68 SIGNATURES AND COUNTING!

68 commuters who take trains from Aberdeen say there is a dire shortage of parking near the train stations that needs to be solved immediately!


THE PARKING SHORTAGE IS COSTING MARC AND AMTRAK CUSTOMERS, WORSENING ROAD TRAFFIC, CONTRIBUTING TO AIR POLLUTION AND INCREASING OUR RELIANCE ON ARAB OIL!

32 train commuters – a whopping 47 percent of those who have been surveyed so far - say the parking shortage has already caused, or will in the future cause them to drive to work, rather than take the train. Three others said the parking problems might cause them to drive in the future. That means that unless the parking crunch is fixed, dozens more commuters will be unnecessarily buying gas, clogging up the roads and spewing hydrocarbons.

ABERDEEN VOTERS CALL UPON THEIR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES TO STOP THE UNNECESSARY AND PUNITIVE TICKETING PRACTICES AROUND THE TRAIN STATION!

At least 53 signers, an overwhelming 78 percent, want the city of Aberdeen to only ticket vehicles that are truly blocking somebody. By the way, Aberdeen officials, that includes at least 20 of the 21 Aberdeen residents signing the petition. YOUR VOTERS ARE CALLING ON YOU TO REIN IN OVEREAGER TICKET WRITERS!

Elected officials take note! These are your voters and constituents!

Geographical breakdown:

Aberdeen, MD - 21 residents

Abingdon, MD – 3

Bear, DE - 2

Bel Air, MD – 6

Cherry Hill, NJ – 1

Churchville, MD – 1

Edgewater, MD - 1

Elkton, MD – 6

Fallston, MD – 1

Havre de Grace, MD -12

Lancaster, PA - 1

Northeast, MD – 1

Oxford, PA - 1

Perryman, MD – 1

Perryville, MD – 8

Port Deposit, MD – 1

Rising Sun, MD -1

51 signatures and counting!

51 Aberdeen train commuters have now signed a petition calling for more parking near the train station.

THE PARKING SHORTAGE IS COSTING MARC AND AMTRAK CUSTOMERS AND WORSENING GLOBAL WARMING:
21 commuters – a whopping 41 percent - say the parking shortage has or will cause them to drive to work, rather than take the train. Another 3 commuters said it could do so in the future. That means the parking shortage is costing MARC and AMTRAK money and customers, contributing to air pollution, worsening road congestion and raising our trade deficit as those folks now have to buy imported gasoline rather than ride the train.

ABERDEEN VOTERS CALL UPON THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO REIN IN OVERZEALOUS TICKET-WRITERS AND TOW TRUCK DRIVERS!
At least 41 commuters, or 80 percent of those surveyed so far, want the city of Aberdeen to only ticket vehicles that are truly blocking somebody. By the way, Aberdeen officials, that includes EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE ABERDEEN RESIDENTS SIGNING THE PETITION. YOUR VOTERS ARE CALLING ON YOU TO REIN IN OVEREAGER TICKET WRITERS!

ELECTED OFFICIALS TAKE NOTE: THESE ARE YOUR VOTERS AND CONSTITUENTS!

Geographical breakdown of the commuters who have signed the petition so far:

Aberdeen, MD - 16 residents

Abingdon, MD – 2

Bear, DE - 2

Bel Air, MD – 6

Churchville, MD – 1

Edgewater, MD - 1

Elkton, MD – 6

Fallston, MD – 1

Havre de Grace, MD – 9

Northeast, MD – 1

Perryman, MD – 1

Perryville, MD – 4

Port Deposit, MD - 1

Want your voice to be heard? Post a comment here, or email your name, hometown and comments to aberdeenparking@gmail.com.

23 signatures and counting!

23 train riders have signed the petition asking for more parking at the Aberdeen train station so far.

THE PARKING SHORTAGE HURTS AMTRAK, MARC, DRIVERS AND ALL LIVING CREATURES
5 of those riders - a hefty 22 percent of this admittedly tiny sample - said the parking shortage had already or would soon cause them to drive instead of taking the train. So the parking shortage is going to reduce train ridership, worsen road congestion, contribute to more air pollution and exacerbate our trade deficit!


ABERDEEN CITIZENS CALL UPON THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO REIN IN OVERZEALOUS POLICE OFFICERS!
18 of the signers said they also wanted the city of Aberdeen to stop ticketing and towing cars that may be parked outside of official spaces, but aren't really blocking anybody. Note to Aberdeen elected officials: ALL of the Aberdeen residents who've signed the petition so far want you, their elected officials, to stop the police's punitive, yet lucrative, ticketing and towing enforcement at the train parking areas. One rider, who happens to be a lawyer, objected to this request, noting that we are a nation of laws, and it is and should be illegal to speed, for example, whether or not anybody else is on the road. Fair point. Isn't it great that we can debate these issues in our open society? So how about the city of Aberdeen restripes the parking areas around the station to maximize parking spaces?

Who are our signers so far?
7 residents of Aberdeen
2 residents of Abingdon
1 resident of Bear, Del.
2 residents of Bel Air
1 resident of Churchville
1 resident of Elkton
7 residents of Havre de Grace
2 residents of Perryville

Would you like to add your name and voice to this list? Post a comment here, or email your name, hometown and comments to aberdeenparking@gmail.com

If you don't have a GMail account

Just email your comments to aberdeenparking@gmail.com. I'll post whatever you want to say. Even if you don't want it posted publicly, please at least email your hometown and your opinions about the need for more parking, and what should be done about ticketing so that we can get the elected officials in your area to pressure for a solution to our problems.

Stop the unnecessary ticketing and towing!

Hi. Commenter Tommy points out one improvement change that can and should be made immediately. The Aberdeen Police should STOP ticketing and towing cars that aren't actually blocking or bothering anybody. If a car is really in somebody's way, then of course they should be penalized and removed. But drivers who have just had to invent their own parking places because of the worsening space shortage should be left alone. Aberdeen should not be balancing its city budget on the backs of train commuters!

Reminder to all commenters: If you don't want to publish your name and address on this blog, at least email them to aberdeenparking@gmail.com so that we can show our elected officials how many of their voters are being affected by this problem. Those of you who remember the stink we had to raise to get to ride the Amtrak trains will remember we only got action after showing elected officials in Cecil and Harford counties, in Annapolis, and in Washington the names and addresses of hundreds of angry train-riding voters.

More parking needed at Aberdeen train station

Hi. I'm starting this blog as an online petition to collect signatures to persuade the city of Aberdeen, the county of Harford, the state of Maryland and the managers of Amtrak and MARC that there is a desperate need for more parking spaces at the Aberdeen, MD, train station. If you agree, please use the comments function to post your ideas and experiences, your name, hometown, and as much other identifying information as you feel comfortable sharing. If you don't want to have your name or email address published, but feel that more parking is needed, email your information to aberdeenparking@gmail.com. I'll keep the information solely for uses of showing the strength of demand for improvements to the powers that be. At the very least, express your opinion on the poll below!
Thanks!
Kim