The Swampscott Police Department issued 576 parking citations in the first six months of 2026, a pace that could surpass the town’s average of 860 citations per year from 2023 through 2025.
“Most of the concentration of the parking violations are happening from 9 a.m. to noon, and our highest days are Sunday and Saturday respectively for beach sticker violations,” said Police Chief Ruben Quesada. “We need to look at creating consistent rules and guidelines for parking enforcement regulations.”
Quesada – along with Lt. Brendan Reen and Lt. Steve Luck – presented an overview of parking enforcement across the town. There was an influx of citations during the snow storms on January 25 and February 7. The presentation followed several discussions, including ongoing debates over the need for additional parking on Humphrey Street, in Vinnin Square and at the train station.
“To me, it’s not just parking. Parking coincides in my mind with safety,” said Select Board Vice Chair Danielle Leonard. “There’s a bigger piece here. Sure, we have an issue with people parking and getting tickets, but we have a bigger issue with safety.”
The top 10 locations where the Swampscott Police Department issued citations so far this year were:
- Swampscott Train Station Depot – 105 citations
- Humphrey Street – 58 citations
- Paradise Road – 48 citations
- Phillips Beach / Avenue – 41 citations
- Pitman Road – 30 citations
- Preston Beach – 23 citations
- Burrill Street – 20 citations
- Cherry Street – 16 citations
- The Greenway – 14 citations
- Cedar Hill Terrace – 10 citations
The top 10 violation categories during the first six months of the year were:
- Resident Sticker
- Impeding Snow Removal
- Recreation Sticker
- Restricted Area / Prohibited Place
- Parking in Fire Lane
- Other Violations
- Overtime Parking
- Parking on Sidewalk
- Wrong Direction Parking
- Recreation Sticker (Kids Cove / Columbia)
Reen noted that these violations can create safety hazards when a fire truck cannot get around a parked vehicle or when a stroller or wheelchair cannot safely pass on a sidewalk.
“The board now has talked about parking more times since I’ve been on it since I’ve moved to town, so I think to me that reflects a single focus that parking is a priority to us, not only for enforcement but I hope for future conversations about how we can look to improve parking enforcement, management, access,” said Select Board Member Ted Dooley. “People get frustrated and think it’s not going to change. I appreciate you (Quesada) putting the paperwork together…I hope we continue our conversations.”
Quesada did note some discrepancies around town, such as how one side of Columbia Street has resident stickers only while the other side requires recreation stickers. Reen also noted that there may be confusion “when someone sees ‘resident’ they feel like ‘I’m a resident of Swampscott, I can park anywhere I see resident.’”
On Humphrey Street, the even side of the road has a one-hour parking limit, while the waterside is set to two hours.
“Maybe that’s something we can or should look at,” Quesada said.
Select Board Chair Katie Phelan agreed for the need for consistency.
“We did talk about this when the board met to discuss goals. Part of the idea is that we would create parking zones,” Phelan said. “A resident would know from this street to this street is their residential zone and they can park there without issue when they get that sticker. That sticker can be colored by zone. I think a lot of other towns do that.”
Town staff will discuss and come back with recommendations, Town Administrator Nick Connors said.
During public comment, a resident complained about people parking in fire lanes and taking up space in Vinnin Square, leading to unsafe situations, particularly around the Panera. Quesada noted in his presentation that many of the 48 citations issued in Vinnin Square involved vehicles parked in fire lanes, including violations involving Uber drivers.
The Select Board discussed raising the fine to $75 for idle cars in fire lanes.
Humphrey Street has been a particular point of contention in parking discussions, especially as officials consider the future of the former Hawthorne-by-the-Sea property.
“One of the things that I’m noticing – parking has been one of the things that’s kept my hair up since I moved to town – when I drive my oldest Jack. We love to go to the cafe on Humphrey and when I drive the same car would be parked outside so many times, like five times, in the middle of winter and I’d be like ‘I can’t do this I have to find somewhere else’ because I have a stroller and diaper bags and all of the crazy kid stuff that you have,” Dooley said.
New tenants, the Swampscott Center for Performing Arts, was told by town officials earlier this month that it cannot charge residents to park in its lot.
Leading up to the town’s Fourth of July events on July 3, the Swampscott Center for Performing Arts posted a parking sign indicating that people could use the lot for $5 on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., $10 on weekends and $40 for the July 3 event. The sign stated that “parking dollars go to fund entertainment and community outreach for the Swampscott Center for the Performing Arts.”
“It’s something that by both our agreement and by zoning is not an acceptable use of the property,” Town Administrator Nick Connors said during a Select Board meeting on July 7.
While the lot was vacant, the town did allow for residents to park freely.
Lilly Tapper, the owner of Three Hundred Fifty bakery, said at a Select Board meeting in March she had talked with other Humphrey Street business owners, who had concerns about the RFPs, particularly the site’s limited parking capacity.
“We rely on a very small number of parking spots on Humphrey Street, so bringing in more businesses in the Hawthorne-by-the-Sea space would further be detrimental to that,” Tapper had said. “Without any infrastructure improvements, adding to the supply does not grow with the demand in the area. It would just redistribute it and negatively affect the existing businesses there.”
The Hawthorne Re-use Advisory Committee presented its preferred design, Plan G1, to the Select Board, featuring two rows of buildings, totaling around 25,000 square feet if two stories, set perpendicular to the road with a 40-foot opening to maintain views into the courtyard and open-space area. The model includes roughly 28 parking spaces.
That said, a town survey presented at the April 3, 2024 Select Board meeting found that residents viewed a public park and open space as the most important use of the property. Waterfront access was considered important, while revenue generation was less important and off-street public parking “not important.”
Meanwhile, the town is also exploring the potential purchase of the adjacent St. John’s Church parking lot, which officials say could “unlock the full potential of the site” by enabling a balanced plan that includes green space, parking, and revenue-generating redevelopment.
