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— Quincy Massachusetts News by Quincy Quarry News – News, Opinion and Commentary
Long under utilized parking given design flaws
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive file photo image
Today the long impending public parking garage capacity at the North Quincy MBTA station finally opens up for public use after a handful of years of delay, a delay that is only topped by the well over a decade long as well as still counting redevelopment of Quincy Center.
The garage was supposed to open several years ago so as to replace the former surface parking lot at the North Quincy MBTA station so that an out of state developer could build a roughly 600 unit apartment complex with some ground level retail on the now former MBTA surface parking lot..
In turn, the outcome is best described as a retail strip mall with apartments built above de facto strip mall along with a six level above ground 1,600 parking spaces garage with 852 of the spaces designated for use by straphangers.
(“Not another construction Q-up in Quincy”)
A Paramount Television image
The original plan was that the garage would be built first and so better facilitate both commuters’ needs as well as construction of the apartments, however, between the still go-to excuse of the COVID pandemic along with alleged design shortcomings by the project’s architect which lead to ongoing litigation that is currently scheduled to go to court next month, this public/private project has gone the way of most every other such public/private ventures promoted by Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch.
In any event, the cost of parking for commuter parking will run $5 a day weekday, $3 on weekends with overnight parking allowed and payable via the PayByPhone app or via a mailed invoice for $1.
Traffic congestion during commute time
Image via Bloomberg
Needless to say, the overnight option will surely find great favor with locals who do not have ready offset street parking during a snow emergency or simply do not care to deal with a so snow-encrusted ride.
The downside: the MBTA will be closing to public the smaller satellite ground level parking lot for the station that fronts Newport Extension. The T bought a one time State Street Bank office building that included the parking lot next to the North Quincy Station and then decided to end use of this parking by commuters and as only the MBTA is known to curiously decide on this and often oh so many other things.
Only 3 egress gates for 1,600 parking spaces
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive image
In this case, closing the Newport Extension MBTA parking lot to public use will make things difficult for both straphangers who live south of the Red Line as well as for all vehicular traffic along along already congested East Squantum and Hancock streets as now there is only one way to access public parking at the same entranced point relied upon by as many as 748 rides owned by apartment residents roughly opposite the D’Angelo’s sub shop adjacent to North Quincy High School..
Speaking of suspect planning, the ill-placed new bicycle parking barn is dangerously located for bicycle riders as it is behind the motor vehicle parking garage entrance.
North Quincy MBTA station bicycle storage barn
A Citizen Photojournalist image
In short, nothing like a little planning.
In fact, nothing like it at all.
That and yet again the case for the uncountable time that Quincy Mayor Koch has had a role in a Q’ed up major project in Quincy.
For example, the ground lease income from the 600 unit apartments project was promised to be used to pay for a long past due full renovation of the North Quincy Red Line station.
