Parking Turnover and Enforcement Emerge as E. Milton Square Study Issues

The East Milton Square Parking and Access Study is still on track for completion in May, 2011 despite setbacks from the MWRA work this summer. Parking turnover and enforcement emerged as key concerns at Wednesday's Business and Citizens Advisory Committee (BCAC) meeting at the .

Keri Pyke, the project manager from Howard/Stein Hudson Associates Inc., provided an update and facilitated a brainstorming session.

Pyke informed the Committee that the final traffic counts were completed this week. On Thursday and Saturday last week, members of the firm studied the traffic turnover in the square.

While the full details won't be available until the next BCAC meeting on January 12, Pyke shared some preliminary data.

Pyke said that a lot of drivers leave their cars parked in spots far beyond the allotted two-hour, one-hour or 30-minute limits. "There's not a lot of turnover, which is not good for the businesses," Pyke said.

The study also found that many people park illegally in driveways, on sidewalks or in unmarked spots.

During the brainstorming session, the idea of metered parking was discussed. Several BCAC members said they would be supportive of parking meters as long as more spots were added and the meters were used throughout the area.

Whether or not meters are added to East Milton Square, the enforcement needs to increase, according to Pyke.

"The reality is, to help your parking situation, we need to work on enforcement," Pyke said.

Pyke also shared the results of a survey of BCAC members. The survey showed that ideal city centers in the area included Hingham Center, Newton Center and Concord Center. Pyke pointed out that all of these squares include metered parking.

The survey also identified benchmarks that the study will take into account including: parking, traffic circulation, pedestrian environment, wayfinding and retail mix.

On January 12, the BCAC will meet again to discuss zoning, retail district comparables and more details on parking data. The BCAC will meet again on Febraury 9. Pyke also said that a legislative briefing and a community meeting will be scheduled for late February.