Update (12/20/21): The Select Board approved this pilot at its Dec. 20 meeting.
While some in Wellesley have plenty of garage and driveway space to contain their own vehicles and those of guests, those in downtown apartments and muliti-family houses can find themselves scrambling for places to park in light of the town’s longstanding overnight parking ban.
The Wellesley Police Department’s Lt. Scott Showstead introduced the concept at this past week’s Select Board meeting (see start of Wellesley Media recording) of a 6-month pilot program to allow overnight parking at the Tailby Lot on Linden Street. The town has a long history of no parking on streets overnight, mainly to avoid interference with maintenance vehicles, especially during snowstorms, but also for street cleaning.
“Recently we’ve had some requests that seem to be more than usual for overnight parking.” Showstead told the Board.
The Tailby lot has been seriously underused since the pandemic given that so many commuters are now working from home, so this provides an opportunity to make some use of the lot and even generate a bit of money for the town.
Figures from the Wellesley Police Department show that while parking revenue is improving , totals will still be less than half of the pre-COVID years. Six months in to FY 2022, parking revenue is about $400,000; pre-COVID parking generated about $950,000 annually. “With future restrictions expected for workers commuting into Boston, continued work-from-home plans, and continued local economic uncertainty, we don’t anticipate this revenue will fully rebound anytime soon, so the Town is exploring alternative revenue streams,” according to Stephanie Hawkinson, Wellesley’s public information officer.
The initial overnight parking plan, vetted by the Department of Public Works, would be to reserve 20 spaces, and about nine would be available to start. The spaces are located near the bottom of the entrance to the lot, so the least desirable for those who are using the commuter rail.
A fee-based structure would be put in place, so that you could pay for all-night parking, just as you can pay for all-day parking today. It could be set up for a monthly, annual, or per-night fee, with the per-night fee being $3 for residents, $6 for non-residents. People could pay via a mobile app or on a computer.
The Select Board was supportive of the plan.
Board member Colette Aufranc said the idea raises broader questions about the town’s parking and transportation strategy from a mobility and climate action perspective.
“Parking’s an interesting issue for municipalities,” Aufranc said. “You create too much parking, you encourage traffic, so you want to manage parking at a certain level to generate activity downtown….” There’s also an interplay with building housing near public transportation, but also realizing public transportation today is tough to rely on completely for most people, she added.
Aufranc points out that the commuter lots are likely not to remain barren forever, and that could especially be the case once construction starts in a couple of years on the Allston Multimodal Project that will change the face of the Mass Pike for those traveling to and from Boston and and Cambridge.
“I really do like the idea of a pilot,” she said. “Lets collect data… who’s using the parking, where are they coming from, is it concentrated where we think they’re coming from, and is it occasional overnight visitors, occasional weekend visitor or longer term, things like that, I think it could be really helpful…I do think it’s time for us now to think creatively about parking.”
The Select Board is slated to vote on the new policy at its Dec. 20 meeting.
How did the vote go? Will the overnight policy be implemented and what would the timing be?
It was approved but we haven’t heard about implementation yet.
I noticed that the Tailby lot sign does indicate that overnight parking is available (only in certain designated spots with a permit). They have this URL on the sign as you enter: https://wellesleya.gov/263/ParkingClerk
I am waiting to hear back from Wellesley Police about next steps as they manage this (according to my contact at Town Hall).
I grew up in Wellesley and lots of the parking areas were always underused at night. I think this is a great idea and can see lots of overnight workers who work the 11pm to 7am type shifts could utilize this lot and hop on the train into Boston and back out in the morning. Thus, creating revenue for the Town and the MBTA Commuter Rail. This will also reduce the cars going in and out of Boston or any area where the train passes. And, the traffic reduced on the Pike…win win to me!