Pilot Program Aims To Aid Parkers At Bethesda-Elm Garage

Bethesda’s parking garage 57 will soon be equipped with technology that allows parkers to know whether the garage is full before they pull in.

The garage, located between Bethesda and Elm streets, is notorious for becoming jammed with parkers circling to find an open space. The new technology will count cars as they enter the garage and let parkers know whether the amount of cars exceeds its capacity, according to Ken Hartman, director of the

According to a Montgomery County website, there are 919 spots in the garage, including 232 two-hour metered spots, 164 four-hour metered spots, 503 long-term, 15-hour metered spots.

 “The challenge is you get people wandering through with the hope of finding a space,” Hartman said. “We want people to know before they commit.”

The technology is intended as a pilot project that could be expanded to other public garages across the county without gate controls, Hartman said.

The technology should be available by November.

The Bethesda-Elm garage was also the birthplace of The technology was piloted there in January of 2010, and is now available at 11,000 meters in urban areas across the county.