Tackling parking and circulation challenges in Chatham

Addressing the challenges of downtown Chatham’s parking and traffic flow, Commission staff proposed a range of potential solutions at a meeting held on July 30, 2024, aimed at improving parking, safety, and multimodal accommodations along Main Street.  

For the past year, the Commission has been working with the Town of Chatham and the Chatham Parking Solutions Working Group to study parking and circulation downtown, collecting and analyzing data and drafting a list of potential solutions.  

Data collected in downtown Chatham during the summer of 2023 shows that the town’s parking lots are disproportionately used. Three core lots adjacent to Main Street are often at or over capacity during peak times, while lots farther away but still within walking distance of Main Street are underutilized.   

During the meeting, Commission Senior Transportation Planner David Nolan presented a series of potential solutions to address downtown parking and congestion issues.   

Potential parking solutions include updated uniform signage, defined parking spaces and a 2-hour parking limit along Main Street, paid parking lots, and designated employee parking.   

A downtown shuttle, delivery vehicle loading zones or drop-off hours, signage at high-use lots directing drivers to other available lots, and improvements to downtown crosswalks are among the proposed solutions to improve circulation.   

Finally, the presentation included other solutions such as increased lighting in specific lots, additional wayfinding signage and maps, restriping the Community Center lot, and formalizing a path through the Veterans’ Field playground connecting the Community Center to the Depot Road stairway.   

Several residents, merchants, and town officials attended the July 30 meeting and shared thoughts and suggestions. Staff is reviewing further suggestions and comments gathered during a public comment period that ended on August 18, with a final report expected this fall. 

For more information and to view the presentation and meeting recording, please visit www.capecodcommission.org/cpcs