A major focus of the Select Board’s meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 20th is parking regulations, utilization, and enforcement. Parking often ranks high as a topic of concern at least for some. It tends to take up a fair amount of staff time as well.
Voters approved amendments to the Town’s parking bylaw which authorized the Select Board to approve annually the list of streets restricted to resident cars only from May through October. The list used to be part of the bylaw which meant every time a change was needed a town meeting vote had to take place. Now adjustments can be made by the Select Board after taking public comment at a Select Board meeting. The Select Board will be reviewing the list and approving it after taking public comments at their meeting on the 20th.
Voters also approved removing from the bylaw the location of where the resident sticker is placed on a car. This is now up to staff and the Select Board to decide. The bylaw used to specify that stickers were to be placed on the rear, driver-side window but with most cars having heavily tinted side windows seeing a sticker in this location became too difficult. Resident stickers should be placed on the front windshield on the driver’s side.
In the village core area parking is generally limited to two hours. For most of the year there are ample parking spaces but on hot, sunny summer weekends the Town can fill up. (Certainly, Singing Beach lacks enough parking for all who want to park there but that is a somewhat separate issue.) While a recent parking study completed for the Town shows that the majority of cars do not exceed the two-hour limit, certainly some do, and how best to enforce the limits is a perennial challenge.
Using traditional parking enforcement officers has become more difficult lately as fewer individuals are stepping forward to do this seasonal work. Alleged violators sometimes want to challenge the accuracy of the officer’s work leading to more staff time spent on appeals of parking tickets.
To help alleviate some of these problems many communities turn to some type of parking fee payment system. Most communities with timed parking have gone to parking kiosks rather than meters at every parking spot. Police Chief Fitzgerald will present a few options that could be deployed here in Manchester if that is a direction the Select Board decides to take. The kiosks have grown in sophistication and can, for example, allow for free resident parking when license plate numbers are entered. However, moving in this direction represents a pretty big change from how the Town has managed parking in the past. Discussions on the pros and cons are needed.
The parking study completed in 2022 concluded that, with close to 500 parking spaces in the village core area there are almost always available parking slots. However, how these spots are managed could be improved and messaging about where parking is allowed and for what duration could be clearer. And there is the particular problem of employees of local businesses taking up prime on-street parking, moving their vehicle every couple of hours to avoid ticketing. Eliminating this alone could improve the availability of on-street parking.
Other parking issues involving mooring holders, care takers, and other guests of residents pose issues as well. The intent of Tuesday’s meeting is to review many of these parking related challenges and to develop clear procedures and approaches that make for smooth enforcement and efficient use of the parking we have.
