Shelbourne Road Sports New Fence

If a good fence makes good neighbors, things must be dandy between and .

A rustic split-rail fence running along Shelbourne Road from Linden to Poplar was installed last month to deter cars from double-parking on a strip of property owned by the United Methodist Church, according to a church employee who didn't want her name used.

The strip of land on the north side of Shelbourne is owned by the church, but maintained by UMBC, according to the employee.

On Sundays, cars belonging to church congregants are parked there. When school is in session at UMBC, the spots are often used as nearby off-campus parking for students and faculty.

"Last year, they were parking one in front of the other," said the church employee.

The church doesn't mind UMBC people parking on their property, except when double-parked cars dig into wet ground, and when commuters take shortcuts to the campus, walking across a hilly area that leads to a branch of Herbert Run, the employee said.

According to the church employee, the fence was installed by UMBC. Costs for the fence were not available.