A common concern regarding the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) project is that newcomers to Newton living in new, larger developments will potentially create more parking demand than can currently be supplied.
Reassuringly, local real-world data shows that this is not the case.
At ten multi-family housing sites in Newton, only 50% of overnight weeknight parking capacity was being used in 2022, according to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
In other words, on average, each household possessed two spaces but only parked one car.
A visualization of this region-wide pattern and the underlying data can be found at the Perfect Fit Parking study website.
Notably, the study found that across Greater Boston, in “every municipality and at every development, parking was oversupplied,” which is “to the detriment of providing more housing units (including more affordable units), improved transit access, and increased open space.”
Reduced minimum parking requirements for future residential developments in Newton will reflect actual demand and aid VCOD revitalization goals.
Damien Croteau-Chonka
West Newton
