Parking downtown was the main focus of a public workshop at the Lynn Museum, and more than 50 residents, stakeholders, and elected officials attended to weigh in on parking strategies and solutions for an improved parking system.

Two representatives from Stantec consulting led the workshop to gather community input and outline the current state of downtown parking.

Stantec Transportation Planners Whitney Burdge and Michael Clark gave presentations, but the main purpose of the event was to hear from the people of Lynn. The city is developing a Downtown Lynn Parking Strategy. After their presentations, the floor was open for people to provide feedback, walk around, and view different boards that highlighted the city’s vision regarding the parking in the downtown area.

Burdge said Lynn aims to create a transportation network and parking system that maintains the vitality the city needs, and its goal is to create a plan for a “vibrant and walkable and welcoming downtown for people who travel here by all modes.”

Various improvements were discussed, including replacing old parking meters, the new resident parking program implemented last month, and new signage, to name a few.

“Lynn wants to continue thriving, developing, growing, and evolving, and to do that, there’s a lot of need to attract and incentivize the right kind of developments,” Burdge said. “Tonight, we’re so excited because this is our first chance to meet with the public and hear from you.”

Burdge and her consulting team developed a series of parking study goals that she and Clark reviewed at the workshop. Residents are being asked to fill out a survey to suggest parking improvements. The surveys will be reviewed and finalized, and then two more workshops will be held before a final plan is put together.

Clark reviewed data during the workshop. There are 7,626 parking spaces downtown, with 2,446 on-street spaces and 5,180 off-street spaces. Most off-street spaces, or about 4,000, are private spots reserved for tenants.

“When we’re talking about regulations, we want to talk about how long am I allowed to park in certain locations, do I have to move my car after 15 minutes, can I leave my car there for an hour and a half, can I leave my car there for four or five days, which may not be in the city’s interest to have you do but maybe that’s a possibility,” Clark said.

The needs of pedestrians and bicyclists were brought up to ensure the parking system is accessible for all. The studies focus on the main downtown area and the central business district. Another factor discussed is whether people have to pay for parking.

This workshop was a great opportunity for residents to voice their concerns.

Damon Harrison, 67, has lived downtown for more than 30 years. One of his concerns deals with street cleaning.

“I live right across the street. I came out here one day, and I forgot about it. They towed my car and ticketed me. It cost me $250 just because I forgot that they were going to clean the streets. I know debris needs to be picked up, but mostly, it’s only urban area people who bear the brunt,” Harrison said.

Roger Garcia owns April’s Restaurant on Buffum Street. He said he is tired of calling the parking department. Garcia also said food delivery drivers visiting his restaurant can’t even find a spot to park.

“My business is actually suffering because we have no parking. Back in the days, I used to have ten spaces,” Garcia said. “People are going to move in, they’re going to have cars, they’re going to be looking for a place to park.”

Hood Elementary Teacher Laura Guttmann spoke about street sweeping.

“It’s really hard with the street sweeping to find parking, and then if you do make a mistake and accidentally park on the wrong side of the road, it’s a $50 ticket, you get towed, it’s very expensive,” Guttmann said. “I’m really glad that everyone is here tonight, and they’re doing the research to try to solve this problem.”

Karen Johnson lives ten minutes from downtown and said the signage for parking is often tricky.

“Can I park there, or am I going to get towed? Let’s flip a coin,” Johnson said.

Principal Planner Aaron Clausen said community input “really helps us get the detailed, qualitative information on what’s going on, in this case, the parking dynamic downtown.”