MEMORANDUM

DATE       April 27, 2011

TO           Transportation Planning and Programming Committee

FROM      Ariel Godwin, CMP Manager, MPO Staff

RE            Inventory of Park-and-Ride Lots at MBTA Facilities

The purpose of this memo is to present the results of performance monitoring of park-and-ride lots at Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) facilities.

Between January 2009 and August 2010, Boston Region MPO staff inventoried MBTA, private, and town-owned parking lots at 146 locations: 114 commuter rail stations, 28 rapid transit stations, 3 ferry terminals, and 1 express bus origin location. The main body of this memo presents selected results, with analysis. A comprehensive table of the results for parking utilization at all of the parking lots is in Appendix A. Information about parking fees is also included in the appendices, along with a map that shows the locations of all the inventoried lots.

BACKGROUND

The Congestion Management Program (CMP) is an ongoing MPO program for collecting and gathering performance data about the region’s transportation systems. As part of the CMP, data are analyzed and used to provide planners and decision makers with tools to help prioritize transportation projects and program funds. For example, parking expansion projects can be monitored by identifying new or changing parking needs and analyzing trends by comparing results with previous inventories to determine where the most desire for additional parking lies, or where excess capacity exists. Data posted on the Web can also be used by the commuting public to make decisions about their own commutes based on information about the capacity and utilization of parking lots at MBTA facilities, including the time at which they fill.

Park-and-ride lots at MBTA stations were inventoried for the previous cycle of the CMP (which at that time was known as the Mobility Management System, or MMS) during the fall of 2005 and winter of 2006. Previous inventories had been conducted in 2000 and in the fall of 2002. The 2002 inventory included only park-and-ride lots located in the Boston Region MPO area and used data from the 2000 inventory for those lots that were located outside the MPO region.

DATA COLLECTION

Park-and-ride lots were inventoried during the morning peak period of a typical weekday between January 2009 and August 2010.1

For the purpose of the survey, MPO staff developed a survey form, which is shown in Appendix B. When completed, the form contains information about the parking lot’s ownership, parking cost and restrictions, number of parking spaces, number of occupied spaces, and at what time all the parking spaces became occupied (if this occurred before the end of the peak period). It also contains information about commuter amenities at the station, accessibility to the station, accessibility to the platform, and bicycle and pedestrian amenities at and around the station.

Surveyors were instructed to stay at each parking lot until it was full or until the end of the AM peak period, whichever occurred first. This varies by station. After the parking lot filled or after the last AM-peak-period train, the surveyor inventoried the parking lot and filled in all the questions on the survey form. A separate survey form was filled out for each parking lot, as some stations have more than one lot. In this way it is known at what time each individual parking lot filled.

All park-and-ride lots that are known to serve commuters on the MBTA system were inventoried (lots serving only commuters who use non-MBTA transportation were not surveyed). This includes all MBTA, private, and town-owned lots at all commuter rail, rapid transit, and commuter ferry stations and all express bus origin locations. The locations of these lots were ascertained from past inventories, information provided on the MBTA website (www.mbta.com), and anecdotal information provided by MBTA and CTPS staff.

Parking utilization was defined for this report as the percentage of public non-disability parking spaces used by the end of the MBTA-defined AM peak period. All of the parking spaces referred to in this memo are public non-disability spaces, unless otherwise indicated. Many stations have permit-only parking lots in addition to public lots. Permit parking lots are either municipally or privately owned, and their use is restricted to permit holders; in many cases, local residency is required in order to secure a permit. Because the focus of this memo is on the availability of parking to the general public at MBTA park-and-ride lots, permit-only and resident-only parking spaces are generally excluded from totals and utilization percentages for all modes of transit. However, permit-only and resident-only parking spaces were included in the survey, and this memo includes some discussion of the availability and utilization of these spaces.

The following two sections of this memo present the inventory results for parking utilization and amenities, respectively. They are followed by a comparison of the results with those for the 2000, 2002, and 2005–2006 inventories and by a summary of the conclusions that analysis of the 2009–2010 results has produced.

INVENTORY RESULTS: PARKING UTILIZATION

An analysis of inventory results indicated that a combined 58 percent of parking at all stations for all modes in the MBTA system was utilized on a typical weekday morning. The breakdown by type of service is 56 percent utilization for the commuter rail system, 61 percent utilization for the rapid transit system,2 93 percent utilization for express bus lots, and 69 percent utilization for commuter ferry lots.  As mentioned previously, Appendix A contains detailed information about each lot, including lot capacity, lot utilization rates, and parking fees.

Commuter Rail

Table 1 shows the percent of parking utilization by commuter rail line.

TABLE 1

Commuter Rail Parking Inventory and Percent of Parking Utilization

Fitchburg Line – At the 15 stations on the Fitchburg Line that provide parking, no lot filled during the AM peak period. There are a total of 1,543 parking spaces available for public use on the Fitchburg Line. Sixty-two percent of all parking spaces on this line were full. There are an additional 467 parking spaces on this line, all resident-only; 88 percent of them were used.

Haverhill Line – At the 12 stations on the Haverhill Line that have parking lots, no lot filled to capacity during the AM peak period. Sixty-one percent of the 1,832 parking spaces available for public use at the 12 stations were full. There are an additional 300 parking spaces, exclusively for residents of Reading, at Reading Station. Of those parking spaces, 84 percent were used by the end of the morning peak period. There are also 29 permit parking spaces at Bradford Station, 21 of which were occupied.

Lowell Line – Of the seven stations on the Lowell Line that have parking, Wedgemere was the only one whose lot filled during the AM peak period. A total of 3,162 parking spaces are available for public use on this line, and 82 percent of them were full. Of the 45 resident-only parking spaces at West Medford Station, 44 were in use during the AM peak period.

Newburyport/Rockport Line – Of the 16 stations on the Newburyport/Rockport Line that have parking lots, Ipswich was the only one whose lot filled to capacity during the AM peak period. There are 3,392 parking spaces available for public use on the Newburyport/Rockport Line, 40 percent of which were used.3 There are 174 parking spaces that require parking permits at Beverly Station, 76 percent of which were used.4 There are 121 permit parking spaces at Salem Station, 120 of which were used. There are an additional 16 parking spaces, all resident-only,5 at Swampscott Station. All of those parking spaces were full.

Fairmount Line – Readville6 and Fairmount are the only two stations on the Fairmount Line that have parking. Of the 389 parking spaces, 34 percent filled during the AM peak period. There are no permit-only parking spaces on this line.

Framingham/Worcester Line – At the 14 stations on the Framingham/Worcester Line that have parking, no lot filled entirely during the AM peak period. Of the 3,543 parking spaces on this line, 59 percent filled during the AM peak period. Sixty-eight percent of the 71 resident-only parking spaces at Natick Station were in use during the AM peak period. There are an additional 68 permit parking spaces at Framingham Station, 44 percent of which were full.

Franklin Line – Of the 11 stations on the Franklin Line, Endicott was the only one whose parking lot filled completely during the AM peak period. There are 3,589 parking spaces on the Franklin Line that are available for public use, 60 percent of which filled during the AM peak period.7 There are an additional 45 permit parking spaces at Franklin Station, 36 of which were full.

Greenbush Line – At the seven stations on the Greenbush Line that have parking, no lot filled during the AM peak period. There are 2,662 parking spaces available for public use, 37 percent of which filled during the AM peak period.

Kingston/Plymouth Line – At the seven stations on the Kingston/Plymouth Line that have parking, no lot filled during the AM peak period. There are 3,127 parking spaces available on this line, 51 percent of which filled during the AM peak period. There are an additional 175 permit parking spaces at Kingston Station; 81 percent of these spaces were full. There is no AM-peak-period train service at Plymouth Station; all of the 96 parking spaces there were empty.

Middleborough/Lakeville Line – At the six stations on the Middleborough/Lakeville Line that have parking, no lot filled during the AM peak period. There are 2,924 parking spaces available for public use; 43 percent filled during the AM peak period.

Needham Line – None of the eight station parking lots filled during the AM peak period. There are 1,122 parking spaces available for public use; 53 percent filled during the AM peak period.

Providence/Stoughton Line – At the 10 stations on the Providence/Stoughton Line that have parking, no lot filled completely during the AM peak period. There are 6,561 parking spaces available for public use on the Providence/Stoughton Line, 61 percent of which filled during the AM peak period. There are an additional 1,126 parking spaces, all resident-only parking; 80 percent were in use during the AM peak period.

Rapid Transit

Table 2 shows the percent of parking utilization by rapid transit line.

TABLE 2

Rapid Transit Parking Inventory and Percent Utilization

Blue Line – The Blue Line has six stations with parking. No lots filled during the AM peak period. Fifty-five percent of the 3,739 public parking spaces were used by the end of the AM peak period.8 At Wonderland Station, 39 spaces are for permit holders only; 11 of these were occupied.

Green Line – None of the six parking lots at stations on the Green Line was observed to be full during the AM peak period. Forty-four percent of the 1,960 parking spaces on the Green Line were in use.

Orange Line – Six stations on the Orange Line have parking lots. Parking was not filled to capacity at any of these stations during the AM peak period. There are 4,469 parking spaces on this line, 66 percent of which were used. In addition, there are 39 permit parking spaces at Green Street Station, 24 of which were used.

Red Line and Mattapan High-Speed Line – Ten stations on the Red Line and Mattapan High-Speed Line have parking lots. Parking was not filled to capacity at any of these stations during the AM peak period. Of the 8,926 parking spaces available for public use, 64 percent filled.

Commuter Ferry

Quincy/Fore River, Hingham, and Hull are the three commuter ferry terminals with parking lots. Quincy/Fore River has 350 parking spaces, only 17 percent of which were in use during the AM peak period. This parking lot is also available for overnight parking for Logan Airport and Harbor Island users. The parking rates are different for day and overnight users. Seventy-eight percent of the 1,986 parking spaces at the Hingham ferry terminal were in use during the morning peak period. There are 240 parking spaces at the Hull ferry terminal, 67 percent of which were in use.

Express Bus

The express bus parking lot in Woburn was surveyed. The Woburn lot has 75 spaces, 70 of which filled during the AM peak period. The Watertown lot was not surveyed for this inventory but had been surveyed in 2005. At that time the lot had 194 spaces, 79 percent of which were full by the end of the AM peak period.

Regional Collector Parking Garages and Lots

There are several collector parking garages and lots throughout the MBTA system that are located strategically so as to attract a large number of users from multiple origin communities. These facilities are located off of state or interstate highways or at major roadway interchanges and generally have a capacity of greater than 500 spaces. Examples include the facilities at Alewife and Quincy Adams stations, which have ramps from Route 2 and Route 3, respectively. Other stations with such facilities include Riverside and Route 128, which are located directly off Route 128/I-95, and Anderson/Woburn Regional Transportation Center (RTC), which is located directly off I-93.

These parking facilities are significant because their convenience and size serve many users, and they supply more than 50 percent of all of the parking spaces available at MBTA transportation facilities, including express bus lots and commuter ferry terminals. Table 3 lists these facilities, the number of parking spaces at each, the percent of  daily utilization, and the major roadway facilities they serve.

TABLE 3

Regional Collector Parking Garages and Lots

Newburyport and Lynn have the lowest percent utilization of all of these parking garages and lots. During a typical morning peak period, 18% of the spaces at Newburyport are used and 23% of the spaces at Lynn. The utilization rate at Lynn is probably low because of its proximity to Wonderland Station. Wonderland has abundant parking and provides rapid transit service with a higher frequency and a lesser cost than the commuter rail service at Lynn.

In the 2005–2006 inventory, Anderson RTC was one of the most underutilized regional collector lots, with only 25% of parking spaces used during the morning peak period.9 To further increase the attractiveness of Anderson RTC to users, the MBTA modified its train schedule for Anderson RTC to increase AM and PM peak period train frequencies. In the current inventory, 85% of parking spaces at Anderson RTC were occupied during the morning peak period.

Table 3 does not include disability parking. The totals also omit 937 permit-only parking spaces: 602 at Mansfield, 175 at Kingston, 121 at Salem, and 39 at Wonderland. Overall, 75% of these permit-only spaces were used during the morning peak period. See the parking utilization results above for further details on the use of permit-only parking. 

Demand for Parking

Although in the MBTA system as a whole a significant proportion of total parking capacity is not being used, parking utilization rates vary greatly among stations. In the 2009–2010 inventory, at only 23 percent of stations did the lots fill to 85 percent or more of their capacity, and the lots at 31 percent of stations were less than half full. Of the 34 lots that filled to 85 percent or more of capacity, 29 were smaller lots (with 250 spaces or fewer); by contrast, larger lots (with over 1,000 spaces) were only 61 percent full on average. Figure 1 shows the relationship between lot utilization and lot capacity.

With a few exceptions, utilization at the lots at the commuter rail stations farthest from downtown Boston, at or near the ends of the commuter rail lines, was not close to capacity. More stations that are the termini of rapid transit lines have utilization close to capacity (such as Oak Grove, Forest Hills, and Braintree). The map in Appendix A.5 shows park-and-ride lot utilization rates for the entire system.

INVENTORY RESULTS: AMENITIES

The tables in Appendix C summarize the amenities located at MBTA stations with parking lots. Information pertaining to accessible platforms and ramps, along with the presence of benches, bicycle racks, and shelters, was collected as part of this inventory.

Accessibility

Of the 114 of the commuter rail inventoried, 82 have fully raised, or “mini-high,” accessible platforms. All the stations included in this inventory on the Middleborough/Lakeville, Plymouth/Kingston, Fairmount, Greenbush, and Needham lines now have accessible platforms.

Of the 28 rapid transit stations inventoried, 24 have accessible platforms, including all the stations on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines. Four of the inventoried Green Line stations are still lacking accessible platforms. The express bus lots all have accessible sidewalk ramps, and all of the buses are low-level/kneeling buses. Table 4 lists the stations that lack accessible platforms.

Bicycle Racks

This discussion of bicycle parking is based on the data on bicycle parking facilities, capacity, and utilization recorded in the 2009–2010 inventory. That inventory only included MBTA stations with automobile parking. For that reason, it excluded 9 commuter rail stations, 97 rapid transit stations, and 4 ferry stations. Therefore, this discussion omits any bicycle parking facilities or activity that may be present at each of those stations.

Of the 146 stations included in the inventory, 88 percent have bicycle racks. This includes 103 of the 114 commuter rail stations, 24 of the 28 rapid transit stations, and 2 of the 3 ferry terminals. The station with the highest bike parking capacity is Alewife, with 321 spaces. Table 5 shows the percentages of bicycle rack utilization by mode and line throughout the system. The map provided as Appendix A.8 shows bicycle parking capacity and utilization by station.

Shelters

Most of the park-and-ride lot stations have shelters. In this inventory, a shelter is defined as any structure that provides some protection from the weather. The structure could be just a roof over the platform, a completely enclosed station, or a stand-alone structure with a roof and walls. Lincoln, Hastings, and Plimptonville are the only stations on commuter rail lines that do not have a shelter. All of the ferry terminals have shelters except Hull.

TABLE 4

Stations* without Accessible Platforms

COMPARISON WITH 2000 AND 2005–2006 INVENTORY RESULTS

Before comparing the results of this inventory with those of previous ones, it may be useful to describe again here the previous inventories. An inventory of park-and-ride stations was conducted as part of the Mobility Management System (MMS), now called the CMP, in the fall of 2005 and winter of 2006. Another inventory was conducted in the fall of 2002 for the CMP, known at that time as the Congestion Management System (CMS). The 2002 inventory only included park-and-ride lots located within Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization municipalities. A prior inventory, covering the entire MBTA system, was conducted in 2000; this inventory was not associated with the CMP, but it is comparable to the later inventories. This section primarily compares the 2009–2010 inventory results with those from 2005–2006; it also compares them with the 2000 results for selected subjects. A direct comparison with the 2002 inventory results was not possible because the complete data were not available.

TABLE 5

Bicycle Parking Capacity and Utilization

In the 2009–2010 inventory, far fewer park-and-ride lots at commuter rail stations were found to be full than in previous inventories. In 2009–2010, the lots at only two commuter rail stations (Endicott and Wedgemere) were 100 percent full, compared to 28 stations in the 2005–2006 inventory and 14 stations in 2000. The percentage of parking utilization also decreased, from 82 percent in 2000 and 73 percent in 2005–2006 to 56 percent in 2009–2010. Only two lines saw an increase in parking utilization between the 2005–2006 and 2009–2010 inventories: the Haverhill Line and the Lowell Line.

Results were similar for park-and-ride lots at rapid transit stations. In 2009–2010, no rapid transit stations were 100 percent full, compared to 11 stations in the 2005–2006 inventory and 14 stations in the 2000 inventory. All four rapid transit lines saw decreases in parking utilization, and the total parking utilization percentage for all rapid transit stations with park-and-ride lots decreased from 97 percent in 2000 to 85 percent in 2005–2006, and to 61 percent in 2009–2010.

Parking utilization increased at the commuter ferry terminals, from 62 percent in 2005–2006 to 69 percent in 2009–2010. The express bus parking lot at Woburn was 93 percent full in the 2009–2010 inventory, a decrease from 2005–2006, when it filled to 100 percent.  Ferry and express bus parking lots were not monitored in the 2000 inventory.

Since the 2005–2006 inventory, daily parking fees at many park-and-ride lots have increased. On November 15, 2008, the rates for most MBTA lots increased by $2.00. This meant that at most commuter rail stations, daily parking fees went from $2.00 to $4.00, and at most rapid transit stations, fees went from between $3.00 and $5.00 to between $5.00 and $7.00. Previous parking rate increases took place on January 6, 2003 (by 50 cents at rapid transit stations and one dollar at commuter rail stations) and on July 1, 2005 (a 50-cent increase at most rapid transit stations). In January 2011, the MBTA announced the availability of monthly parking permits for 65 stations. The rate for most lots is $70, saving regular commuters approximately $10 a month compared to the cost of paying daily. Appendix A.7 shows the minimum fee at each station.

In January 2007, the MBTA increased commuter rail fares and restructured rapid transit fares. When paying with a CharlieCard (a reloadable, plastic fare medium), the rapid transit fare is now a flat fee of $1.70. Rapid transit fares were previously subject to  a more complex structure in which they varied depending on trip length, origin, and destination.

There have been changes in parking capacity since the 2005–2006 inventory was completed. Systemwide, public (non-permit) parking capacity decreased by about 1,000 spaces. This resulted from the removal of approximately 3,500 parking spaces at certain stations and the addition of about 2,500 spaces at other stations. This figure does not include over 3,000 spaces that were added for the Greenbush Line, which opened in October 2007.

Table 6 lists the stations where the total number of public parking spaces (not including permit-only parking) has increased or decreased either by 150 or more spaces or by over 50 percent.

TABLE 6

Stations with Significant Changes in the Number of Parking Spaces*

between 2005–2006 and 2009–2010

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, analysis of the park-and-ride inventory results suggests the following:

• Far fewer park-and-ride lots at MBTA stations were full as compared to the 2000, 2002, and 2005–2006 monitoring results. The percentage of parking spaces utilized had decreased significantly since the previous monitoring periods. This is likely due to the large increase in parking fees that took place in 2008 and to the increase in commuter rail fares. Conceivably, the sluggish economy had an impact as well.
• Despite the decrease in the percentage of parking utilized and the number of park-and-ride lots that filled to capacity, a few stations experienced higher demand for parking, including Anderson RTC, Lawrence, and Belmont.
• Demand for commuter rail parking was greatest at stations located relatively far away from downtown Boston in the 2005–2006 inventory.
• There is at least one station on every line of the commuter rail system where 30 percent or more of the parking is available on a typical weekday morning.
• Major commuter garages and facilities, which are located near major highways, provide over 50 percent of the MBTA system’s parking capacity. Most are at or near capacity, but some are underutilized.

AG/ag

APPENDIX A – Parking Utilization: Comprehensive Results of Inventory

Appendix A.1 – North Side Commuter Rail

Appendix A.2 – South Side Commuter Rail

Appendix A.3 – Rapid Transit

Appendix A.4 – Commuter Ferry and Express Bus

Appendix A.5 – Map of Park-and-Ride Lot Capacity and Utilization

Appendix A.6 – Map of Changes in Park-and-Ride Lot Utilization

Appendix A.7 – Map of Minimum Parking Fees at Stations

Appendix A.8 – Map of Bicycle Parking Capacity and Utilization

Notes on Appendix A Tables:

Blank fields: The surveyor did not record the information.

Parking fee: A hyphen indicates that parking was free.

TABLE A-1

North-Side Commuter Rail:

Inventory of MBTA Park-and-Ride Lots,

Non-Disability Spaces, 2009–10