New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Statement From the Mayor’s Office Regarding Parking Enforcement on Saturdays in the Downtown:
All of us have been excited by the growth and investment in the Downtown in recent years. With a new hotel, restaurants and other businesses around the corner, more growth is yet to come. Not surprisingly, the success has led to more demand for street parking, during the week and weekends alike. In the last year, several business owners have complained that cars have parked all weekend long in front of their store fronts, crowding out spaces for potential customers. Meanwhile, with the establishment of fast ferry service from Nantucket to New Bedford, and the projected growth of the existing Martha’s Vineyard service, we are likely to see more ferry goers park over the weekend on downtown streets to avoid having to pay for parking in the Whale’s Tooth Lot, a problem that has existed for several years. In light of these trends, the Traffic Department recently announced that it would reinstitute Saturday meter enforcement next month, a practice in place in many, if not most, U.S. cities, including once here in New Bedford.
In the wake of this announcement, several businesses expressed concerns about Saturday enforcement, and have insisted that it would tend to drive customers away. In light of these concerns, the Mayor has directed the Traffic Department to halt the implementation of Saturday enforcement. If, as the downtown continues to grow, the majority of businesses believe that Saturday enforcement is necessary to promote turnover of customers, they are free to revisit the matter with City Hall at such time.
Mayor Mitchell’s commitment to promoting the growth of the downtown — which has included public investments in streetscapes, the Elm Street Garage, the Zeiterion, Pier 3, City Hall, the First Baptist Church, Custom House Square, the Whaling Museum, the Seaman’s Bethel, the Octopus, and the reestablishment of the tourism office – is unwavering, and he appreciates the feedback from the downtown business community.
