Swampscott parking kiosks plan put on hold

SWAMPSCOTT – Residents don’t need to feed meters on Columbia Street – yet.Selectmen put the brakes on one or more controversial parking kiosks that were going to be installed in the vicinity of the commuter rail station this summer.In February 2010, selectmen voted 4-1 to install the kiosks. Following e-mails opposing the idea, the plan to install a meter system was derailed, at least temporarily.The initial vote to install a kiosk was based on a recommendation made by the Traffic Study Committee earlier this year. Town Accountant David Castellarin, who is also on the Traffic Study Committee, said the plan would have raised approximately $22,000 a year in additional revenue for the town.The plans called for installing a parking kiosk to cover the 29 resident-only parking spaces along Columbia Street near the commuter rail station. Vehicles with resident stickers would have been required to pay $3 per day to park in those spots, which is $1 less than the daily parking fee at the MTBA lot. The selectmen voted to put the project out to bid and the meters were to be installed by this summer.The issue was discussed at a selectmen meeting again in March, but was tabled because one of the selectmen was not present.Castellarin said the vote to install the parking kiosks was not reversed but he was asked not to proceed until the selectmen revisit the issue. To date, the issue has not been placed on a Board of Selectmen agenda.