HANOVER — The costs of parking along South Main Street, monthly garage leases and seasonal parklets are all due to increase early next year.
In the biggest change approved by the Selectboard, the town’s parklet fee, allowing restaurants to take over spaces for outdoor seating, will go up by $825 per space. Restaurant owners wishing to provide outdoor seating may purchase four spots on South Main Street for a total of $4,800.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if next year I’m the only one,” Selectboard member Jarett Berke, who owns Lou’s Restaurant & Bakery, said at the Nov. 1 Selectboard meeting.
South Main Street from Wheelock Street to Lebanon Street, known as Parking Zone 7533 that encompasses about 43 parking spaces, will see an increase from the original rate of about $1.50 per hour to $2 an hour for the first three hours, then $5 an hour for hours four through eight. New fees could add up to a total of $31 for the entire day.
Previously, these spaces had a two-hour parking limit, requiring visitors to move to a new parking spot if they wished to stay longer or they’d be subject to a ticket.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a complaint that parking is too expensive in terms of the hourly rate,” said Lt. Christopher Swain, of the Hanover Police parking division. He added that the higher rate serves as a good compromise by offering all-day parking for visitors willing to pay more.
The general on-street rate will remain in effect downtown aside from Zone 7533, though an additional 12 spaces on South Main Street may be subject to the same update once new meters are installed, Swain confirmed Tuesday by phone.
A long-term lease in the parking garage, located on South Street, will also increase from $150 to $200 per month. A short-term lease, which is for a period of six months or less, will see no rate change from the monthly cost of $175.
As for the parklets, downtown businesses currently pay a $1,500 flat fee for the season, which translates to $375 per space. Now, the season will be cut down by a month to run from May through September and cost $1,200 per space. Two summers ago, the popular post-COVID program cost $250 per space.
The ordinance allows for a maximum of four spaces per location and specifies a program-wide maximum of 16 spaces. A four-space parklet would now cost $4,800 for those five warmer months per the adopted amendment.
“It doesn’t sound like a crazy number, but I understand others feel differently,” said Selectboard Chair Carey Callaghan.
Over the summer, the Selectboard asked police to review parking rates, with a focus on increasing garage usage and limiting all-day parking on the street, Town Manager Rob Houseman said at the start of a Nov. 2 public hearing on the matter.
Swain presented the proposed changes to the board and specified that they were looking at ways for users to have a variety of parking options downtown.
Feedback from some users indicated that two-hour spaces weren’t adequate, though there was also a need to turn over spaces for shorter stops, said Swain. Still, the average parking time is right around an hour on South Main Street.
“The perception that people were parking in those two areas all day, on average, it is not there,” said Swain.
The garage remains 60% utilized throughout day, but jumps 70-80% full, typically between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., he said. It has one-hour free parking, and Swain noted that they see up to 80 to 90 users taking advantage of it per day.
The matter of the parklet fees became the primary point of discussion, though member Berke recused himself as a parklet purchaser.
“They are prime spaces. We’ve gotten feedback on both sides of the parklets, good and bad from people,” said Swain.
This year, Lou’s and The Works Cafe established seating with the parklets. Murphy’s and Boloco have also used it in previous years.
The parklets came about during COVID-19, when people were not able to eat inside the restaurants, but Swain noted that the need for those spaces has grown, and a $1,500 flat fee just doesn’t cut it. The parklet season would also be cut by one month to exclude October, due to a lack of use once the temperature drops.
Selectboard member Jennie Chamberlain noted that other college towns tend to have slightly lower rates. She added that a 2024 survey indicated 70% of respondents wanted outdoor dining and asked about garnering feedback from business owners.
“I would hate to price people out, but I understand the rationale you presented,” said Chamberlain.
Over 90% of respondents in a downtown transportation survey said they walk there, Chamberlain also shared.
Swain noted that parklets, while widely used in peak restaurant hours, otherwise sit empty and remain unavailable for visitors in need of a parking space for months at a time.
“This is more than a 200% increase. That’s a pretty big jump,” Vice Chair Joanna Whitcomb said of the increase from the town’s current rate.
Berke, in a comment as a member of the public, said over 13,000 guests dined outdoors using the Lou’s parklet this year, adding that “nowhere near that many” cars would have used those four parking spaces.
“There’s a lot of value there for the culture of the town and just people wanting to sit outside and enjoy being outside,” said Berke.
Berke added that while the parklets produce revenue for his business, it’s not necessarily additional, considering that some indoor seating closes off with the kitchen being too busy to accommodate everyone.
In terms of the price itself, he deferred to the Selectboard to determine what’s reasonable for restaurant owners wishing to purchase a parklet.
“Having it be more expensive may create more of a choice for them, whether it’s worth it or not,” said Berke. “For me, even at $4,800 a year, it’s still worth it.”
The Selectboard unanimously approved these changes, with Berke abstaining, to go into effect on Jan. 11.
