Traffic & Transit
Dedham Square Parking Meter Installation To Begin In June
MPS meters will replace older, coin-fed meters on Court and High streets, as well as the defunct parking pay stations around Dedham Square.
May 29, 2020
The new meters, manufactured and maintained by the company Municipal Parking Services (MPS), will not go live until around Labor Day, and the Town will issue only warnings for the first month the parking management system becomes active.
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“To address the needs of businesses suffering economic hardship because of the pandemic,” Town Manager Leon Goodwin explained, “Some meters may be deactivated to provide curbside takeout areas or other outdoor space needs.”
Several Town boards and departments are actively working on strategies to make more outdoor space available in commercial areas all around Dedham, Goodwin said.
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The MPS meters will replace the older, coin-fed meters on Court and High streets, as well as the defunct parking pay stations around Dedham Square. The new meters will help the Town measure on-street parking usage and aid in parking enforcement efforts.
Meters are not being installed in any of the Town’s off-street parking lots, and more than 200 free off-street parking spaces remain available in municipal lots at 22 Eastern Avenue, 351 East Street, and 420 Providence Highway.
Meters are not being installed at any spaces restricted to handicap parking. Individuals with handicap placards can also park at any meter at no charge. Commercial delivery trucks may also park short-term at the meters at no charge.
The MPS meters were scheduled to be installed last summer, but the company had to work through several technical and permitting challenges before work could begin. The Select Board discussed re-evaluating the parking strategy at a meeting earlier this month, but ultimately decided to move forward with this work after weighing the options.
The meter installation will be performed by local electrical and masonry subcontractors working for MPS. The project should take around eight weeks and be completed in August.
During the first week of June, MPS crews will begin working on streets around Norfolk County Superior Court. Installation will start on High Street north of Court Street, and on Court Street between High and Church streets.
Crews will work block-by-block through Dedham Square, under the oversight of the Dedham Public Works Department. MPS crews will set up work zones each morning and clean up the area at day’s end. Construction hours are restricted to weekdays, and crews cannot begin construction activities before 7 a.m.
The installation does require sawing of concrete, which will create dust and noise. The contractor and Town staff will work to minimize the disturbance. On a weekly basis, Town staff will strive to keep all Dedham residents and businesses appraised of the active construction areas to mitigate the disruption of commercial activity.
Construction will cross several driveways and alleyways in the area, and MPS crews will work with those tenants and property owners to minimize the amount of time each passage is obstructed. Comments and concerns should be addressed to Dedham Public Works Director Joe Flanagan, who can be reached at [email protected] or 781-751-9350.
The work will not impede vehicular traffic lanes, but construction crew equipment will use parking spaces at the construction sites. Work crews will practice social distancing and follow State and local guidelines to avoid transmission of COVID-19. Nonetheless, pedestrians may want to avoid the sidewalks where crews are actively working.
In the coming weeks, Town staff will communicate more information about improved parking management operations, such as meter hours, rates, payment methods, parking apps, special events and parking holidays.
This press release was produced by the Town of Dedham. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
