Low turnout thus far for parking placards
Published on March 19th, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - With scant foot traffic at Town Clerk John Hanright's office to date, Stoneham Square merchants appear to be resisting the town's placard parking program.
According to Hanright, his office had received just 25 applications for parking permits as of this Tuesday, with eight issued permits on the books so far.
Based upon Stoneham's new downtown parking regulations, which will become effective on April 1, a blanket two-hour parking limit along Main Street and adjacent roadways will be strictly enforced.
Police also plan to patrol the town's municipal lots, which are now peppered with new two-hour parking signs, to uphold similar restrictions.
Since his office first began administering the parking program at the start of this month, Hanright's staff members have received some tongue lashings from angry citizens and businessmen.
According to the Town Clerk, while he understands that some merchants are frustrated by the $300 placard fee, he hopes that trend soon ends, as the Town Hall workers had nothing to do with the implementation of the regulations.
"I think it's a hard pill to swallow with hard economic times," said Hanright, who suspects to see a surge in applications during the next couple of weeks. "But hopefully, this is the start of straightening out the parking problems that have been in Stoneham Square for 50 to 60 years."
"When they do come in, the first thing that I ask is that they respect my staff. They're just doing what they were asked to do," the Town Clerk requested.
According to Town Administrator David Ragucci, he's not surprised by the low application numbers thus far, especially given Stoneham's lackadaisical approach to enforcing the downtown parking regulations in the past.
Ragucci also fully expects that a large population of merchants and employees will continue to hold-out on inquiring about the placards until police step-up ticketing activity in the Stoneham Square area.
"No, not at all," responded the Town Administrator, when asked if he was concerned about the low number of applications. "I think a lot of people are waiting and seeing. I think once they get tagged, they'll be a deluge of applications coming in."
"I don't know if it's resistance [to the new regulations]. I think they're going to see if they can operate efficiently under the new system. And if they can, I'm fine with that," he added.
Although the parking regulations become effective on April 1, local police have been instructed to delay ticketing activity until April 2, so that there's no interference with municipal elections.
Violators of the two-hour restrictions, which will be enforced Monday through Saturday between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., will face up to a $25 fine.
Because of limited parking availability in the area, town officials enacted the placard program. The permits, which will cost $300 per year or $100 quarterly, will be offered to local residents, business owners and their workers, and those employed by the Town of Stoneham.
A discounted $150 permit per year, or $50 quarterly, will also be offered for those seeking to use a spot at the Recreation Park municipal lot.
Each of the placards will be color-coded, allowing holders to park their vehicles in a specific municipal lot.
In order to obtain a parking decal, which will reportedly be transferable to one additional vehicle that's registered in the permit holder's name, an applicant must have taken care of all existing parking tickets, paid their excise taxes, and have a car that's both registered and insured.
According to Ragucci, the new Stoneham Square regulations are not geared at generating revenue for the cash-strapped municipality, but rather to solve a long ignored shortage of spaces in the area.
"Less than a dollar a day to park in a municipal lot is unheard of in most communities," Ragucci said. "It's not intended to be a money-maker for Stoneham."
"I don't want the town to be viewed as anti-business when we start tagging, because we need to regulate the parking," the Town Administrator added. "It's intended to free up spaces and get more customers for our merchants."
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