A number of Steamship Authority Woods Hole parking lot permit holders no longer enjoy the convenience of being able to walk, or take a short shuttle, to their vehicle in the lot adjacent to the terminal. Beginning Jan. 1, about 40 permit holders lost their parking spots to make space for Falmouth permit holders.
The Steamship Authority (SSA) leases the back portion of the lot from the town of Falmouth. When the lease came up for renewal, town leaders told boatline managers they must set aside space in the lot for Woods Hole business owners and their employees to free up parking in the village, home to a number of educational and research institutions that include the famed Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
Wayne Lamson, SSA general manager, told The Times that over the course of the negotiations, the SSA agreed to designate 40 spaces for town use. The SSA would still control gated access to and from the lot, and issue gate cards, but Falmouth is responsible for designating who receives the town permits.
There are about 50 spaces at the front of the lot closest to the terminal and about 300 spaces at the back of the lot, Mr. Lamson said. That includes about 18 metered spots now available to Woods Hole visitors.
“Eventually, with the reconstruction of the terminal, we are going to be losing the 50 spaces up front,” he said, as well as the metered spots used by the town.
The first 40 spaces in the lot are now designated village parking, Mr. Lamson said. The location will allow town permit holders, for example restaurant workers, to walk to their vehicles at a late hour and after the SSA lot shuttle has ceased operating.
“Our parking permit holders will not be able to park in those spaces,” he said. “They [village permit holders] will have a gate card to get in and out. That’s where we ended up.”
Mr. Lamson said the loss of parking permit revenue needed to be offset by an increase in parking permit rates to cover the expense of operating the lot, in keeping with a board policy of allocating expenses between Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard operations.
“We did go up on the annual permits,” he said, “from $900 to $1,100.”
That increase went into effect on Jan. 1. Mr. Lamson said permit holders were notified last May of the lease negotiations and possible changes in the number of available parking spaces.
In past years, annual permits were renewed in May for one year. In May 2015, permits were only issued until Dec. 31. A notice sent to all permit holders dated May 15 said there was “a real possibility” that the SSA could lose the lot. “If an agreement is reached,” the notice said, “there is also a real possibility that the amount of available parking space may be considerably less than what is now currently available. Woods Hole permit holders that do not enter and exit the Woods Hole lot routinely may not be able to renew for Woods Hole parking in 2016.”
The SSA is able to track how many times a vehicle enters and exits the lot. Surprisingly, some vehicle owners only used the lot once or twice or less. “We’ve had people who have bought the permit and didn’t even show up to get the permit,” Mr. Lamson said. He speculates the purchasers may have thought they would be grandfathered and be able to retain one of the convenient spots.
Mr. Lamson said the lot is not meant for infrequent use. “It is more for commuters, both from the Island as well as the people who live on the mainland and commute to the Island every day,” he said.
Faced with a need to reduce the number of available permits, the SSA examined usage, or the the lack of use, in order to make the best use of the lot, he said.
Mr. Lamson said the cut was made based on use, and permit holders were notified in late November. “For those permit holders who exited the Woods Hole lot four times or less since May 15th, we called each permit holder to personally explain why they would not be eligible to renew their Woods Hole parking permit based on a reduction in the number of spaces available and their lack of usage over the past seven and a half months,” he said.
The exceptions included credentialed disabled permit holders, and those who due to illness or a lack of work did not utilize their vehicles in 2015.
The current lease expires in five years.
The Steamship Authority issues seasonal and annual parking permits for the Palmer Avenue lot, approximately 10 minutes by shuttle bus from the terminal. The lot has space for approximately 1,800 vehicles. An annual permit costs $650 if paid in full at the beginning of the year, or $700 when paid in two installments.
The SSA offers two seasonal permits for the Palmer Avenue lot geared to commuting students. A permit from Jan. 1 to May 14 costs $250, and a seasonal permit from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31 cost $200. “We will work with students on an individual basis who have a need to go a week or so beyond May 14th, or begin school before Sept. 15th,” Mr. Lamson said.
Woods Hole parking permits are sold on an annual basis only. “If there is someone with a medical condition needs to travel off-Island frequently for treatments and does not need to bring their car back and forth on the boat, we can make arrangements for them to leave a car in Woods Hole for shorter periods of time,” Mr. Lamson said.