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Commuter focus
By Nick Pinto/ Staff Writer
Thursday, March 16, 2006
ACTON - Motorists using the South Acton Commuter Rail lot will find themselves paying more to park if selectmen approve a new plan.
Under the proposal, the daily fee at the lot's parking meters would be increased from $2 to $2.50, and the annual fee for a resident parking sticker would be doubled from $25 to $50.
Selectman Doré Hunter, who sits on the South Acton Commuter Rail Task Force, which drafted the plan, presented the increases at the March 13 Board of Selectmen's meeting.
"When we spoke to the [Lowell Regional Transit Authority], they said our parking rates were very low," Hunter said. "We might be under-charging. In fact, we might be providing such a good deal that it's contributing to our parking shortage."
In addition to raising rates, Hunter said, the task force is looking into providing shuttle service for commuters to alleviate the parking crunch.
But after instituting a carpool program this winter in which nobody enrolled, Hunter said the task force was determined to assess demand for a shuttle before proceeding with it.
"The carpooling idea was a total failure," Hunter said. "We're learning from our experience."
The task force is also proposing to provide official parking along Stow Street near the commuter rail station on Central Street. Commuters park there illicitly already, pulling haphazardly off the side of the road, which slopes down sharply.
Selectman Andy Magee said he isn't thrilled by the idea of legitimizing parking along Stow Street.
"That spot is next to wetlands, so you really don't want car's parking there," he said.
Instead of encouraging parking on Stow Street, Magee urged the South Acton Commuter Rail Task Force to revisit the possibility of building a parking structure on the site of the current commuter lot.
A picture of a multi-story parking garage on display at a Feb. 8 public hearing on commuting earned many criticisms from neighborhood residents. But Magee said there might be a cheaper, less intrusive alternative.
"The garage that was shown at the meeting was a major structure," Magee said. "What about something more affordable, like a one-story parking deck?"
But even a modest deck might cost more than the town is willing to pay.
"The cost per space of construction is still pricey, even for a deck," said Selectman Lauren Rosenzweig.
Hunter said the creation of a parking deck ought to be the town's very last option.
"It's a problem from a historical and an aesthetic problem, but also because I don't know what the devil you would do for parking while you're building it," he said.
Hunter said that however much parking the town builds, commuter demand is likely to meet it.
"That's why the rate changes may be helpful," he said. "We could cut down on demand."
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