New Parking Lot Will Open in December

Kensington's new parking lot will open in early December after an issue with a gas main delayed the process, a town official said Monday.

Neil Stablow, the town's building inspector, told the town council that a Washington Gas line stands in the way of a sewer that would carry storm water from lot's bio-retention ponds to Silver Creek. The line needs to be relocated, and Washington Gas is yet to do so.

The 54-space lot on the north side of the MARC station was originally .

Stablow said that despite the delay, the project should finish within its $750,000 budget.

The town has yet to decide if there will be a charge to park on the lot and if so, how much. The lot was devised to provide parking for retail outlets on Howard and Metropolitan avenues, but Mayor Peter Fosselman said the town may consider allowing MARC commuters to pay for spaces.

The council discussed options for charging for parking on the lot, including:

• Selling paper permits to businesses and commuters, guaranteeing them spaces on the lot.
• Installing a single, electronic parking meter on the lot that would allow patrons to pay with cash, credit or mobile phone. Town Manager Sanford Daily said the meter would cost $7,000.

Council Member John Thompson suggested allowing free parking in the lot once it opens and then studying its use before deciding how to apportion spaces, but business owners at the meeting said that would result in the lot being overrun by MARC riders, leaving no spaces for their customers.

The council decided to table the discussion on parking enforcement until its next meeting on Nov. 28.

No matter how the town chooses to charge for parking, it needs to generate about $20,000 per year to cover the maintenance of the lot, Council Member Sean McMullen said.

Under its agreement with the county, the town must split the lot's net revenue 50-50 with Montgomery County. Once Kensington has recouped its $200,000 investment in the lot, the county will receive 80 percent of parking revenue from then on.