FOXBORO — Residents and visitors will have to keep an eye on their watches and the clocks on their phones when they park in certain spaces downtown.
The town is establishing three 10-minute parking spaces around the downtown, commonly referred to as the “Uptown” area, for curbside pickup and drop-off.
One of the spaces will be on South Street across from the Common, another on Mechanic Street, and a third on Central Street.
Selectmen approved the changes Tuesday night, and they are now in place.
Ten-minute parking spaces may be used for pickup and drop-off of passengers, retail and restaurant pickups, and short-term loading and unloading needs, town officials say.
The parking spaces will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted by signage.
Police Lt. Ken Fitzgerald said feedback indicated a 5-minute limit was not enough time and 15 minutes, which had been in effect, was too much, so the 10 minutes ended up being a compromise.
“We don’t have meter maids,” Fitzgerald said. “Ten minutes is a happy medium.”
If required, police will enforce the new rules, the lieutenant added.
“Foxboro will begin right sizing the number of short-term curbside pickup spaces in the Uptown and return some spaces back to standard parking,” said Paige Duncan, director of Land Use and Economic Development.
Local officials are also working to ensure there are sufficient accessible parking spaces in appropriate locations, and a new such space will be located on Central Street.
It’s part of an effort under way to enhance the center of town and free up parking spaces.
“There is parking, you might just have to walk a little,” Duncan said.
There are three large parking lots available for use, in addition to street parking: Uptown Schneider Lot (104 spaces), Central Street Veteran’s Lot (39 spaces), and Town Hall Lot (65 spaces).
“With the imminent opening of 50 apartments at 29 Wall Street, and the opening of Shovel Town Brewery with four apartments above in the old fire station, we anticipate some growing pains related to parking in the coming months,” Duncan said.
“There is ample parking Uptown but we want folks to know where it is.”
Duncan noted the parking situation around Union Straw restaurant has “calmed down” after some challenges.
In the coming months, the town will be looking more closely at the Central Street Veteran’s Lot.
“It’s one piece of a much larger puzzle,” selectmen Chair Leah Gibson said of the new changes. “We want to look at the whole Uptown.”
A new “Uptown Foxboro Parking Policy Map” has been developed, but town officials stressed it’s a work in progress.
“We have an awesome theater,” Duncan said. “There’s just not enough parking. We’re doing everything we can to address that.”
Gibson said her board has received some input about parking but recent letters concerned the theater parking.
“We definitely need to all work together,” Gibson said. “I think there’s opportunity for some businesses to work together.”
Representatives of the Marilyn Rodman Performing Arts Center, the former Orpheum near the common, are enthusiastic about the changes and pending changes.
“It’s really going to go a long way,” said Catherine Miller, executive director of the theater and who has been working with town officials on parking. “We have a great plan in place.”
