Greater Boston has always been a tough area to get around, but it could get even worse for drivers.
Many communities are making changes to their roadways, and in the process, reducing the number of parking spaces or removing lanes for vehicular traffic.
Instead, they’re adding lanes exclusively for bikes and busses.
“It’s devastating, I have to be honest,” said Susan Healy, owner of HC Studio in Brookline Village, a hair salon she has run for 25 years.
Her business has survived a couple of recessions and a worldwide pandemic.
Now, a project to redo Washington Street, and reduce the number of parking spaces, has this small business owner nervous about her future.
“There’s right now 200 and they’re slated to remove 66,” said Healy, who represents small business owners on the town’s Design Review Committee. “What makes Brookline Village, Coolidge Corner,and Washington Square so dynamic are the small businesses. How long is the consumer going to drive around until they say you know what, I love them, but I got to find somebody else?”
Brookline isn’t alone.
Newton, Needham, and West Roxbury have all gone on so-called “Road Diets”, reducing the number of lanes for cars and adding space for wider sidewalks and bike lanes.
“A lot of car owners get very defensive and feel like space is being taken away from them,” said Christian MilNeil, editor of Streetsblog Mass.
That frustration looks like it will be part of this year’s mayoral race in Boston.
Newly minted candidate Josh Kraft made transportation a priority in his announcement.
“We will offer a common sense transportation plan to deal with the congestion clogging our streets, and that starts with an immediate pause for all new bike lane construction.”
“If we want to solve our traffic problems and solve the climate problem, we really need to reduce the number of cars in places like Boston and Somerville and Cambridge,” said MilNeil.
Somerville and Cambridge have both made another big change that affects cars.
Cambridge Vice-Mayor Marc McGovern said the city has waived parking minimums for new construction.
That means new buildings go up with no dedicated parking spaces.
“Car ownership in Cambridge has declined pretty consistently over the last 10 years,” explained McGovern.
He doesn’t believe this policy penalizes drivers and puts the focus on much-needed affordable housing.
“What we were doing is we were requiring developers to put in parking, which is extremely expensive and takes up space, right? So, you have fewer housing units because you had to have space for parking, and a lot of those parking spaces were going unused.”
Greg Vasil, CEO and Executive Director of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board supports the elimination of parking mandates for new construction.
“I think it’s not that cars aren’t welcome. It’s that we can’t afford the land cost because if you factor that into the development costs, no one will be able to build. It will make the housing crisis even worse.”
Vasil believes some policy changes around cars go too far and can hurt the regional economy.
“The bike lanes, getting rid of commercial spaces, that’s been a huge impediment to business.”
Back in Brookline, Susan Healy says the need for a balanced approach is “huge”.
Healy feels like town leaders are hearing her concerns, but still worries about the final outcome.
“If we are removing parking without replacing it and taking two-lane roads to one lane to try and remove cars, I don’t see that to be a solution.”
The city of Boston currently has no parking minimum requirements for new construction for affordable housing.
City officials are currently considering expanding it to include all new housing construction like they do in Somerville and Cambridge.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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