Business & Tech

Lack of Parking Lines Worries Hampden Merchants

After the pavement was ripped up and replaced along West 36th Street this summer, parking lines and crosswalks were never repainted.

The holiday shopping season is just around the corner and some Hampden merchants are facing an unusual problem.

There are no lines painted on the street designating parking lanes and crosswalks along West 36th Street. Some merchants are worried that without parking spots being clearly marked, some motorists will be confused and customers may be discouraged from shopping in the area.

In July, the asphalt on the street was ripped up so could be made. At that time, the Baltimore Department of Transportation anticipated the work taking “a couple of weeks.”   

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Since then, the road has been repaved but the crosswalks and parking spots were never repainted. The lack of painting for parking spots has occasionally caused confusion for some motorist resulting in a mix of reverse angle and parallel parking along West 36th Street. Reverse angle parking was established in Hampden several years ago because it creates more spaces than parallel parking.

“It’s been kind of rough for some customers,” said Elissa Strati, owner of

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A spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation was unable to explain the delay with the street lines. However, in an email shared with Patch, Department of Transportation Director Khalil Zaied wrote that the delay has to do to with an issue regarding the contract but that he couldn’t discuss the situation.

Benn Ray, president of the Hampden Village Merchants Association, said some merchants are growing impatient waiting for the city to repaint the lines.

“At this point the merchants are ready to paint the lines themselves,” Ray said.

The lack of crosswalks is also a safety concern for Ray.

“People in Baltimore and Hampden have enough trouble crossing the street as it is [with cross walks],” he said.   

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