Select Board Endorses Paid Parking At Major Downtown Lots

CHATHAM – On a split vote, the select board last week endorsed paid parking in the three largest downtown lots and instructed town staff to develop an implementation plan.

 Main Street and outlying parking areas would be exempt from the parking fee, and residents and taxpayers with town vehicle stickers would be allowed to park in the downtown lots free of charge.

 Charging for parking in the lots at town hall, off Stage Harbor Road (behind the Chatham Orpheum Theater) and at Kate Gould Park were among the recommendations of a recent parking and circulation study by the Cape Cod Commission. Other recommendations from the study that the board asked town staff to investigate included a free downtown shuttle, improving signs and upgrading crosswalks.

 The town’s parking solutions working group initiated the study to address longstanding problems with parking and traffic congestion in the downtown business district. The board accepted the study and its recommendations in July, but last week’s vote set the town on a course to institute paid parking in the three lots as soon as next summer.

 The vote supporting paid parking was 3-2, with board members Stuart Smith and Cory Metters dissenting. Metters has run a shop downtown for 25 years and said the town should try other options before charging for parking.

 “I think it’s going to negatively impact the fabric of downtown,” he said. “I think we’ve got to be careful about what we’re looking to achieve.”

 While a majority of the board endorsed the paid parking concept, the implementation plan to be developed by Town Manager Jill Goldsmith and staff will have to be accepted by the board. Town meeting will also have the opportunity to weigh in on whatever funding the plan may require.

 Chatham’s downtown area has sufficient parking for the traffic it attracts, the Cape Cod Commission report concluded, but while the core downtown lots fill up quickly during the busy summer months, nearby lots at Oyster Pond, the community center, Veterans Field and the elementary school almost always have spaces available. The Eldredge Garage parking area, currently the only parking lot where a fee is charged, should continue as a paid lot, the report recommends.

By charging for parking downtown, officials hope to redirect traffic to outlying lots.

 Board members unanimously supported a downtown shuttle, which they said would work in tandem with paid parking by making it convenient for those who park in the outlying lots to get to downtown and other locations, such as the fish pier and Lighthouse Beach. The commission report recommends that the shuttle be free, and board members asked Goldsmith to identify funding sources. 

 “I don’t want to end up with the taxpayers paying for this,” said Smith. The commission report suggests a public or private partnership could fund a shuttle. In the past the board has informally discussed a shuttle with the operators of the Eldredge Garage lot, who use a small shuttle to take people to the fish pier and Lighthouse Beach.

 Paid parking in the three downtown lots could generate substantial revenue, said parking working group member Joan Craig. Provincetown generates as much as $2 million annually through paid parking, she said. People are used to paying for parking in tourist destinations, she added.

 “Like it or not, we are a destination, and so many areas that are destinations have paid parking,” she said. “It’s nothing new. It’s just new here.”

 Parking meters are not necessary with current technology, she added. Visitors can pay through a kiosk or a smartphone app. 

 Chair Dean Nicastro said he had two reasons for endorsing paid parking: to alleviate congestion downtown, and “I want the money.”

 “We undertake considerable infrastructure commitments in this town, including for tourists,” he said. The town spent millions to rebuild the observation deck at the fish pier, for instance, when it could have simply been shut down. “But we wanted to make it an enjoyable experience,” Nicastro noted.

 Not charging for parking in the 142 spaces along Main Street from the rotary to Tale of the Cod could be problematic, Metters warned. Drivers may ignore the outlying lots and circle searching for a Main Street space rather than pay, he said. 

 Since the 1950s, parking on Main Street has been limited to two hours. “It’s just not enforced,” Nicastro said. When the board attempted a few years ago to limit Main Street parking to one hour — as a way to encourage turnover and discourage downtown workers from parking on the street — there was considerable blowback from the business community. If the regulations aren’t enforced, they should be removed, said Smith. A review of traffic regulations should be part of the parking implementation plan, he said.

 Smith also suggested that revenue from paid parking go into a dedicated fund rather than “getting lost in the general fund.” Officials should also get feedback on the proposal from business owners, he added.

 Other recommendations the board asked the staff to look into include reconfiguring crosswalks, particularly at the Main Street-Chatham Bars Avenue intersection, as well as at the rotary. Pedestrian improvements to the fish pier area could also be made, according to the commission report (see separate story, page 11). 

 Board members rejected a recommendation in the study to purchase the former Rockland Trust Bank property at the corner of Main Street and Stage Harbor Road. 

 “[The commission] report said we have enough parking, we just have to move vehicles out of downtown,” said Nicastro, adding that he wouldn’t want a parking lot to be the first thing visitors see when they head into downtown. 

 Board members asked Goldsmith to complete the implementation plan in enough time to incorporate its recommendations into next year’s budget and town meeting warrant.