Balancing parking needs in Chinatown

Let's face it: Finding an on-street parking space in Boston, especially in densely packed neighborhoods with a thriving business community like Chinatown, is brutal.

Most times, the complaints are from city dwellers who say they should not have to pay for costly garage space because valet companies take street spaces. But Elaine Chu of Brookline asks GlobeWatch why there seems to an overabundance of resident parking in one section of Chinatown, making it hard to park for visitors who drive in to patronize neighborhood restaurants.

"In the past, we would drive to Chinatown on Saturday, Sunday evenings to have dinner at one of the many restaurants, and many on-street metered parking spaces were available, making it an economical night out," writes Chu. "Now many of the on-street parking spaces have been converted to resident parking spaces, and we have to anticipate spending an additional $10-$20 for parking in Chinatown or go elsewhere, where on-street parking is not so limited. . . . I notice that most of the resident parking spaces on Marginal Road (and nearby streets) are empty on Saturday, Sunday evenings. I wonder why so many spaces are reserved for residents, especially if they go unused? I believe Chinatown would welcome more on-street parking to increase business."

A visit to Marginal Road by a Globe reporter found a confusing jumble of parking regulations that changed radically within a three-block stretch. From Hudson Street to Washington Street, one side of Marginal Road was strictly reserved for residents, while the side closest to the Massachusetts Turnpike had two-hour parking meters that converted to resident-only parking at 10 p.m. each night. From Washington Street to Shawmut Avenue, the metered spaces turned into resident parking at 6 p.m., while parking was prohibited next to the Josiah Quincy School until 4 p.m. when residents could park. Between Shawmut and Tremont Street, all metered spaces on both sides of the street were set aside for residents at 6 p.m. each night.

"It appears that there was a problem a while back with quality of life issues (late night noise, etc.) on Marginal Road, because drivers were parking there to go to area nightclubs and not returning to their cars until the early morning hours," Tracey Ganiatsos, spokeswoman for the Boston Transportation Department, said in an e-mail. "To discourage this pattern, additional spaces were turned over to resident parking overnight.

"The 'no parking' regulations are in effect for a couple of reasons: to accommodate both the upper and lower Quincy School facilities, as well as the demands of daytime traffic flow," Ganiatsos said. "As for the meters, switching meters over to [resident parking] overnight is not unique to Chinatown; it is common practice in downtown neighborhoods, as it allows short-term customer parking during the day and provides for additional on-street parking for residents arriving home from work at night."

The city is now working with Chinatown neighborhood and business associations and plans to review possible changes to local parking regulations in the near future, she said.

"As in other neighborhoods of the city, it's a balancing act to ensure on-street parking for local residents but still meet the parking needs of local businesses," Ganiatsos said. "For this reason, there is no one specific pattern that the Resident Parking Program follows, and every attempt is made to design a program that serves the specific needs of each individual area."

She said there are three garages - on Beach Street, at Lincoln and Beach streets, and at the Archstone Building - that offer discounted parking for some local restaurants at night and on weekends.

WHO'S IN CHARGE
Thomas J. Tinlin Commissioner
Boston Transportation Department
1 City Hall Square,
Room 721
Boston, MA 02201-2026
617-635-4680