Parking rates at the Boston Common Garage will jump by as much as $6 a day this summer after a traffic consultant told the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority the city's low prices and high demand for spaces justifies the hike.
"There is a danger in not raising your rates enough," said Andy Hill of Desman Associates, claiming the popular garage could become "an attractive nuisance" overflowing with drivers scrambling for cheap spaces each day. He said the garage had to close 110 times in the last half of 2013 because it was full.
Parking on weekdays for less than an hour will increase from $10 to $12, effective this July. Rates will rise from $14 to $18 for 1-2 hours on weekdays; $18 to $24 for 2-3 hours; $23 to $28 for 3-10 hours; and $28 to $32 for 10-24 hours. Monthly reserved parking will soar by $300 to a price tag of $6,000 a year.
"While this raises the rates, it raises it to a level that's still 14 percent below the market in our district," said MCCA Executive Director James Rooney.
The increase will raise between $1.8 and $2.5 million for the MCCA, which is proposing a $1.1 billion expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. But Rooney told the Herald the money will go toward its operating budget and won't be used for a proposed expansion.
The MCCA Board of Directors unanimously passed the rate hike yesterday, even though a few voiced concerns. Board member Jack Hart, the former South Boston state senator, said the public garage rates should remain affordable, especially as thousands of spaces disappear through the development of areas such as the Seaport.
"If you wanted, you could charge as much money as you wanted to," said Hart. "But I think we have a public responsibility."
Hill, the consultant, said that because of development and demand, 9,393 parking spaces are needed in downtown Boston.
For years, the Menino administration and the Boston Redevelopment Authority had replaced parking spaces with bike lanes and tiny street parks and slashed the required number of parking spaces developers had to provide for big projects.
The rate hike came two hours into the MCCA's monthly meeting yesterday and wasn't specifically listed on the board's agenda.
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