[Adopted 10-6-1977 by Ord. No. 26[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: The provisions of Article I of this chapter are derived from Sections 401, 402, 403, 404, 407b and d, 409 and 412 of Chapter 4 of the former Code of Ordinances of the Town by Rock Hall, adopted 10-6-1977 by Ord. No. 26.
[Amended 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
The provisions of this article are intended to be in addition to and supplementary to the provisions of the Transportation Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended, and in accordance with the authority specifically granted thereby.
[Amended 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
Whenever, in the judgment of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall, it is necessary for the safety or control of vehicular or pedestrian traffic or for the regulation of the use of parking areas, the Mayor and Council may erect or cause to be erected weight limit, stop, no-parking, speed limit, one-way and other traffic control and parking restriction signs designed to control, regulate, warn or guide traffic or limit parking on public streets, highways or other areas in the Town of Rock Hall. It shall be the duty of all persons to observe such signs, and any person failing to observe any such sign shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a municipal infraction. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to constitute a repeal of the authority herebefore granted by the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall for the erection of traffic control and parking restriction signs, and a failure to observe any such signs herebefore erected shall be subject to the same penalties as set forth hereafter.
A. 
No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the direction of a police officer or traffic control device, in any of the following places:
(1) 
On sidewalks.
(2) 
In front of a public driveway or alley or in front of a private driveway, except with the consent of the owner or occupant of the premises.
(3) 
Within an intersection.
(4) 
Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant.
(5) 
On a crosswalk or within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection, except for the purpose of receiving or discharging passengers or merchandise.
(6) 
Within 25 feet of any beacon, stop sign or traffic control signal located at the side of a roadway.
(7) 
Between a safety zone and the adjacent curb or within 30 feet of points on the curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone, except for the period necessary to take on or discharge passengers, freight or merchandise.
(8) 
Within 20 feet of the driveway entrance to any fire department station or within 75 feet of said entrance when sign-posted.
[Amended 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
(9) 
Alongside or opposite any street excavation or obstruction when such stopping, standing or parking would obstruct traffic.
(10) 
On the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a street, except for the purpose of receiving or discharging passengers or merchandise.
(11) 
At any place where an official sign or painted curb of Kent County, the State of Maryland or the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall prohibits stopping, parking or standing, and it is hereby specifically provided that wherever a curb is painted red or yellow, there shall be no parking, standing or stopping parallel to said painted curb.
(12) 
On curves at the brow of a hill, where the State Highways Commission or the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall have painted yellow lines on the surface of the road.
[Amended 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
B. 
No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle designed or used for carrying freight or merchandise in front of, alongside of or in the rear of any private dwelling, except when actually unloading merchandise or when the operator or owner of such vehicle is actually engaged in rendering a service at or to such premises.
C. 
No person shall stop, park or leave standing on the roadway any vehicle, whether attended or unattended, if it is practicable to stop, park or leave the vehicle standing off the roadway.
[Added 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
D. 
No person shall leave any vehicle standing without providing an unobstructed width of the roadway opposite the standing vehicle for the free passage of other vehicles.
[Added 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
E. 
No person shall stop any vehicle, unless it can be seen clearly from 200 feet away in each direction on the roadway.
[Added 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
F. 
Exceptions for disabled vehicles. These provisions do not apply to the driver of a vehicle that has become unintentionally so disabled while on the roadway that he cannot avoid stopping and temporarily leaving the vehicle there.
[Added 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
A. 
Every duly authorized police officer of the Town of Rock Hall shall attach to any vehicle found to be in violation of §§ 215-2 and 215-3 of this article a notice to the owner thereof that such vehicle has been in violation of the provisions of this article and instructing such owner to either mail the amount due or report to the Town Clerk-Treasurer during regular office hours thereof in regard to such violation. Each such owner shall, at such time as specified on the notice of violation attached to such vehicle, pay at the office of the Town Clerk-Treasurer to the clerk in charge thereof, as a penalty and in full satisfaction of such violation, the sum as provided in § 215-9. Failure of such owner to make such payment upon such conditions shall render the owner subject to the penalty hereinafter imposed.
[Amended 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6; 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
B. 
Any duly authorized police officer of the Town of Rock Hall shall take said notice to a duly authorized and appointed Trial Magistrate of Kent County for the purpose of having a warrant for the arrest of such owner issued and for the setting of an amount of collateral to be posted. In the event that such owner does not pay said collateral, he shall be subject to the penalties of fine or imprisonment, or both, as provided in this article with respect to the provision which has been violated.
No motor vehicle, truck or tractor shall be operated upon any highway or street in the town at a speed greater than 25 miles per hour except on such streets and highways as may be covered by regulations and the placing of signs.
No person shall operate over the streets of the Town of Rock Hall any vehicle, motor-driven or otherwise, equipped with spikes, cleats or other traction device calculated to inflict any undue damage or injury upon the surface of the streets of the Town of Rock Hall.
A. 
All vehicles shall be driven and parked on the right hand side of the street, unless a street or avenue is designated by a sign to be for one-way traffic. At any time that it shall become necessary, the Mayor and Council may mark and designate areas which may become congested, banning parking altogether if necessary. No automobile or other vehicle shall stop in any street, avenue or highway in such manner as to hinder or delay traffic or passage, and the Police Department is empowered to enforce this provision by impounding said vehicle.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 44, Police Department; see also Art. III of this chapter.
B. 
Stop sign postings. The Mayor and Council shall designate from time to time such streets as shall contribute to the safe movement of traffic within the town as boulevards and may post intersecting streets with appropriate stop signs so placed as to be readily visible to the motoring public, and all traffic entering boulevards so designated shall come to a complete stop before so doing.
C. 
Parking lot adjoining fire house. Only pickup trucks not exceeding 3/4 ton and passenger cars will be permitted to park on the town parking lot adjoining the Rock Hall Fire House. There shall be a maximum time limit of eight hours' parking between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
[Amended 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
D. 
Angle parking. There will be no angle parking, but only parallel parking, permitted on the north side of Sharp Street between Main Street and Liberty Street in the Town of Rock Hall.
[Amended 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
E. 
No parking. There shall be no parking of any kind or nature of any motor vehicles on the following streets within the Town of Rock Hall:
[Amended 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
Name of Street
Side
Location
Chesapeake Avenue
Both
From Main Street to Sharp Street
Main Street
[Amended 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
East
Between East Sharp Street and Maryland Route 20
Rock Hall Avenue (also known as Gratitude Road or Maryland Route 20)
[Amended 9-5-1996 by Ord. No. 96-04]
North
From the center line of North Main Street west 245 feet
Rock Hall Avenue (also known as Gratitude Road or Maryland Route 20)
[Amended 9-5-1996 by Ord. No. 96-04; 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
West
From Liberty Street to Hawthorne Avenue
Sharp Street
[Repealed 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
South Main Street* (also known as Maryland Route 445)
Both
From the Methodist Church Hall to Boundary Avenue
No parking on Chesapeake Avenue within Town limits
[Added 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
Both
No parking on North Sharp Street within Town limits
[Added 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
Both
NOTES:
*This restriction shall include all types of motor vehicles and trailers.
F. 
Loading and unloading areas.
(1) 
There shall be no loading or unloading of merchandise on Main Street of Rock Hall except in the areas specifically specified as loading and unloading zones. Those areas are defined and identified as follows:
(a) 
On the north side of Sharp Street for a distance of 50 feet west of Main Street.
(b) 
On the west side of Main Street for a distance of 75 feet north from the driveway adjacent to the property formerly utilized as Dowling's Grocery Store.
(2) 
Those areas specified above shall be properly posted as loading and unloading zones and shall be painted and marked off with yellow paint identification. There shall be no parking in the areas thus specified except for loading and unloading between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each and every day except Sunday.
(3) 
Any vehicles improperly loaded and unloaded in an area other than those specified and acting in noncompliance with this article shall be subject to a fine as provided in § 215-9.
[Amended 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
G. 
Habitual parking.
[Added 6-4-1992 by Ord. No. 92-7]
(1) 
No person shall park any vehicle on Main Street (Route 445) in the business district between Rock Hall Avenue (Route 20) and Sharp Street, in the area so designated by the Mayor and Council with a sign, for a period of longer than two hours between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Except as herein otherwise provided, the Motor Vehicle Law of the State of Maryland, which is hereby declared and made a part of this article by reference, shall control and govern, and any person violating any of the provisions thereof shall, upon conviction, be subject to the penalties provided therein.
[Added 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6; amended 5-5-1994 by Ord. No. 94-4; 4-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
Violations of this article shall be punishable as a municipal infraction. Violators shall be subject to a fine as indicated on the parking ticket. Each additional offense may be assessed a fine not to exceed $200.