AMHERST — Downtown business owners who gathered 1,000 signatures from people urging the Select Board to scale back the hours of enforcement for on-street parking will likely have to wait for any decision on changes until the new Town Council is seated in December.
In response to a petition submitted to Town Manager Paul Bockelman on Sept. 27, Select Board Chairman Douglas Slaughter informed both Amherst Business Improvement Executive Director Sarah la Cour and Barry Roberts, the president of the Amherst BID’s board of directors, that it is impossible for the Select Board to change the current parking rules because the town is operating under the transition provisions of the charter adopted by voters in March.
“I will be referring the petition to the Downtown Parking Working Group with the expectation that the new Town Council will take up this request once it gets organized,” Slaughter wrote.
The petition seeks to reduce the 12 hours of meter enforcement from Mondays through Saturdays, or 72 hours per week, that went into effect last November, and return to the previous enforcement of just nine hours a day, running from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, or 54 hours per week.
“Many business and property owners were extremely upset when the Downtown Parking Working Group recommended to the Select Board that they extend the hours of enforcement of parking meters and lots in downtown to 8 p.m.,” the petition reads.
“This change has been detrimental to business in downtown Amherst and many visitors and customers have stated their disapproval,” the petition continues.
“It’s just bad for business,” said Nick Seamon, owner of the Black Sheep Deli on Main Street.
As a business in the heart of downtown that caters mostly to breakfast and lunch crowds, the parking changes have hit his customers hard, Seamon said, as the fee at nearby meters went from 50 cents an hour to $1 per hour, and people dropping in to get a coffee, pastry or breakfast sandwich to go no longer have the option to not pay for parking before 9 a.m.
Slaughter explained in his response that parking is among the issues candidates for Town Council are debating. Any decision would also be complicated by the plans for renovating the North Common and the Main Street parking lot, which could reduce the amount of parking in town center, depending on how the Select Board and Town Council proceed with this project.
The petition supplements a similar appeal from the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, which in February sent a letter directly to the Downtown Parking Working Group for only enforcing meters until 6 p.m. The group, which has to bring recommendations to the Select Board, was unable to reach a consensus on this.
The changes last year were part of a demand-based pricing strategy that encourages turnover of spaces, especially at peak times, with 7 p.m. identified as one of the most popular times to park in Amherst center.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
