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Minutes for the Meeting of July 9, 2008 Page 3 <br /> <br />rates? Mr. Gallagher said a book called “High Cost of free Parking” had lots of numbers for <br />proper pricing and statistics. <br />?? <br />In commercial areas where levels of traffic are high to begin with and an increase in the capacity <br />is not possible, does a fee in lieu of building more than the minimum number of parking spaces <br />have any legal basis and were there any precedents? Mr. Gallagher said Braintree, Northampton <br />and Oak Bluffs use this practice. <br />?? <br />Looking at parking and traffic demand management (TDM) requirements, it is hard for <br />developers to put meters in their own lots in suburban locations, and thus they would be <br />subsidizing cars by giving free parking. Perhaps cash out programs could be a possibility. Mr. <br />Gallagher said that Stanford University doubled its campus without increasing parking by <br />offering a free T-pass to everyone, charging significant parking fees for limited parking and <br />everyone else gets money for not using the parking. <br /> <br />Audience questions and comments: <br />Mr. Jerry Van Hook was intrigued with the cash out option. If there is limited space for parking and <br />incentives were offered for transportation alternatives, that may not be taken negatively by those who still <br />drove their cars. <br /> <br />Mr. Gallagher said the MAPC sustainable parking toolkit was mostly complete and only missing a <br />request for newer technologies in fee collections. <br /> <br />Ms. McCall-Taylor asked for an explanation of what services MAPC could provide? Does the Board <br />present a list of questions? Mr. Gallagher said a list could work or compile a zoning requirements chart. <br />MAPC could advise the Board on setting up a parking study to look at specific locations and districts. Ms. <br />McCall-Taylor would get an appropriate list complied for further discussion. <br /> <br />Traffic Demand Management: <br />Mr. Canale said at the time the parking and traffic bylaw was written it was believed that it was possible <br />to build your way out of traffic difficulty; if the Level of Service was not satisfactory, the developer <br />would pay to improve the roadway. Now it is thought that building to capacity will not cure the traffic <br />problems. <br /> <br />The Traffic Mitigation Group (TMG) and planning staff are looking at the traffic issue differently. The <br />concern is less about congestion, and just adding roadways was not the solution, but rather looking more <br /> <br />