Some Boston Parking Meter Prices Going Up In 2017
BOSTON (CBS) -- Mayor Marty Walsh's office announced Thursday that parking meter prices in Boston's Back Bay will go from $1.25 to $3.75 an hour as part of an experimental pilot program.
The new prices, which the city said are in line with prices in other cities, will go into effect on January 3 and will be in place for one year.
"This parking pilot will help us manage parking spots more efficiently, reducing congestion, gridlock and distracted behavior by drivers," Walsh said in a press release issued Thursday afternoon. "We look forward to working with drivers, residents, and businesses to provide the best quality of life for all in our City."
The adjustments were made with a yet-to-be-released study on parking policy in Boston by the nonprofit A Better City in mind.
Meter prices were last raised in Boston in 2011, and have been set at $1.25 an hour all across the city ever since.
In the Back Bay, the city said, about 1,650 parking spaces would be affected.
"The goal of this change is to make drivers less inclined to park at a meter all day, and instead utilize off-street garages and parking lots or shift to another mode of travel," the city said in the release.
Meanwhile, in the city's Seaport neighborhood, about 591 spaces will be priced starting at $1.50 an hour--but every two months, prices will be raised 50 cents on blocks that are in demand, and lowered 50 cents on blocks with less demand.
As a result, prices over the pilot period will range from $1 to $4.
New meter prices will be posted on the City of Boston website and available through the Park Boston app.
The Mayor's office said data from the program will be collected to see how parking patterns change based on the changes in prices, and said part of any increase in revenue seen at the end of the study will go to the city's Parking Meter Fund.