A request from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation (DCR) to reactivate the parking meters installed last year on segments of Memorial Drive near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and along Cambridge Parkway

City of Cambridge, On-Street Parking Fee Collection Proposal

DCR is seeking approval from the City of Cambridge to resume year-round on-street parking fee collection on Memorial Drive and Cambridge Parkway. (Collection was suspended on October 1, 2021.)

Proposal Summary

If approved, parking fee collection and enforcement operations would resume on Memorial Drive and Cambridge Parkway. The operation would be essentially the same as it was from May 1 through October 1, 2021, with 1 minor change on Cambridge Parkway, as noted below**.

Fee collection for all Cambridge on-street meters would be Monday through Saturday, excluding Holidays, with an hourly parking rate of $1.25/hour.

Memorial Drive would charge a parking fee from 8AM-8PM daily. Spaces would have no maximum time limit EXCEPT for the small section immediately west of the main entrance to MIT’s Killian Court, which is designated 1 Hour Limit.

Cambridge Parkway would charge a fee from 8AM-6PM daily**. ➢ **Prior to October 1, all DCR on-street meters were active 8AM-8PM. The change to an 8AM-6PM operation on Cambridge Parkway would mirror the operational hours of nearby First Street, and intersecting streets from Linskey Way to Thorndike Street. ➢ Note: In June, 2021, 2 parking spaces in the vicinity of Poorman’s Landing were designated as 30-Minute Parking, 8AM-8PM, at the request of the Friends of Poorman’s Landing. These spaces would remain as-is, providing free short-term parking for boaters needing to load/unload.

Options for vehicle operators:

Pay with credit card or quarters at multi-space parking meters (IPS MS-1 pay stations) Pay with Passport or ParkBoston mobile payment app. (Additional payment apps could be added in the future.)

Notes:

There is a 1-hour ($1.25) minimum fee if paying by credit card, whether by mobile app or at a kiosk; or 12-minute ($.25) minimum, if paying with quarters. For drivers arriving to their parking space before 8AM, mobile app and meters will accept payment starting at 7am (same day). No Parking is allowed during declared snow emergencies, or during street sweeping operations. (Parking meters and mobile apps will reinforce the parking restriction message, and will not accept payment during parking bans.) DCR Park Rangers, with support from MA State Police, are responsible for meter parking enforcement.