Nahant stepping up parking enforcement

NAHANT – With the unseasonably warm temperatures, police are stepping up traffic enforcement beginning this week.Lt. Thomas Hutton said parking is already an issue. The small seaside hamlet draws numerous beach-goers on hot days, but the lack of public parking is problematic. The only vehicles allowed to park in the municipal lots at Bailey’s Hill, the Lowlands, Town Wharf and East Point are those with 2010 Nahant resident parking stickers. Beach parking is also prohibited on Nahant Road.”There is no grace period,” he said. “We will not be issuing warnings. Anyone in these lots will be ticketed and subject to towing.”Hutton said the fine for parking in a municipal lot with an invalid sticker is $45 and the vehicle is subject to being towed.The police are also going to be out in full force ticketing illegally parked cars in all areas of town.”Due to the weather we’ve already seen a huge influx in the number of cars in town,” he said. “We’ve already seen an increase in the number of cars parking illegally on Nahant Road and other streets in town.”Hutton said violators would be aggressively tagged and towed.”It will not be tolerated,” he said. “It poses a threat to public safety. Emergency vehicles need to be able to get through.”Hutton said officers would routinely stop into the businesses along Nahant Road to ensure the cars parked on the street actually belong to patrons of area businesses and not beach-goers.Hutton said a ticket and towing could cost parking violators up to $200.”It’s a steep price for a day at the beach,” he said. “We encourage visitors to adhere to parking restrictions in town.”Police recommend that non-residents or residents who have not purchased a parking sticker park in the Department of Conservation and Recreation Long Beach lot.Any resident who has not purchased a beach parking sticker can still do so in Town Hall during regular business hours. The permits are $5 and require a current registration.