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Neighbors press parking concerns; board requires shuttle plan and morning-only deliveries
Summary
Neighbors told the Planning Board the hotel expansion will strain already-full downtown parking; in response the board conditioned approval on a written shuttle-action plan for guests and a restricted delivery window to reduce traffic impacts.
Residents and neighborhood representatives pressed the planning board on whether the proposed hotel expansion would worsen downtown parking congestion, and the board responded by conditioning approval on demand-management measures.
A representative of the Brick Market Condo Association (speaker 16) reviewed the parking math presented in the application and said on record that, by their calculation, the project still produced a shortfall of roughly 41 spaces given nearby uses and seasonal demand. That speaker also noted some public parking facilities were fully booked every day during the previous summer and asked the board to require concrete mitigation measures.
The applicant's managing director, Nick Jacoby, and the traffic engineer, Paul Bannon, said the site would preserve 168 spaces (the existing count), operate with reservation and valet controls, encourage marina/transient use without cars and explore shuttle and other demand-management measures. The board accepted that approach but made two mitigations mandatory: a written shuttle-action plan for hotel guest transport and drop-off/pick-up, and a delivery-hours restriction for restaurants, retail and hotel operations (approved condition: deliveries limited to the morning window). Acting Chair Margaret Polsky said those conditions were aimed at limiting peak-hour loading and search-for-parking effects on America's Cup Avenue and Market Square.
The applicant told the board it expects to use valet, reservation-based parking allocations and, where necessary, off-site accommodations with shuttle service; the board recorded those operational commitments as conditions of final administrative approval. The traffic study presented to the board estimated a modest increase in vehicle trips (example figures: ~25 additional AM peak trips, ~47 PM peak trips) and concluded adjacent roadway operations would not be materially degraded if on-site parking controls and the shuttle plan are in place.
