Feeding the Meter: Public Parking Usage in Worcester

PARKING, is a difficult issue in many cities. Plentiful parking is necessary where the personal automobile is the dominant mode of transportation; and even if other modes predominate, some amount of parking is still necessary. No matter how much parking a city might have, it can still be a charged political issue. In many cities, including in Worcester, the municipal government provides some public off-street parking, creates the rules for on-street parking, and governs the creation of parking in new and existing developments. This report, Part 1 of a two-part Bureau series on parking, dives into the public data from city-owned garages and surface lots, as well as data on on-street parking use. Feeding the Meter finds that parking in city facilities has been strong since a 2021 downturn, but that some garages are under-performing. In addition, since the City adopted a Department of Transportation and Mobility and switched on-street parking to kiosks and a mobile app, it has seen more people using the mobile app year over year.