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Committee sends Congress Street meter proposals to full council with negative recommendation after worker concerns
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Summary
A Salem City council committee voted to send two Congress Street parking measures back to the full council with a negative recommendation after members raised concerns that new paid parking would harm Pickering Wharf employees and that projected revenue is uncertain.
The City Council committee on ordinances, licenses and legal affairs voted on April 8 to discharge two Congress Street parking measures to the full council with a negative recommendation after extended debate about worker impacts and uncertain revenue.
Councilor Andrew Smith moved to send ordinances 142 and 143 back to the full council with a negative recommendation; the motion was seconded by Councilor Happworth and the chair announced, "Motion carries 4 to 1" after a roll call. The committee recorded four named "yes" votes and one absence; the transcript does not include the explicit recorded ‘no’ vote.
The measures would re-establish paid parking on Congress Street from Pickering Way to Ward Street and revise the city’s traffic code to reflect seasonal, graduated rates. David Kucharski, the city’s parking director, told the committee the proposal would largely ‘‘wipe clean’’ older ordinance text and create year‑round paid, long‑term spaces in areas where meters are not currently installed. Kucharski said staff anticipate using Passport app signage rather than installing physical meters and estimated about 20 to 25 spaces would be affected.
Opponents argued the change would burden low‑paid service workers who rely on street parking. "I'm strongly against this," Councilor Flynn said, adding the proposal would be "a bad look for the city" because it could impose extra costs and access challenges on bartenders, servers and late‑shift workers. Councilor Andrew Smith noted the potential cost to a worker on an October weekend: "We're still looking at $56 for an 8 hour shift in October," referencing the proposed weekend rate that can reach $7 per hour.
Kucharski said seasonal rates would vary: 50¢ per hour between Nov. 1 and June 30, $1 per hour July 1–Sept. 30, $1 per hour during October weekends in some cases, and up to $7 per hour on selected October weekend hours. He also described a possible employee permit approach, saying employees formerly bought monthly permits in the area and staff could explore a similar option again to reduce hardship.
The committee also heard that staff are working on a separate permit for motor coach tour buses, which Kucharski said would be brought to the full council as a revenue option in a forthcoming filing.
Next steps: ordinances 142 and 143 will go to the full City Council for consideration with the committee’s negative recommendation; staff said they can return with additional analysis of revenue projections and options for employee permits.
