<p>Tisbury took another step Tuesday toward becoming the first town on Martha’s Vineyard with metered parking.</p>
Tisbury took another step Tuesday toward becoming the first town on Martha’s Vineyard with metered parking.
“We’re very much in support of purchasing parking meters for the former fire station lot,” police chief Mark Saloio told selectmen at their first regular meeting of the new year.
The town has been leasing out annual parking spaces at the property on Beach Road since 2013, the year the old fire station was demolished.
“There has been interest for several years in making that accessible to the public,” said Cheryl Doble, who serves on a town parking task force with Chief Saloio.
According to the task force, the lot could accommodate at least 24 and possibly up to 30 metered spots.
The time limits could be programmed with the seasons, Ms. Doble said.
The task force is considering a summer rate of $2 an hour and a four-hour time limit between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., with evening parking free and overnight parking prohibited.
“In the off-season those rates could change and the use and timing could change,” Ms. Doble said. “You might be able to allow overnight parking for people who are going off on the ferry.”
Mr. Saloio said from a parking enforcement standpoint, he prefers meters over kiosks or mobile applications.
“It is so simple, but effective,” he said. “A blinking red light, you know that somebody’s overparked. A blinking green light, you know that they’re not overparked.”
The task force is proposing that town meters accept credit cards or debit cards only, Mr. Saloio said.
The meters cost about $1,000 each, said selectman Jeff Kristal, who also sits on the task force.
“According to the one firm that we spoke with, these are used in a lot of seaside areas of New Hampshire and they actually blew their [revenue] estimates out,” Mr. Kristal said.
In addition to providing the town with income, the meters would ease traffic from drivers seeking parking on Water street, and encourage more people to visit Vineyard Haven, Ms. Doble said.
“You have turnover. People aren’t there all day. You have a flow and an availability,” she said.
Some landscaping would be added along the lot’s Beach Road and Veterans Memorial Park perimeters, Ms. Doble said.
Selectmen agreed to place the metering on an upcoming agenda.

Comments
How exactly will this
DownislanderHow exactly will this encourage people to come to VH? I already avoid VH like the plague because of the parking nazis. Tire touching the line? Ticket. Moved my car from one spot to another. Ticket (saw the chalk mark from the prior spot). Parking meters? Theyre always talking about “charm” and “island character”. Nothing says charm like blinking lights and $2 an hour parking.
I totally agree. One more
Island Girl V.H.I totally agree. One more reason why people will stay away from V.H.
Instead of multiple meters at
Dana Nunes VHInstead of multiple meters at $1000. a pop, might one ticketing station work, with individual tickets displayed on the dash? Definitely less of an eyesore and possibly less expensive?
The new short term rental tax
Eric Stark New York StateThe new short term rental tax is going to make many people think twice about coming to the island, now you want to add more to the cost. Bad idea.
I completely agree with you!
MeghanI completely agree with you! It is already expensive enough to visit the Island (parking, ferry, transportation, food, rental etc.) Tourists and residents should not have to pay to visit local stores.
$2 an hour for parking will
Dizzy in Tizzy$2 an hour for parking will not break the vacation bank for 99.9% of visitors. Especially for those bringing a car over. Be real. 25-30 new parking spots would be awesome.
Parking meters are so 1960's.
T Bone Oak BluffsParking meters are so 1960's. But I guess that's where Tisbury is stuck. Maybe venture off island and see how the parking apps work elsewhere in modern America? Download the app on your phone and pay to park online in seconds. But no, the town will go ahead and spend $25-30,000 on silly looking meters. And don't say most people/tourists/drivers don't have smart phones -- they do.
As of June 2019, a Pew
A. Bowdoin Van Riper Vineyard HavenAs of June 2019, a Pew Research Center Poll puts the percentage of Americans with smartphones at 81%. (https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/) Smartphone ownership skews young, though, so the percentage among likely parkers at the Beach Street lot is probably a shade under 80%.
Personally, I think $2 an
Meghan WTPersonally, I think $2 an hour, even in summer, is too expensive. In most cities, it is 1-1.50 per hour. I agree with Dana Nunes that there should be one ticketing station and not individual meters. The parking limitations need to be more specific and chalking is an antiquated system that leaves too much room for interpretation on the meter maids part. Cities all over New England use the kiosk systems. It is extremely easy. I think meters are an outdated and expensive means of monitoring parking. Additionally, many towns and cities use app/mobile parking pay options in addition to the kiosk. It is extremely easy! It allows you to pay through your phone/credit cards, it counts down the time and alerts you when your time is almost expired.
I think Tisbury needs to take a close look at whether meters are necessary and the potential effect it would have on the local economy in different seasons.
Parking meters ?? Hello 2020
gina Menemsha/ NYCParking meters ?? Hello 2020.. Even $$ grubbing NYC replaced those antiques a decade ago.. Seriously Tisbury ??? OK charge for a parking space if necessary but bad town message.. .
Tisbury. Finally moving into
TizzyTisbury. Finally moving into the 1960’s.
Here we go again .... the
Islander Vineyard HavenHere we go again .... the leaders in VH prove how completely out of touch they are with the modern world. Good to know that the vendor of the meters assured them how much revenue was earned by other " Seaside towns in NH "
Meters are ugly, and outdated
Islander Too TisburyMeters are ugly, and outdated technology.
I can't believe a planning board member is supporting this.
Cheryl, what happened to the plans to make the old Fire Station lot a "gateway" to Veterans Park, as suggested in the Visioning process?
What happened to the idea of using it to connect, via footpaths, the Main Street and SSA area to the park and the Museum?
What happened to the idea of discouraging motorists from coming into downtown Vineyard Haven?
Planning Board, wake up!! Advocating more cars in Vineyard Haven is not your job.
But if parking it must be, install a low-profile high-tech system that can be removed easily when common sense again prevails.
And, $2/hour is *too much.* I am sick of hearing "That is not much money for visitors to MV." Actually, it is. Falmouth: $1/hour. Salem: $1 --$1.50/hour. Boston: $1.25/hour (info from web).
Have you guys been off-Island lately? Visitors to MV know what standard off-Island rates are. Maybe the idea is to discourage drivers from entering VH by fleecing them.
I'm in favor of discouraging
Mack and the boys EdgartownI'm in favor of discouraging off-islanders from bringing their cars here, period. There are too many cars. But meters are super annoying to deal with.
Nothing says Welcome like a
KenOB Oak BluffsNothing says Welcome like a brand new Parking Meter!
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