OCEAN CITY, Md. - The Town of Ocean City is discussing plans to bring additional municipal parking to a four-parcel lot on Philadelphia Avenue.
On June 9th, Ocean City leaders held a Mayor and City Council Work Meeting to publicly discuss the issue of public parking.
One of the topics on hand was the proposed addition of a new 76-space parking lot at what is currently 205, 207, 209, and 211 Philadelphia Avenue. Town leaders say they've held contractual discussions with the property owners on file about purchasing the lot, but those discussions have since stalled.
The town heavily values these four parcels because they are close to the downtown area and near crosswalks on Philadelphia Avenue, driving them to consider eminent domain. A process they say would require an extensive council discussion.
In the meeting, Public Works Director Hal Adkins highlighted the need for additional parking spaces in town, citing an old study that found a shortage of hundreds of parking spots.
Kevin Smith lives in West Ocean City and says that, having lived in the area for years, he's learned many ways to work around the parking issues some visitors may encounter during the busy season. However, Smith says he's unsure if eminent domain is the right way to go about achieving more parking.
"But you know when you come down here on vacation, the main thoroughfare is Baltimore and Philadelphia, and a lot of those free parking spots get snagged up pretty quickly in the morning," Smith says. "I would hate to see people who, perhaps, have owned homes for a very long time, be forced to give them up to put up a parking lot."
While some, like Smith, have learned to work around the congestion, visitors like Dylan Raguckas, who frequently visits town, say he's excited to have more parking options on the south end of town.
"If you find street parking, and you're lucky if you find street parking, you're paying to park somewhere," Raguckas tells CoastTV. "If you're a family and you want to do that, depending on how much you make and all this, it could really cut into your budget if you have to park and spend $60 a day."
Town leaders say progress with this discussion depends on a response from the property owners, who has been given a new deadline to respond to the council, and the next steps will be discussed in July.
