TAUNTON — Restrictions will soon be implemented for parking in the Mill River Parking Lot — which is the parking lot behind Taunton City Hall .
Taunton’s Parking Commission voted to make parking in the front and back lots behind City Hall restricted to two hours for any visitors, while also giving city employees parking stickers and passes indicating their right to all-day parking there.
The restricted hours will apply between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays.
The lots will still be free parking for visitors, but Police Chief Edward Walsh said that vehicles will be electronically supervised daily to determine who’s going over the two-hour limit, and subsequently fined.
When will this go into effect?
The measure is presently not being enforced. Walsh stated it will go into effect when new signage is installed in the lots. Walsh did not give a timetable.
Why is this happening?
The decision is based on problems City Hall employees are having finding parking, as well as residents being able to park nearby to visit City Hall, according to discussions at recent Parking Commission meetings.
Commission member Jay Dorsey said at the Tuesday, Sept. 24 meeting he believes all the construction going on in the downtown area is the culprit.
Construction projects like the affordable condo units being built at 68 Church Green and the Union Block development on Main Street create situations where either street parking has been given to construction crews, resulting in more people seeking parking in parking lots, or even members of construction teams or subcontractors also taking up space in the City Hall parking lots.
“Right now, the parking out back is unbearable,” said Dorsey, adding that he and many other officials are having trouble finding spots.
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Will parking restrictions hurt downtown businesses?
Attorney Joseph DeMello, whose office is at 71 Main St., where he also leases out space to other businesses, wrote a letter to the Parking Commission saying he finds the new restrictions “unfair and unjust” for all the people who work downtown.
“It’s a not good way to promote business activity during the day,” DeMello said in the letter.
Delores Milho, owner of New York Lace Couture at 89 Main St., concurred, saying her employees and customers often park behind City Hall since her business abuts it.
“We can’t afford to lose and limit parking. This can create a big issue,” Milho said.
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Restrictions could help other businesses
Tonya Miller, co-owner of Sheepdog Athletics, which abuts City Hall’s back parking lot, said she relies on parking there for her customers and many of her customers have had to either cancel classes or park further away because the lot is often full during the day.
She said she understands "the frustrations about employees needing parking,” but the two-hour parking limit might be great for her customers, as it could free up enough spaces if visitors can no longer leave their cars there all day.
“Having zero restrictions is what’s causing the long-term parking issues,” Miller said.
Temporary solution
Dorsey said at the meeting the ruling isn’t something “set in stone forever. This is about dealing with a problem now.”
He said as construction projects end, the Commission can reevaluate managing the Mill River lot.
Regarding employees of downtown businesses, paid parking passes are the Parking Commission's recommended option.
Is free parking a thing of the past?
Free parking during the workday is decreasing in availability in downtown Taunton . Street parking along Main Street and the Taunton Green is metered.
The Leonard Street Garage , while plentiful and always has availability, is a paid garage. Commission member and owner of Pacheco’s Jewelry, Lewis Pacheco, said that’s where he parks his car during the work week because “between the old people on School Street who watch everything that goes on, and all the cameras in the garage, it’s real safe there.”
Starting Oct. 1, Galligan’s Court, on Weir Street, will be a paid lot. The reason given by Dorsey is due to high maintenance costs for that lot.
Besides the limited free parking behind City Hall, the only other remaining free municipal parking lot is the one between Trescott and Cedar Streets.
Though there are no plans in the foreseeable future, Dorsey said he’s a proponent of making all parking paid during the day because “that’s the only way to regulate.”
Free parking evenings and weekends
Presently, parking is free after 6 p.m. weekdays, including in the paid lots, and it is free all day during weekends and holidays.
The root of the problem
Commission member Pacheco spells out the obvious problem making parking difficult downtown.
“We don’t have any land left. They don’t make any more land,” he said.
Jay Pateakos, Executive Director for the city's Office of Economic and Community Development, said his office is currently seeking funding for a new parking study for downtown, one that will update a previous study done pre-COVID.
Potential for more free spaces
The Parking Commission brought up the question of what will become of the police station's side of the Mill River parking lot once the department moves into the new p ublic safety Building on County Street , estimated to be completed by early 2026.
Could that all become free parking?
Mayor Shaunna O'Connell said the city is still exploring options.
"As we move forward with the excellent progress being made at 90 County St. on the new public safety facility, multiple options for the utilization of the building and property at 23 Summer St. have been discussed. No final decisions have been made. We are exploring all options that will allow for the best use of the property to meet the needs of our city," O'Connell said.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: New parking restrictions behind Taunton City Hall amid 'unbearable' scramble for spaces
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