Keep the Change: Free Parking on Main Street

If you have paid to park on Main Street since Friday, you wasted your money.

Although the meters are still accepting coins, Town Administrator Chris Schlehr said parking tickets will not be written through Christmas Eve in an effort to boost consumer activity downtown.

This came as a surprise, however, to most of the people who parked on Main Street recently. That is probably because there was no official mention of the gift from the town, though Schlehr said that was intentional.

"We're not doing it for the credit," he said.

Town officials fear that a widespread promotion of the free parking would lead to a number of Main Street employees taking advantage of the privilege.

Chairman of the Board of Commissioners David Carey supports the free parking, but also fears the workers at nearby buildings may utilize the spaces.

"I'm all for making it free and we don't want it to be abused. The idea is not for somebody to be on Main Street all day," said Carey, who reinforced the notion that the town is not looking for praise. "I guess it's probably a missed PR opportunity, but that really isn't the point of it."

Schlehr said that the motive is less about the town giving free parking and more about the citizens being able to avoid paying a larger fee—$15 for an expired meter.

"You feel violated when you get a ticket," Schlehr said. "That's really the key and that makes people not want to come back."

One of those people is Charlie Jones, 53, from Havre de Grace.

"I got a parking ticket in Bel Air about 20 years ago and I still hate this town," said Jones, who added that Havre de Grace makes it clear when parking is free. "It's very evident when you don't have to pay."

Lindsay Yowell, 48, also of Havre de Grace, was shopping with Jones on Monday and had a suggestion.

"They probably should put something over [the meters,]" Yowell said.

Schlehr said that when the meters are covered, people think that means no parking at all.

Ray Cullum disagrees. In Towson, bags with holiday messages that say "Happy Holidays" are placed over meters when parking is free.

"Yeah, they probably should've put a bag over [the meters] or something," said Cullum, a 59-year-old Washington D.C. resident who was in town Friday. "Typical government … free revenue for them."

But Schlehr said, "We need every penny we can get" to pay for the town's share of the Hickory Avenue parking garage. Built in 1989, Bel Air is responsible for one-third of the $12 million-plus facility, while Harford County is responsible for two-thirds.

Even so, the town administrator has a request for Main Street merchants.

"I encourage shopkeepers not to use the spaces," he said.

Commissioner Terence Hanley added that it does not make for good business.

"It starts when you're a kid; if you got a lemonade stand or a hot dog stand, you don't park in front of your stand—you leave it open for consumers," Hanley said. "I think [the free parking] is fantastic. [With] the hustle and bustle of the holidays, people are always in a rush [to find parking.]"

Schlehr said that since the town was not promoting its gift of free parking, it would be up to the merchants to do so. Unfortunately, the message did not seem to get out. In a survey of 34 meters at about 3 p.m. Dec. 17—the first day of free parking—and 38 meters Monday at about 10:30 a.m., 54 of the 72 were paid.

The times on the meters ranged from one minute to an hour and 42 minutes. At a cost of $.50 per hour, and assuming every motorist utilized the "first 15 minutes are free," option, the town made a mere $21.50 from the 72 surveyed meters.

Told that only 33 of the 38 meters from Monday were paid, Schlehr smiled and said, "That means those five people would've gotten a ticket."