Mission Statement

The mission of Parking District Services is to:

• Support the role of public parking in commercial areas throughout the County, as parking management is an important tool for achieving public objectives of economic development and transportation management;
• Support the comprehensive development of the Silver Spring, Bethesda, and Wheaton central business districts and promote their economic growth and stability by supplying a sufficient number of parking spaces to accommodate that segment of the public demand, which is neither provided for by development nor served by alternative travel modes;
• Promote and complement a total transportation system through the careful balance of rates and parking supply to encourage the use of the most efficient and economical transportation modes available; and
• Develop and implement parking management strategies designed to maximize the usage of the available parking supply in order to enhance the economic development of specific central business districts.

Budget Overview

The total recommended FY26 Operating Budget for the Parking Districts is $30,434,219 an increase of $1,555,596 or 5.39 percent from the FY25 Approved Budget of $28,878,623 Personnel Costs comprise 23.43 percent of the budget for 52 full-time position(s) and no part-time position(s), and a total of 50.23 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 76.57 percent of the FY26 budget.

In addition, this department's Capital Improvements Program (CIP) requires Current Revenue funding.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following are emphasized:

• A Growing Economy
• Easier Commutes
• Effective, Sustainable Government

Program Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable), with multi-program measures displayed at the front of this section and program-specific measures shown with the relevant program. The FY25 estimates reflect funding based on the FY25 approved budget. The FY26 and FY27 figures are performance targets based on the FY26 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY27.

Initiatives

• Improve Security Systems and public safety elements to address high-incident/high-crime threat areas in off-street parking. Support network improvements to sustain the new security cameras, additional fencing, and wayfinding painting to improve pedestrian safety.
• Elevator modernization in the Metropolitan Garage (G49) which will increase reliability, enhance safety and energy efficiency, and to ensure compliance with all State/Local regulations.
• Install canopy solar Panel on a Parking Facility roof to provide energy for low-voltage systems. Looking at opportunities to partner with Montgomery County Greenbank and/or other stakeholders to install Solar Canopies on garages in the Parking Lot Distrcits that can provide discounted electricity to Low-to-moderate-income (LMI) customers. The Community Solar project is at award stage for garages 4, 5, 7, and 9.
• Convert Single Space Meter lots in Wheaton PLD to Master meter Pay and Display or Pay by Plate operations. Wheaton Lots - converting legacy coin-only single space meters with master meters which allows pay and display (coin, cash or CC) or Pay-by-Cell.
• Convert end of life single space meters in the Transportation Management Districts (TMD) and PLDs to new and more capable single space meter systems. TMD off street and PLD lots/on-street replace of legacy smart meters with recently awarded single space smart meter contract.
• Modernize and improve Parking and Revenue Control (PARC) System at G31 that features digital permitting, License Plate Recognition (LPR), and Pay-by-Cell (PBC) integration.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• Developed a comprehensive Internet of Things 'IoT' infrastructure network linking all existing and future garages to enhance utility digital services in the parking industry.
• Established an elevator modernization program to gradually overhaul components, using non-proprietary parts per County requirements.
• The LED Lights Capital Improvement Project is now in its third phase, with control systems being installed to manage energy consumption, enhance internal efficiency, and respond to utility reduction demands.
• Life safety improvements remain a priority for the Parking Management Division, with ongoing projects to upgrade air quality, sensors, fire alarms, fire suppression, and monitoring systems.
• Pilot LPR integration into select Off-Street Parking Pay by Plate facilities to better track payment records and offer automated payment reminder and/or enforcement.
• Implement new security guard services contract to enhance PLD off-street parking security and incident reporting.
• Digital permits for garage specific parking in the PLD.
• Expand Cloud-based security cameras with integrated notification system.

Program Descriptions

  Parking Services General Administration

The General Administration program provides executive direction and support functions for parking programs that include human resources, information technology, fiscal/procurement services, and the redevelopment of real property to promote the economic growth and stability of associated urban districts. The program's responsibilities are for drafting and releasing Requests for Development Proposals,...

  Parking Operations

The Parking Operations program has overall responsibility for the management of County-owned garages and lots with over 20,000 parking spaces, which represent at least a fifty percent market share of available parking spaces. This program has overall responsibility for the collection and processing of all parking revenue, including revenue from...

  Parking Fixed Costs

The Parking Fixed Costs program primarily funds the debt service payments and the lease payments. ...

  Parking Enforcement

The Parking Enforcement program provides for the enforcement of parking laws within the Parking Lot Districts (PLDs) and Transportation Management Districts (TMDs) primarily to promote business activity, ensure public safety, and ensure the smooth flow of traffic. The program also conducts Residential Permit Parking (RPP) enforcement in all RPP zones...