Subcommittee votes to refer South Main Street parking and traffic study to full Fall River City Council

The Fall River Subcommittee on Economic Development and Tourism voted Tuesday to refer a resolution to the full City Council recommending the administration commission a traffic and parking study for South Main Street.

Councilor Miguel Raposo made the motion to send the committee’s recommendation to the full council; the motion was seconded and approved. The referral asks the administration to "engage the necessary departments" to review parking management and to study whether parts of South Main Street could be converted to one-way traffic or otherwise reconfigured to increase parking capacity.

Why it matters: Committee members and city staff said parking and traffic management are central to downtown revitalization. Several members told the committee that improving parking options, including digital pay systems and managed garage access, could encourage businesses and residents to locate on South Main Street.

City staff framed the near-term and longer-term work on South Main Street as part of several programs and studies. Michael Dion, director of community development, said the area had been part of a Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) district and that a recently published parking study should be reviewed by the committee and administration. "The parking study was a significant effort with a significant grant that funded it," Dion said, noting the document had just been published and would be shared with councilors.

Sarah Page, executive director of the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, reviewed past planning steps intended to activate the public realm, including a focus on Jerry Lawton Park as a performance and outdoor dining site, and the redevelopment interest in buildings such as the Cherry & Webb building and an Aetna Insurance building under study for housing. The redevelopment authority has also pursued a historic-district strategy intended to make developers eligible for historic tax credits, Page said.

Councilor Anthony Pundt (first reference) argued the downtown’s future will be "centered around parking." "You're not going to have a successful downtown... if it's hard for people to go show up to work and for it to be operational," he said, and suggested exploring diagonal parking and one-way conversions as part of the study.

Action and next steps: The motion to refer the resolution to the full council passed on a voice vote; the committee directed staff to prepare language for the council agenda so the full council can consider adopting the recommendation and asking the administration to commission the study.