The Norfolk County Commissioners instituted a $5 a day fee to park in the lot behind the Registry of Deeds on Monday.County officials say that it will mainly affect jurors who are from out of town, but Dedham Square merchants worry that it will negatively impact their businesses as motorists seek to avoid the fee by parking elsewhere.
Matt Cawley, the manager of Deli After Dark, said with the economy and the Providence Highway bridge construction, things were bad enough all ready.He fears that if too many spaces are lost, which are already at a premium, it could put some struggling merchants over the edge.“You’ll have a Square of nothing,” he said.
“If you don’t have cars moving for 8 hours, that’s 8 hours of lost transactions,” said Cawley.
Cawley and fellow Dedham Square Circle member Susie Macintosh met this morning with Selectmen Sarah MacDonald and Carmen DelloIacono, Town Administrator Bill Keegan, County Commissioner Fran O’Brien, County Director Dan matthews, and Police Chief Mike Weir.
At their meeting last Thursday, the Selectmen had asked the County to hold off on implementing the fee. Keegan relayed this message to Matthews in person on Friday, and then invited everyone in for the Friday morning meeting. The county officials said that due to budget cutbacks at the state level they were in “very serious trouble.”
“If we do not derive some income, the state will take it over and that will be the end of NorfolkCounty,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien added that the County has done over $100,000 worth of engineering work for the Square, and DelloIacono agreed.“They have been for us there every time,” he said.
Calling the fee “a bargain,” O’Brien said there have only been two complaints so far.“They were all very happy and satisfied to pay $5 to park all day,” he said.
Town Economic Development Director Karen O’Connell says she understands the position the County was in, but that she was concerned about the impact it would have on the Square.She also noted that residential streets may also see an increase in traffic as people park on them.
Amy Haelsen, the executive director of the Dedham Square Circle, said they hoped to do a parking study for the entire square, but such a study could cost as much as $25,000.She also said that if people were going to pay to park then she hoped they would try and get their money’s worth by walking around the Square and visiting a few shops.
Both Town and County officials, as well as representatives from Dedham Square Circle, said it is too soon to determine if the fee has had an impact.All however noted that the parking problem is exacerbated by residents who live in the apartments on the corner of Eastern Ave. and High Street and park in the Keystone lot.
“The landlord advertises them saying, ‘Plenty of free parking,’” DelloIacono said.
The main library on Church Street has reported that court users have been using their lot all week, resulting in complaints from library patrons.Staff members have been arriving before 8:30 a.m. only to discover there are already four or five cars in their 12 space parking lot.Their request to have police ticket cars has gone unanswered, Director Pat Lambert said.
At the lot this afternoon there was a variety of opinions.Most seemed to be upset by the new fee.
“I know we are in a fiscal crisis, but isn’t that what we pay taxes for,” asked Attorney Walter Korzeniowski.“This is a courthouse.I don’t think it is appropriate to charge people in a publicly owned lot when they are trying to get justice.”
Not everyone was of that opinion.Another attorney who declined to give his name but said he lived in NorfolkCounty said he thought it was about time they started charging.
“The County needs the money,” he said.“What is it, $5?Let’s be honest, we are just going to expense it.”
The employee who was collecting the fees today said he was in favor of it if he could help save County jobs.He said there were a few complaints and some people drive away to find alternative parking spots, but most simply paid.He, too, asked that his name not be used.
DelloIacono suggested that the merchants and the County could find a way to work together, possibly by putting ads or coupons on the parking passes.He also suggested that the county sell Dedham Square employees monthly parking passes at reduced rates.
Square Circle, Town, and County officials will regroup in two months to assess the impact that the fee has made.O’Brien promised that he would discontinue with the parking fee if it turned out to have a detrimental effect on merchants.
“The bottom line is that if we determine Dedham Square is hurting, we will end this program immediately,” O’Brien said.
