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Advocate

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City looks to expand parking options for Broadway Business District

By Barbara Taormina

 

The staff of the City’s Planning & Community Development Department and their consultants from the engineering firm Stantec presented their results from a Broadway Corridor Parking study to the City Council this week. The goal of the study was to find ways to increase parking to promote economic development and to ease parking troubles for residents.

According to Stantec consultants, there are 2,400 parking spaces on Broadway, many in private lots. The chief recommendation from the study is to direct drivers to spaces on side streets and lots behind Broadway. They proposed wayfaring signs to direct drivers to cheaper, available spaces a short distance from Broadway.

City officials proposed creating a pool of public parking by possibly leasing space in private lots and combining it with underused space, such as the City Hall lot and Central Street lot. Spreading out available parking spaces could be combined with higher fees for parking in the core areas of Broadway, particularly during peak hours. The consultants believe Revere is poised to make those changes in part because of the parking district benefits fund. They suggested spending funds on sidewalk maintenance and improvements, such as landscaping, would draw drivers to side streets for cheaper parking.

During their presentation, planners revealed that only 40 to 50 percent of the spaces on Broadway were utilized during the study. “If we’re only using 40 to 50 percent of our inventory, why this rush to increase the amount of parking spaces?” asked Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio.

Planners said the idea aligned with the Broadway corridor master plan and with efforts to promote economic development. In a recent survey conducted in conjunction with the study, residents said they typically spend five minutes searching for parking on Broadway.

The City Council referred the parking study to the economic development subcommittee.

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