Barnstable's Route 132 park and ride won't see more parking spots yet. What we know.

Cape Cod planners have temporarily put the brakes on a $4 million planned expansion of the Route 132 Barnstable Park and Ride lot because money to pay for the work remains uncertain due to design delays.

The Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization on March 25 amended its Fiscal Year 2024-2028 Transportation Improvement Plan, removing the project for the time being. Finding a spot in the 365-space lot is challenging, especially during tourist season. The lot is used by carpoolers and commuters using the bus.

“Ultimately, it's taking a little bit longer to design, it’s going to be quite a complex project when it's completed, and the timing for the design is not lining up with the funding availability,” said Steven Tupper, deputy director of the Cape Cod Commission.

Tupper is confident the expansion will go through once the design is fleshed out.

The state Department of Transportation, which is overseeing design work, plans to seek other sources of money once the initial phase is completed.

“There are certainly a number of different funding opportunities that the project will qualify for, but that's yet to be determined at this point,” Tupper said. “They're continuing to work through the design process on the project, getting a little more specific about the design elements and the cost, and then they’ll figure out the funding piece.”

An estimate of when designs might be completed has not yet been determined, Tupper said.

Where is the park and ride?

The state Department of Transportation owns and maintains the Route 132 Park and Ride, more directly off Route 6 behind the gas station on Iyannough Road in Barnstable.

Several commuter services use the lot as a rendezvous point to pick up and drop off passengers on their way to, or coming from, the airport or Greater Boston. Peter Pan and Plymouth & Brockton bus lines, as well as the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority use the park and ride.

Parking spaces lacking

Creating more parking spaces is the main priority of the expansion, a point central to many commuters’ concerns.

“I just think it’s not big enough, it needs more spaces,” said David Graham, a Dennis resident who was waiting to take a bus to Boston Logan Airport on Tuesday. “There's plenty of room when it's not peak season, there's tons of spots, but during peak season, this place gets insane.”

More spaces are critical, Tupper said. The lot could also use a general sprucing up, he said.

“From an aesthetics perspective, just thinking about the experience of a commuter, waiting in the bus stop, or a visitor coming in to visit the Cape, I think there could be some improvements,” Tupper said.

Expanding the lot has its challenges, including topography

Some challenges associated with the project and its design include the lot’s shape and size.

“It's not as simple as some other park and ride projects,” Tupper said. “There's some complexity, given abutting properties, given the topography and given the added improvements with drainage and other changes.”

Tupper said the project is also made more challenging due to the earth-moving required. He said the backslide of the parking lot drops off “substantially,” and a hill the design team is looking into may also need to be cut into.

Another commuter, Maya Sousa of Dorchester, said she uses the lot as a rendezvous point when she takes the bus from Boston to visit her family on the Cape. She said although she doesn’t drive, the limited amount of parking spaces makes the lot difficult to use — especially in the summer.

“I don’t drive, but if I did, I would be worried about finding a spot,” Sousa said. “In the summer it gets so busy, and I’ve seen people waiting to find parking for long periods of time.”

Public comments on the amendment to remove the expansion for this fiscal year will be accepted through April 15, Tupper said, and should be submitted to the Cape Cod Commission via email or hardcopy.

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on courts, transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter:@jd__walker.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Barnstable park and ride expansion tabled due to design delays