AMHERST — Hiring a municipal employee to oversee Amherst’s parking system, creating a fund that can be used for improvements to parking lots and meters, and installing more visible parking signs throughout downtown are priority recommendations for enhancing downtown parking.
Downtown Parking Working Group Chairwoman Christine Gray-Mullen and Economic Development Director Geoff Kravitz Monday brought the working group’s priority recommendations to the Town Council on Monday. The steps were culled from eight recommendations included in a parking implementation strategy developed by NelsonNygaard Consulting Associates of Boston.
“These strategies were prioritized because they create a single person with responsibility for the parking system, develop a funding mechanism to make parking, streetscape and transportation improvements, and [are] meaningful steps that can be taken immediately to improve the parking system,” the working group wrote in a memo to the council.
Rather than enacting the advice right away, the Town Council voted 12-1 to have the Community Resources Committee examine the memo, with a report back to the Town Council on the priority recommendations within 90 days. Only District 3 Councilor Dorothy Pam voted against the referral.
Kravitz said because parking is a complicated issue, the working group wanted to give recommendations to the Town Council that puts it in the best position to successfully implement changes.
The idea for hiring a parking point person, for instance, would be to publicize changes to the parking system when they occur and to interact with the public, including the business community.
Establishing a new parking fund would allow for focused improvements on the downtown. While Amherst already has a transportation fund, some of the money in it is used for purposes outside the commercial district, such as for PVTA outreach routes.
“In order to fund the changes necessary to create a well-functioning parking system, the town must dedicate a recurring source of funds for improvements such as additional pay-by-plate kiosks, license plate reader technology and parking management personnel.”
Finally, better signs to direct people, and upgrading parking information on the town website, “will help visitors and customers more easily navigate the parking system and reduce frustrations immediately.”
The working group opted against urging the council to make any significant changes to how visitors use the system, such as extending enforcement until 8 p.m. for all spaces and using a graduated pricing scheme in which the cost of using a space would go up the longer one stays.
The last changes to parking went into effect in November 2017. Those changes allowed drivers to park longer in some areas and to pay more for premium spots and less for lower demand spaces.
Meantime, the council voted unanimously to dissolve the working group, with the possibility of a more permanent advisory committee focused on parking townwide that could be created by the Town Council.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
