East Greenwich ' Consultants presented a downtown parking study on Nov. 10 that found concentrated demand along Main Street during summer evening peaks and identified underused municipal capacity nearby.

Herman Peralta of Par Corporation described the study area (Division Street to Long Street, roughly the Hill & Harbor district), the data-collection methodology (July 2024 drone footage and on-foot inventories in 30-minute intervals) and in-person outreach (about 150 street interviews). "During a typical Friday evening peak about 80% of on-street spaces overall were utilized along Main Street," Peralta said, and several small municipal lots and private lots reached full capacity while the largest municipal lot on Spring Street remained underused because of its distance from Main Street.

Interviews and business-owner outreach uncovered several recurring themes: visitors and customers often cruise for convenient curbside spaces in front of destinations instead of walking from nearby lots; valets and employee parking frequently occupy prime on-street spaces; wayfinding to municipal lots is weak; and some side streets are narrow enough to benefit from one-way conversion for better circulation.

Consultants recommended a mix of short-term and longer-term strategies: improved wayfinding and signage to direct visitors to underused lots, consolidated valet zones so multiple businesses use shared drop-off points, improved pavement markings to maximize spaces, seasonal metering or pay-by-phone tools to increase turnover, and listening sessions this winter to test trade-offs (for example, whether residents would accept redirected parking). The team also flagged enforcement as a central capability the town must commit to if changes are to be effective.

Town Manager Andrew Nada said staff will coordinate listening sessions and additional online engagement through the winter and aim to return recommended ordinance changes and signage plans before the 2026 summer season.