Baltimore City cracks down on parking violations with 24-hour enforcement

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation (BCDOT) launched a 24-hour parking enforcement program Monday. 

The effort aims to improve parking compliance, reduce traffic and allow agency resources to be better utilized. 

The overnight enforcement will target habitual parking offenders, including commercial vehicles parked illegally in residential areas, vehicles violating residential permit parking, scofflaw offenders and other traffic management issues. 

Abandoned vehicles could be cited and towed during the overnight enforcement period, BCDOT officials said. 

The department will use data-driven strategies to guide deployments and allocate resources. Real-time data will help officials identify high-risk areas and improve response times. 

"Transportation Enforcement Officers being cross-trained, overnight towing services, and more focused enforcement is going to help deliver a more effective and responsive enforcement program and give our teams the tools they need to get the job done," said Mayor Brandon Scott. 

City residents are able to report parking issues online or by calling 311. 

Parking in Baltimore

In February, the Parking Authority of Baltimore City launched a new mobile payment option that can be used for metered parking and in city-owned lots. 

Drivers can use three apps - Flowbird, PayByPhone and ParkMobile - along with a text-to-pay option when paying for parking. 

The options allow users to receive notifications when their parking time is about to expire and extend their time without having to return to their vehicle. 

The payment solutions allow the Parking Authority to better manage parking turnover and move the department toward its goal of making one or two spaces available per block. 

The department manages 12 city-owned parking garages and several parking lots, along with more than 900 multi-space parking meters and 4,000 single-space meters.