Parking changes ahead for Beverly waterfront
Jul. 4—BEVERLY — The city is considering a series of changes to parking near the harbor in anticipation of the opening of a new restaurant on the waterfront.
The biggest changes would include installing kiosks in two public parking lots where parking is now free and charging $1 an hour to park on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 4 to 8 p.m.
Mayor Mike Cahill said charging for those lots is intended to increase turnover and open up spaces during what will be the busiest times for the area.
"That is where the greatest demand is and it will increase when the harborfront restaurant opens," Cahill said at a City Council meeting on Wednesday night at City Hall.
The new restaurant, Mission Boathouse, is under construction at 1 Water St. at the foot of the Beverly-Salem bridge. It was scheduled to open this summer but has been delayed due to problems getting construction materials, restaurant owner Marty Bloom said. Bloom said the restaurant now will open in "early fall."
It will be the city's first waterfront restaurant and, with 350 seats, has caused concern about where people will park in the congested waterfront area, where commercial and recreational boaters will compete for spots with restaurant goers.
Cahill said many commercial fishermen go out early in the morning and are back by 4 p.m., the time when restaurant customers are more likely to start arriving. But Isabelle Shaw, who runs a commercial fishing boat out of Beverly, told city councilors that boats can come back at any time. She noted she had arrived back at the dock at 8 p.m. the day before.
"Sometimes we don't come back for 24 hours," Shaw said. "If we're selling in Gloucester, we might pull back in at midnight. This is truly a big problem."
Shaw said she appreciated a suggestion by Ward 2 Councilor Estelle Rand that commercial fishermen be given a parking pass for the area. Therese Sauvageau, who has been lobstering out of the Beverly waterfront for decades, agreed.
"I'm concerned about the parking for the fishermen," Sauvageau told councilors. "I think we should have permits to park there at least."
Front Street resident Linda Cross said residents are concerned that time limits in parking lots will cause boaters to "spill over into our neighborhood."
"We have concerns obviously about the restaurant also," she said.
Cahill said city officials will meet with commercial fishermen to discuss their parking needs further.
"I don't know if the right answer for the commercial fishing community is a pass or not," he said. "It has a downside in terms of tying up spots during times we want them to turn over."
The two parking lots where the city would install kiosks and start charging a fee are the lot next to the harbormaster's building and the so-called Creamery lot across the street next to the Anchor Pub & Grille.
The changes on the waterfront were part of a larger overhaul of parking regulations that Cahill submitted to the City Council for approval as an ordinance change. Others included reducing the number of hours that non-residents can park on the side streets between Cabot and Rantoul streets from four hours to two hours, as well as changes to on-street parking around the entryway into Beverly Commons, the conservation area off Greenwood Avenue in Beverly Farms that has become more popular during the pandemic.
"Folks have discovered one of the great jewels of our city in Beverly Commons over the last couple of years," Ward 6 Councilor Matt St. Hilaire said.
The City Council voted to send the proposed changes to the Beverly Parking & Traffic Commission for review before the council takes a vote.
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
