Traffic Study to Scrutinize Downtown Orleans

ORLEANS – Like many Cape Cod towns, Orleans has a parking problem during the summer, especially in the downtown area.

That’s why the planning board has tapped the Cape Cod Commission to perform a parking and circulation of that area this summer.

The commission has already performed some data preliminary data collection in order to compare the impending peak season results to, according to technical services director Glenn Cannon.

The commission’s research team will continue to monitor public and private parking areas through August, making note of which lots are over- or under-utilized, he said.

“We find a lot of places really have enough parking, it’s that convenient parking people are looking for,” Cannon said. “People want to be right downtown, and that is generally where they do not have enough parking.”

After the peak season data is in, Cannon said the commission expects to have recommendations for the planning board by the fall, perhaps as soon as September.

A parking garage will not likely be in the town’s future, Cannon said, because such structures distract from the classic Cape Cod image and are typically very expensive.