The Back Bay is getting a long-awaited update to its parking distribution, adding over a hundred residential spaces and removing just as many meters.
City workers have begun uprooting outdated parking infrastructure across the neighborhood, altering almost 300 spaces to reflect changes in the streetscape. It marks the culmination of years of effort from residents and civic groups trying to get more residential parking in the Back Bay.
The Boston Guardian first
reported on preliminary drafts of city plans almost a year ago in
April, but parking studies and blueprints weren’t finalized and
presented to the Streets Cabinet until January.
By
that point the construction season had passed, forcing city workers to
delay implementation until there was “appropriate seasonal weather”
according to a spokesperson for the Boston Transportation Department
(BTD).
By early March
things had warmed up enough for crews to start their work. They’re now
going block by block and replacing selected parking infrastructure with
the goal of finishing by April.
That
timeline could still be delayed by the weather. Even after the plan is
implemented, the BTD says it will keep fielding comments from residents
and potentially making alterations.
“The
BTD will work with the community to address any questions or concerns
and make adjustments if needed over the coming months,” said a
spokesperson.
A total
of 281 parking spots are being changed, with 125 meters removed and the
largest portion being converted to residential parking. The 123 spots
reserved
for residential permits are mostly on Beacon Street, with some on Commonwealth Avenue and a few on Marlborough Street.
Residential
permits will also grant access to overnight parking in 25 spaces from
6pm to 8 am. Another 78 existing meters will have their hours extended
from 8am to 8pm Monday-Saturday.
Businesses
and deliveries also get a nod with 60 spaces of 30-minute metered
parking. Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue are both getting a
smattering of those, though Marlborough Street will have only 3 around
Berkeley and Clarendon Streets.
The
changes aim to update the parking map so that residential parking is
plentiful on residential streets and commercial parking follows suit.
Changes
to parking maps come slowly, and in the Back Bay there are plenty of
metered spaces that were created years ago for businesses and civil
organizations that no longer exist, replaced today by residences.
The
gap between city government and changing real estate trends exacerbates
the disparity between the number of residential parking permits and
actual residential spaces, which was estimated by the Neighborhood
Association of the Back Bay to be around 3:1 in 2021.