City Proposing $1 Bump in Daily Commuter Rail Parking Lot Rate

Commuter rail riders who park at one of Melrose's three stations to head into Boston face a $1 per day increase in parking lot rates starting mid-March, under a proposal given an initial OK by the aldermen on Monday night.

The proposed daily parking rate increase from $2 to $3 would pay for three new pay-and-display units at the city's commuter rail station parking lots. Currently only the stop has a functioning parking pay machine.

Pay machines at and have been inoperable since last summer, Superintendent Bob Beshara said, resulting in an estimated $25,000-$30,000 in lost revenue for the city.

Chief Mike Lyle said that his department hasn't been issuing parking tickets at Wyoming and Cedar Park due to the inoperable machines.

"They were breaking down so much it was unfair to enforce any regulations down there," Lyle said.

Those machines are also old enough that the city has difficulty in repairing them, Beshara said. The new solar-powered machines would accept debit and credit cards, and give the city the option of using 'smart cards' purchased by commuters at the machine, which could potentially allow to commuters to make one-time payments for bi-weekly or monthly parking.

Beshara also said that parking fee revenues would pay for upkeep of all city parking lots, including those at the commuter rail stops, and that current revenues don't cover that cost.

"Most of the maintenance in the parking lots is from the general budget," he said. "They should be covered 100 percent from parking revenues, so all can be maintenanced."

Comparison to Neighboring Communities?

Rates at nearby commuter rail parking lots are $4 at the Reading and Wakefield stops, $5.50 at Malden Center and $2 at Greenwood, where Beshara said commuters must park along Main Street and walk a longer distance to the train platform. Parking at the Oak Grove Orange Line stop costs $5.50 and could increase that rate to $7 or $7.50.

Lyle said the city last approved a fee increase at the lots on June 20, 2002, when the daily rate increased from $1 to $2.

Beshara said the new machines, which have come down in cost considerably since the last time the city proposed buying them, also have less administrative costs than the current machines, as the city will no longer need to pay $600 a month for an armored car to collect and transport the payments.

Ward 2 Alderman Monica Medeiros noted that although the city will have to pay less for day-to-day operations of the machines, they're seeking an increase in rates.

"My problem here is we’re not really supposed to be in the business of raising revenue—perhaps providing service to people, but at cost, not as a for-profit business," Medeiros said. "I have a problem with arbitrarily raising fees just because our neighbors charge more ... before I would vote to increase the cost for parking, I’d like to see some kind of relationship and break down—how many cars we have there, how it breaks down, are we covering this or not."

Who's Parking in Melrose Lots?

Alderman at-Large Mary Beth McAteer Margolis surmised that Melrose's lower rates, in comparison to nearby communities, may attract non-Melrosians to park at Melrose's stations to hop on the commuter rail. Lyle responded that at the time of the last parking fee increase in 2002, 80 percent of those parking at Melrose's commuter rail stations were from outside communities.

Ward 5 Alderman Gail Infurna said that the high rate of non-Melrose residents parking in the lots is a tribute to Melrose having three commuter rail stations.

"I think Melrosians are able to walk to these stations—that’s the beauty of having three stations," Infurna said. "So I’m not sure if we’re really hitting Melrosians. Certainly the hot top, painting for marking in the lots, that has gone up in price in 10 years. I think we need to keep up with that."

Currently parking fees are only in effect from 6 a.m. until noon each day. Ward 7 Alderman Bill Forbes asked if the city could capitalize on people heading in for sports games in Boston or other events at night to increase revenue. Beshara said that could be implemented, but the decision remains with the Board of Aldermen.

The aldermen's Appropriations Committee, comprised of the full board, unanimously recommended the purchase of the new machines and voted 10-1, with Medeiros voting no, on the fee increase. The proposal will go before the full board at its next meeting.