Automated Lynn lot off to strong start

LYNN – Parking Director Jay Fenton is cautiously optimistic that the automation of the city-owned Andrew Street lot will be a success but Off Street Parking Commissioner Jamie Cerulli is convinced it already is.”In one week, from (Oct.) 16th to the 22nd we took in $1,103,” Cerulli said. “We took in less than $1,500 for the whole month of September. I’m very happy with that.”Fenton noted that the automation of the lot coincided with the opening of D’Amici’s, the new bakery/coffee shop on Sutton Street, which could have added to the traffic. It also coincided with the Oct. 17 Alice Cooper concert at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in City Hall.City Councilor Daniel Cahill said if the concert at City Hall or a growing interest in downtown restaurants are contributing to the revenue increase, all the better.”That’s even more reason to do this,” he said.Cahill has been a sharp critic of the Off Street Parking Commission and has sought to dissolve it on more than one occasion.”I was interested in getting rid of it because we were getting no results,” he said. “Now we’re getting results.”Fenton admits the revenue increase, in part, could also be attributed to the fact that more patrons are forced to pay. He said he is sure, to some extent, there were people taking advantage of the Andrew Street lot prior to the automation because it was not staffed all the time.Prior to Oct. 16, the lot was staffed by an attendant in a small booth who would collect revenue from patrons and deliver the daily take to City Hall. With the automation, patrons pay using cash or credit card via a machine to pay $1 per hour, $5 per day or $45 per month for parking. Fenton and Cerulli said there are some glitches that need to be worked out regarding the monthly passes, but for the most part the first two weeks have run smoothly.The revenue from the lots is turned back to the city and goes into the general fund, Fenton explained.”Hopefully as time goes on that will change and some of the money will be allowed to come back to Off Street Parking to maintain the lots,” he said.Cahill doesn’t disagree that it would make sense to use at least part of the revenue to service the lots but said in the past there was not a lot of confidence that the money would be used as such.”With a newfound confidence in the Off Street Parking Commission based largely on the appointment of new members may come the ability to initiate a new dialogue about appropriately funding this agency.”Though he said he suspects the automated lot will be successful Fenton tempered his optimism, stating that the city needed a little more time to judge the full scope of the results. However, he said he has had no significant complaints about the set up, “and that’s always a good sign.”Cerulli, however, said she is fully optimistic about the future of the lot as well as the other city owned lots including, Buffum Street, Johnson Street, School/Ellis streets, Union Street and Wyoma Square.”We’re already taking estimates on Buffum Street,” she said. “I’m ecstatic.”