0 Underwater Garages in Boston?

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Wil Catlin

We all agree, finding garage parking in Boston can be a challenge. What about parking under the Charles River or under the Fort Point Channel?

Image Credit: Curbed

In a recent article the Boston Globe notes, “in a city like Boston, where the most parking-starved areas are surrounded by water, the payoff could be significant: helping to reduce the pollution and traffic caused by drivers circling the block hunting for spot, making parking more affordable, and freeing up more street-level space for other uses.”

The Globe article also includes the following comment of the feasibility of such an undertaking:

“It’s definitely very possible,” said Arthur G. Stadig, vice president of Walker Parking Consultants, who said a client of his Boston firm — whom he declined to identify — recently toyed with the idea of extending part of a planned parking garage into the harbor…It’s just a matter of is there that right combination of a development that’s close to the water, needs the parking, and is feasible from all different aspects,” including cost and securing regulatory approvals.”

You can read the full article on the Globe’s website.

0 Parking App Gains Traction in Boston

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Parking in Boston: we need and it and it can be hard to find and expensive. Spot Park puts private parking space owners in touch with those looking to rent them and charges a 15% fee. Boston has been the pilot city and having just raised under $1M Spot Park will be expanding to 7 other U.S. cities.

Founder and CEO Braden Golub notes in the Boston Business Journal that Spot Park “‘now has 14,000 Boston users…this is a perfect test market for us, because Boston is notoriously difficult to find parking in,’ Golub said in an interview. ‘We think if we can make it work here, we can make it work in other cities’…Through its mobile app, the company allows drivers to book and pay for hundreds of Boston-area parking spots available from homeowners and apartment-renters. Spot Park takes a 15 percent cut off of every transaction.”

You can read the full article on the BBJ, here.

0 Greenway Condos to Fill Existing Parking Lot

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

Your favorite parking lot is going the way of residential condo’s on the Greenway. Parking in the city continues to cost more and there are fewer available options. Back Bay’s monthly rate can range from $350 to $500, while the Financial District can be from $400 to $525.

From Banker & Tradesman:

“City officials have approved a $45 million condo project that will be built on a parking lot overlooking the Rose Kennedy Greenway…The 67,000-square-foot, 12-story building at 55 India St. will contain 44 one- to three-bedroom condos and 4,000 square feet of commercial space. The site consists of three parcels, two of which are privately owned and one acquired from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.”

0 Boston Parking: A Growing Challenge for Hub Commuters

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

How long does it take for you to find a parking space or have you given up. My father would say, as he combed the Financial District for the coveted spot, you have to believe. Believe that there is a spot for you. Well, for those that don’t follow that model, they have found that getting that spot is nearly unattainable. I rely on the T and Uber, during prime time and use the believe method for early morning meetings.

A recent Boston Globe article indicates that the daily plight for Boston commuters is only worsening. “Boston’s current parking crunch is the product of conflicting ambitions. City planners placed parking caps on downtown and South Boston years ago, hoping to reduce pollution and encourage the use of public transportation, while mayors and developers pressed for business and residential expansion…James Gillooly, interim commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department, estimates about 3,000 spaces have been eliminated in the Seaport area over the past several years, as offices, condos and hotels have replaced open lots…’As this neighborhood grows,’ said Gillooly, “there will be spaces that used to be used by people in the financial district, who now have to come up with a new strategy of how to come and go from work.’’

More information on Boston’s transforming parking landscape is posted on The Boston Globe’s website.

0 Boston Mayor Strongly Opposes Parking App

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Baltimore Sun

Selling information in some cities is OK, while in others, it’s frowned upon or outlawed. What would you pay to know that a parking space would be waiting in the Financial District? Would you post that information to an app for a couple of bucks? Haystack hopes that you care to know in a number of cities across the country.

The opportunistic parking app, however, was not well-received in Boston by the city’s new Mayor. The Boston Globe described the strong response by city officials:

“Boston officials have escalated their rhetoric opposing a new mobile app that lets drivers trade public parking spaces for cash, but they are not doing anything to stop the service…Mayor Martin J. Walsh accused Haystack, the Baltimore startup that makes an app with the same name, of artificially inflating parking prices and giving some drivers an unfair advantage over others…the city’s Transportation Department ‘will take appropriate measures to prohibit any such app'”

0 Seaport Parking Transforms with Neighborhood

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Wil Catlin

A frequent question I get is, where can I park? Well that’s simple, but usually involves a price higher than somebody wants to pay. On a tour of 320 Congress Street this week, we referred to the ever-disappearing mud lot parking spaces of the Seaport; that number has reduced by 1,200 spaces over the last two years while the garages have only given back 990 spaces. What gives? Well, in short, the mud lots over the last twenty years were the cheap alternative for the high-priced Financial District garages. Now that the Seaport is a growing Class A office market commuters should reply on public transportation, after all, South Station is only a short walk.

The Boston Globe has posted an infographic that provides a visible breakdown of the changes to parking spaces in the Seaport:

Credit: The Boston Globe