Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Boston

How Boston Used Meter Prices to Fix Parking Dysfunction

As parking rates increased, tickets and fines for illegal parking decreased. Chart: City of Boston

Boston has reduced illegal parking by adjusting meter rates, according to new a report from the city [PDF].

The price of on-street parking is a powerful lever to reduce street dysfunction. But in most cities, not much thought goes into managing curb space, and the problems created by underpriced parking fester, creating congested conditions that slow down surface transit and other traffic.

Prior to Boston's one-year experiment in pricing the curb, the standard rate for on-street parking was $1.25 per hour. That's far lower than the price of off-street parking, which creates a huge economic incentive to circle for cheap curb space. It also leads people to occupy the same parking spot for long periods of time, which also creates traffic and double-parking by limiting the availability of on-street spots.

Boston officials changed that by raising parking prices in the Back Bay Area to $3.75 per hour. Simultaneously, in the Seaport area, parking prices were adjusted according to location and time of day in response to variations in demand, with the goal of keeping two spaces open on each block.

In both cases, there were measurable improvements. In the Back Bay, the rate of double parking decreased 14 percent, and illegal parking spillover into spaces reserved for residents dropped 12 percent. Meanwhile, the length of the average stay at a meter fell 17 percent, and occupancy fell 11 percent, so drivers don't spend as long in search of an open space.

In Seaport, where prices varied from $1 to $4 per hour, parking occupancy barely changed. But double parking dropped 24 percent and parking in residential zones dropped 35 percent.

Other factors at work complicate the attempt to isolate why one method of pricing the curb had a different effect than the other. In the Seaport area, for instance, extensive development and construction work disrupted the on-street parking supply. But it's possible that the Seaport parking prices remained too low to significantly affect behavior. Only toward the end of the 12 months did peak prices reach the $3-$4 range.

Given the results, Boston officials prefer the "zone pricing," which had a bigger effect on parking occupancy and is much easier to manage.

Now it's up to Mayor Marty Walsh to decide whether to make these parking reforms permanent and expand them to other neighborhoods.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Monday’s Headlines Are Dragging Their Feet

The Trump administration claims the Biden administration left them with a backlog — but they've actually been far slower at getting transportation money to states than their predecessors, a new analysis finds.

July 14, 2025

These U.S. Communities’ So-Called ‘Complete Streets’ Policies Don’t Even Deserve the Name

Any city can call itself a "Complete Streets" champion. But not all of them are walking the walk — and if they don't, a top organization says they'll no longer give them a platform on its esteemed "best of" ranking.

July 14, 2025

Communities Rally To Reclaim Streets From ICE Terror

"This is an attack on Los Angeles. This is an attack on California. On all of us."

July 11, 2025

Friday Video: The London Neighborhood Where Bikes Outnumber Cars

...and how they got to that impressive milestone.

July 11, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Battle Galactus

Like the Marvel supervillain, U.S. interstate highway system seems to eat up everything in his path. A new book explores how to stop it.

July 11, 2025

New Report Shows Pedestrian Fatalities Drop — But Experts Say Not Enough

The Governors Highway Safety Association report showed a 4 percent drop in the number of pedestrian deaths last year, putting a slow on a dangerous trend — but advocates say the drop isn't nearly big enough.

July 11, 2025
See all posts