this comes from the mayor’s office.
The City of Newton is undertaking a comprehensive study of parking supply, utilization and management in Newton Centre. With continued retail success, proximity to the T, dense abutting residential neighborhoods, and a healthy employer environment, it is critical that we ensure we have a sustainable parking strategy that meets the needs of all users for years to come.
Public input is imperative to the success of this study and the team invites you to contribute to the parking study by:
. Participating in a Parking Pop-Up workshop on September 10th, 2015 (rain date: September 17th, 2015)
. Newton Centre Green 11:30am – 1:30pm
. Newton Centre T Stop at Union Street 4:30 pm – 6:30pm
. Completing a five-minute online survey at www.newtoncentreparkingsurvey.com
. Visiting www.newtonma.gov for study updates and announcements
Through this effort we intend to bring all elements together in the development of a comprehensive technical analysis and plan for parking management in the short and long term. The plan may include altered regulations and pricing, new technology, changes to employee parking, and parking information systems. Additional issues such as circulation patterns, public transportation, wayfinding, enforcement, and other initiatives will be assessed for their integration into the parking system.
This effort aims to secure the economy of the business area, ensure safety, improve mobility and address residents’ concerns. The plan’s efforts will build upon findings from the June 2013 parking study and other related efforts. The study area includes all on-street spaces and all public and private lots within a quarter mile of the Centre.
After the September Parking Pop-Up, the team will hold another public input session in late October to present initial strategies and recommendations. A final report will be completed by December 2015.
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with studying something. But where is the common sense? Newton Centre parking is jammed at night, but it’s free after 6pm. This city cannot afford to turn its back on revenue like that.
What they need to do is to find more parking spaces. Adding spaces will cutback on the traffic.
You both could be correct. But before spending money to try to solve a problem it’s best to be sure you fully understand what the problem is.
Tom, you have stated the most fundamental misconception about the relationship between parking and traffic congestion.
Nathan,
Please don’t leave me hanging, please explain.
Tom: induced demand.
http://www.uctc.net/papers/351.pdf
Nathan,
I read Shoup. He talks about minimum parking requirements, he analyses cost per parking spot and he talks about free parking. None of which I was talking about. Also, most of his analysis is based on California in the 80’s. One can not compare the issues Newton, Mass addresses with the issues of San Fran in 1988.
In every village centre there is a percentage of people circling around to get a parking spot. If logic doesn’t dictate to you that would add onto our traffic issues, we’ll never agree on anything…because that is so basic we have to atleast agree on that.
Tom, that’s exactly right. People circling certainly adds to traffic congestion, especially in Newton Centre. However, that doesn’t mean parking isn’t available, it just may not be available where people want to park the most. Creating more parking has a huge cost and may be totally unnecessary, as there may be sufficient supply already (exactly what studies like this ought to determine) There are a variety of other tools mentioned above to manage our existing parking more efficiently to benefit both businesses and local traffic.
Adam,
You add spaces, maybe off street spaces, and increase meter charges as the parking spots get closer to the commercial shops. Also, put signs up so people know the expensive meters from the less expensive meters (or mark/color the meters so people don’t have to get out of the car to see the meter amount, ie a green meter would be 25/hr, blue meter would be 25/30 min and red meter would be 25/15 minutes). I’m sure it’s not the total answer of our traffic issues, but I bet it’s a large hunk of it.
Please don’t take away our Newton Centre parking lot! I’ve been doing my shopping lately in Dedham, not Legacy Place but the little down town with nice, non-chain stores and they have a large, free parking lot. It’s always full and the stores are always filled with customers.
Off Topic: Does anyone know what is hanging over the set of lights at the corner of Beacon/Centre st. It looks like cameras, but does anyone know for sure???
Tom, it seems to be standard equipment on most of Newton’s new signals.
And I have no reason to believe it has anything to do with the current parking study, but if the city could find a way to remove parking on the triangle and put the land to better public use, I’d be all for it! Dedham Center also has an overpass. Would that also be a good solution for Newton Centre?
@Tom– I’ve asked that question before, and been told the cameras are there to aid the fire department. I’d be very disappointed if they ever started using them for traffic enforcement, as that would be a Sixth Amendment violation.
I don’t see this as standard equipment, because the would-be cameras are pointed in every direction. I don’t see the would-be cameras on every intersection, if it were standard, wouldn’t they have to be on every set of lights? I have a feeling this is an experimental phase. I only noticed the alleged cameras within the month, if they were standard wouldn’t they have been there a lot longer? When did you all notice the equipment??
Adam, I don’t know how an overpass would help Newton Centre. I wouldn’t mind the triangle have a little more open space. But where do you make up the parking that you lose when you convert thee triangle. The newton centre task force once recommended satellite parking, but I’m not sure that would benefit the centre.
Cameras are standard equipment. They are used, instead of loops in the roadway, to help the intersection function more efficiently.
Cameras are not used for traffic enforcement, and they are not installed at every intersection — most intersections in Newton have loops in the roadway surface. If you don’t see a camera – look for a wire (loop) in the road, which informs the signal box that a vehicle is there.
Thanks Al.
If they are standard equipmeent, why didn’t they have these cameras 2 years ago?
Who are all of these people who don’t want parking lots so we can support these local businesses? Some of us need to drive for various reasons, especially when leaving with purchases.
Mike, the cameras are not for the fire department. There are additional devices that look like little teapots that capture a signal from oncoming emergency vehicles, but I heard that GPS-based systems may be used in the future.
Tom, pretty sure those cameras have been around since Beacon/Centre signals were installed a few years ago. They’re present on most of the new signals around the city as they get upgraded, but it probably has to do with how sophisticated each signal is and what the requirements are to detect vehicles. Many of those pavement loops are broken (e.g. West Newton) and cameras are cheaper to install than new pavement loops.
And the overpass remark was sarcasm. Just pointing out that Newton Centre isn’t Dedham Center, and I’m not sure I want to apply the same solutions.
Lassy asks
I am one. I want the city to optimize use of existing parking spaces, both public and private, before paving over more of open space and dedicating valuable village center space to car storage. Parking is not an unlimited resource. Making it free is not the best way to support businesses.
This survey offers us an opportunity to talk about parklets as well. It’s not only about finding spaces, it’s about quality of life in Newton Centre.
That said, there is always parking in the village if you are willing to walk a couple of blocks. People just often want to park close to their destination and avoid walking. We have capacity and hopefully the report will demonstrate that.
Some people are willing but not able to walk a couple of blocks. I’m not handicapped, so I can’t use the those spaces, but walking a couple of blocks would be hard for me. My daughter has Raynaud’s Syndrome and must park close in the winter, especially if she is going to be carrying things she bought. I would think businesses would want people to be able to park to come to their shops. Try to think of the entire community, and not just the people who can easily walk and bike.
I do think there is parking available most of the time.
I also see Lassy’s point. There are also a high percentage of seniors in Newton, including some who would have a problem walking two, or so, blocks one way and return.
I park in the triangle to take the T, which is as far away as I would want to be, particularly coming home and walking up the steps or the steep slope.
It’s good to remember that Newton is not an urban center so, until the transportation changes, there will cars and people who can’t walk or bike to the centers.
If we make it safer and more convenient for the able bodied to walk and bike, we leave more, closer parking for seniors and mobility challenged. And by promoting active transportation for the able bodied, we keep them that way longer.
So, maybe there should be more handicap parking for seniors/handicap people.
That shouldn’t be hard to do.
Only those who are truly disabled and have a permit can park in the marked spaces, not seniors, Tom. Those are not the ones we are talking about.
Nathan, a great plan. Up until the last couple of years I walked everywhere and still walk a lot. In the centers, as well as everywhere else, most people park as close as possible and “promoting active transportation” (biking, walking?) isn’t going to keep them from needing to drive to centers they don’t live in. I don’t see a fast way to get people to change their habits and bike 4 miles to shop, eat at a restaurant or any other errands unless they are already inclined to. Newton is just too spread out.
Marti, yours is an oft repeated claim. Newton is not Boston; its not Manhattan, nor LA, Copenhagen, Montreal, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Boulder, Davis, Corvallis, Portland, or Minneapolis. We’re special here. We can’t do it.
I am not disabled, yet I have trouble walking too far. I do want to support our local businesses. If I buy something, it is even harder to walk back to the car with bags. Like I said, my daughter, who is young, also benefits from a parking lot. Women prefer a well lit parking lot at night rather than walking down side streets, and those streets are dark.
Lassy, raising the price on some of the prime spaces a short walk from some businesses might free up the spaces you need.
Lighting in Newton Centre is a different story. It’s in a very sad state. Fix the lighting.
Wow, Nathan. That’s not what I said at all. Obviously you know what’s best for everyone so I’ll just move on.
Marti, I’m sorry. I think I read between the lines a little too much.
So, I have to pay more to park because I need to be closer? Talk about pushing people to the malls and places like Legacy Place where you can park for free, close, safely and in a well lit parking lot. Why do other shopping centers have free parking lots with bustling shopping areas and really unique stores?
Yes, you could pay more as one way to get what you need. Or, if short term spaces are what’s needed in some areas, time restrictions could also help force turnover.
I’m guessing land is not as costly in the other locations you like to shop. Our villages aren’t shopping centers or malls. If that’s the goal, then we’re going about this all wrong.
Even when the Beacon St. lot is full (which is most of the time), I’ve always seen ample parking spaces behind the shops on Centre Street. It’s *in* Newton Centre, not even a block to walk. Maybe too many people find it too inconvenient to enter/exit that large parking lot area? Trying to take a left turn onto Pelham, or coming out of Pleasant can be … unpleasant. Maybe Pelham & Pleasant traffic flow needs to be improved?
As for the motion sensors (ie. ‘cameras’ at traffic lights), they are a welcome addition. Under-street loops are calibrated to trigger from a ton of metal, not by bicycles. That’s an unnecessary safety hazard on certain types of vehicles.
As a resident of one of those side streets where the smaller parking lots are located, I’d hope to see small steps, such as clearer signage, taken before anything larger and potentially more intrusive is considered. Are most drivers really rejecting the Pelham, Pleasant, and Cypress Street lots, a block away from the triangle, as too far from their destination? Or do they not remember, or not even know, that these options exist?
I have a Newton Municipal Parking Pass for Seniors. Why isn’t the Newton Centre lot considered a Municipal lot? So many seniors shop in Newton Centre.
The parking passes are for on street meters only.
Actually, the senior sticker is on windshield. You can use it in West Newton, Newton Highlands off Lincoln Street and other municipal lots. Apparently Newton Center is not a municipal lot. How do I know? I got a ticket there today. I did not put money in the meter because I mistakenly thought it was a municipal lot. It should be!
Jane, perhaps you should challenge that ticket.
http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/53658
Nice work Adam.
Jane come back and let us know how the appeal goes.
Howard, street parking is not included.
jane bodner, these are the municipal lots included. Only for 1 hour and 3 hour meters and the after the time limit its open season on ticketing. Unless you went over the time limit, you shouldn’t have received a ticket. Good luck!
1. Langley Road, Newton Centre Square. Between Beacon Street and Langley Road.
2. Pleasant Street, Newton Centre Square. Off Pleasant Street.
3. Pelham Street, Newton Centre. Off Pelham Street.
4. Cypress Street, Newton Centre. Near Centre Street off Cypress Street.
5. Richardson Street, Newton Corner. Off Centre Street.
6. Pearl Street, Newton Corner. Off Centre Street at Pearl Ct.
7. Hartford Street, Newton Highlands. Corner of Hartford and Lincoln Street.
8. Austin Street, Newtonville Square. Off Walnut Street.
9. Cherry Street, West Newton. Between Elm and Cherry Streets.
10. Waltham Street, West Newton. Between Cherry and Waltham Streets.
11. Lexington Street Parking Area, Auburndale.
Marti,
Thanks for sending me that list of municipal parking lots. I had it when I signed up but of course have no idea what I did with it. I will challenge this ticket. Thanks everyone.
Adam, I had no idea we had this senior parking provision – thank you. This helps address parking accessibility concerns like this:
http://village14.com/newton-ma/2015/07/carrot-mob-sat-11am-2pm-for-bikes-business/#comment-59090
You’re welcome Jane. I forgot to include that the sticker is good for 1 year and you need to get a new one at the senior center every year. I hope you have a current one. It’s so easy to forget.
Nathan, you did a great job accommodating everyone anyway.
Number 3 in the PDF Adam linked is incorrect and misleading though and needs to be updated.
Senior parking stickers are available at the Senior Center almost anytime it is open. Just call ahead to be sure someone is there to issue it if it is the first time. Renewals only require a driver’s license and the car registration (easy to forget the registration).
There may be times when there is an off-site place available annually or biennially.
Actually my sticker expired in June. I either was not aware of this or forgot this stipulstion.I will pay the ticket and get a new,sticker.
I really think it is a ridiculous rule. Do they think we get younger after a year? You even get to keep your drivers license for a few years before renewing! I give up! Thanks for your support.