REVERE, Mass. — The state’s plan to charge people to park along Revere Beach is changing.
Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo announced the city reached a deal Thursday with the Department of Recreation and Conservation to reduce the number of metered parking spaces along Revere Beach Boulevard from 1,075 down to around 800.
In place of some metered spots, the city will add a couple hundred residential-only parking spaces, Arrigo said. DCR did not respond to a request for comment.
“This became a little bit of a hot topic,” Mayor Arrigo said. “I know the residents obviously expressed some concern about this.”
DCR announced in October that it planned to add 100 parking meters along a three-mile stretch of Revere Beach Boulevard. Starting May 1, beachgoers will have to pay $1.25 an hour to park along the state-operated beach.
But residents were concerned summer visitors would park along side streets and gobble up spaces generally used by locals to avoid paying the meters.
“I think people are just going to start parking in the neighborhoods,” Revere Beach resident Jeff Swarz said.
The project is part of a statewide effort to raise revenue to pay for DCR’s “supporting staff, materials, and programs without putting additional strain on the Commonwealth’s overall budget,” the agency said in an Oct. 15 public hearing.
Former-Revere State Rep. RoseLee Vincent blasted because she said it didn’t benefit Revere Beach and the city enough.
“I really think it’s unfathomable and really unjust that the revenues that are going to be generated from the parking meters are not going to go into America’s First Public Beach,” Vincent said during the October hearing.
DCR said the new meters will prevent drivers from leaving cars parked for days, sometimes weeks, in the same spot. Arrigo said he’s asking DCR to delay the enforcement of the parking meters so that the city can catch up with the changes.
“I’m happy. We got a solution and a result that I think will work for our residents,” Arrigo said.
Here’s the compromise, according to a statement released by Mayor Arrigo’s Office:
- “Under the agreement reached today, no meters will be installed on the west side of Revere Beach Boulevard from Revere Street to Carey Circle, and instead nearly 200, 24/7 resident-only parking spaces will be implemented.
- “Additionally, all of Ocean Avenue will be designated as 24/7 resident-only parking in order to protect parking from residents from visitors seeking to avoid metered parking.
- “The City of Revere will also make changes to its existing City-run resident parking program and will implement seasonal 24/7 resident parking in neighborhoods abutting Revere Beach.”