FALMOUTH – The three-hour parking limit implemented on Main Street this summer resulted in fewer tickets than when the previous 1-hour restriction was in place, according to Falmouth Police.
Chief Ed Dunne reported to selectmen last month that he had visited every small business owner on Main Street and inquired about their feelings regarding the experiment.
He said that shopkeepers either did not even realize the restrictions were in place, or were pleased with the results.
“A lot of it was self-enforced, we didn’t write a lot of tickets, and there were not a lot of complaints about tickets,” Dunne said.
The police chief said that the department instated a soft roll out of the new rule at first, providing first-time offenders of the 3-hour limit with warning tickets, then graduating to actual fines.
Meanwhile, selectmen have decided to instate that limit on Main Street for the rest of the year, and even to provide free parking at usually-metered spots in Falmouth Heights and Woods Hole during the off-season.
Selectman Chair Doug Jones said that people no longer feel like they need to avoid the hustle of downtown.
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