Nelson/Nygaard

We continued our collaboration with the Town of Nantucket to explore the barriers to summertime access to town due to traffic and parking, and the impacts of congestion on the economic health of downtown and the quality of life for all those who are on Island during the high season.

In 2010 & 2011, transportation experts from Nelson/Nygaard analyzed the many studies that have been completed on the subject, and received extensive input from interested year round and seasonal residents during public workshops that the N/N team hosted. Nelson|Nygaard presented a seasonal model for downtown parking based on this input and the Town's parking utilization data from Tetra Tech Rizzo in the spring of 2011. Brochures that were handed out at the workshops as well as a more detailed analysis of the proposal are available.

You can watch Nelson/Nygaard’s entire presentation with recommendations regarding a program to manage the demand for parking during the busy summer season, as well as possible pilot programs to test various technologies and other aspects of the program

The Board of Selectmen, working the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission, will be exploring which, if any, of the suggested initiatives are worthy of implementation. One of N/N’s recommendations, a valet parking program, was piloted in 2011 and still continues today.