AMHERST — A town committee that has recommended doubling the charge for many downtown parking spaces and extending enforcement to 8 p.m. is seeking additional information before revising its proposals to the Select Board.
The Downtown Parking Working Group on Tuesday asked municipal staff, including Senior Planner Nathaniel Malloy and treasurer and collector Claire McGinnis, to get more details about available parking before deciding how to proceed with its advice to the Select Board, said Connie Kruger, a Select Board member who serves as chairwoman of the working group.
The current proposal is for spaces in what will be known as the core area to cost $1 per hour, while those outside the core will remain at 50 cents per hour. A preliminary map shows the core parking spaces being closer to downtown restaurants and shops.
But the estimates on the number of spaces in each area didn’t jibe with statistics in a parking study completed by NelsonNygaard Consulting Associates. This raised concern for members of the Select Board, who want to ensure enough lower-priced spaces remain in downtown.
Board members also expressed worry about extending enforcement to 8 p.m. On-street meters are currently only enforced until 6 p.m.
The Select Board will not discuss parking again until its meeting Aug. 30, but it remains uncertain if a vote will be taken that night, Kruger said.
Amherst Business Improvement District Executive Director Sarah la Cour, who is also on the working group, said town officials will need to recalibrate the parking machines and educate the public about the changes. Originally the hope had been to have changes in place before the fall semester.
“Ideally we would be done by then, but it’s not a big deal,” la Cour said.
The town will be getting new parking kiosks that will have a mobile payment system option for all parking spaces, including meters. These are scheduled to arrive in September, Kruger said.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said there will be an implementation period for any changes. It could take a few weeks to order new stickers for parking machines, and a few days to change the timing mechanisms.
Meanwhile, a second parking garage to supplement the Boltwood parking garage on Boltwood Walk will continue to be discussed.
Kruger said a subcommittee is the appropriate venue for examining whether this is needed and how the town could afford it.
“A subcommittee will be able to do a deep dive into these issues,” Kruger said.
Officials have estimated that it would cost at least $25,000 per space, but Kruger notes that the new parking garage in Greenfield is projected at $10 million for 274 spaces, meaning a cost of more than $35,000 for each space.
Businesses, though, have endorsed more parking.
George Myers, general manager of the Amherst Cinema, said the biggest concern he hears from patrons is parking. That is why the cinema officials are supporting a parking structure of some type. They are also advocating against increasing prices for parking.
Jerry Guidera, general manager of Amherst Works, said members have gotten parking permits from Town Hall. But there is a need for more parking than what is available in public ways and lots.
“We do think we need a garage,” Guidera said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
