A pilot parking meter program is being proposed for the Shirley Street business district from Delby’s Corner at the corner of Washington Avenue and Shirley Street toward the Tewksbury Street area.
Restaurants and convenience stores are the primary businesses in the district.
Police Chief Terence Delehanty brought the matter in to the public discourse at the Town Council meeting Tuesday night, recommending that a pilot program for parking meters be instituted to help stores and restaurants in the area.
The parking “meters†would actually be centrally located “meter boxes†where vehicle owners use cash or a credit card to purchase parking time and a receipt is printed, which the vehicle owner then fastens to his window. The boxes are used on Newbury Street in Boston and in other business districts.
Delehanty said the suggestion for parking meters emanated from the Winthrop Police Department through his position as chairman of the town’s Traffic and Safety Advisory Commission where a business owner on Shirley Street asked for assistance with parking concerns. The chief said he supports the proposal.
“There have been some complaints about parking issues in relation to the length of time people’s vehicles remain in spaces in that area and the reasonable recommendation is that we look to install parking meters,†said Delehanty. “If a person wants to park there for 15 minutes, they put a quarter in, if they want to park there for a longer time, they put in additional money.â€
Delehanty said the parking spaces on Shirley Street are vital to the success of each business, reasoning that a parking meter program would result in a more equitable utilization of the spaces and one that would benefit the businesses in the long run.
“It’s a reasonable idea that has to be taken into serious consideration and this area would benefit from parking meters,†said Delehanty.
There is a municipal parking lot on Shirley Street that adjoins some of the businesses.
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Delahanty is a police chief and not a policy maker. How come he picks the Shirley Street area for this scam and not the wonderfully successful shopping area known as Winthrop Center? People park at the Shirley Street area because they are at restaurants. Now this yoyo comes along and wants to pretend Shirley Street is like Newbury Street. The whole thing is one big top cop April Fool joke, coming a month late.