Paid parking spots at The Mall in Columbia lasted about as long as a pair of Steve Madden pumps on the Nordstrom sale rack. In other words, they’re gone.
For most of August 2026, 120 spaces at the mall closest to the entrance near Restaurant Row and the Main Event arcade venue required payment under a new policy that generated a significant amount of consumer criticism.
But by the end of last week, customers and observers noted that the signs noting paid spaces and displaying a QR code to make a payment had been removed.
Baltimore Fishbowl has reached out to General Growth Properties and the Downtown Columbia Partnership for comment about the change.
When the policy was rolled out on Aug. 3, the first hour of parking would cost $2.45, up to three hours would cost $6.45, with a maximum price of $10.45 for five hours or more. Representatives of the mall, owned by General Growth Properties, said at the time that they were trying to manage demand for spaces closest to the busiest stores and restaurants in Columbia and at their other mall.
Critics of the paid-parking system noted difficulties for parents with small children and babies, and the unfairness of making it harder for those with less money to have access to the closest parking.
Apart from the 120 paid parking spots, more than 6,600 spots remained free in Columbia.
Supporters noted that the fee was relatively small compared to the convenience of close spaces, and that a portion of the money was going to a good organization helping the local community.
Ten percent of the proceeds collected were going to benefit the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center. Grassroots had functioned as a back-up center for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (988 Lifeline, formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), but the federal government did not renew its contract. Howard County stepped in to provide $260,000 in emergency funding to help close a $5.7 million shortfall.
Grassroots Executive Director Dr. Mariana Izraelson said in a statement that the non-profit appreciated its partnership with the mall. “We understand and support their operational decisions to best serve their customers and look forward to other ways that we can work together to help our neighbors,” she said.
