

The situation reminds me of what my pal Ingmar Burger used to say about parking meters being in effect anywhere in Baltimore on weekends — it shouldn’t happen; the city should boast free, on-street parking for visitors. I agreed with him, but then we’re not exactly masters of the universe when it comes to making a buck.

Here’s a link to my recent story about the Baltimore Peninsula for the Baltimore Brew and there’s an array of photos of the development on my Facebook page. I wish the project well. But enough with the regulated parking. Instead of the first two hours free, how about the first five years free?