Red Sox fans might not be able to hit the parking jackpot in Brookline anymore.
The town is considering charging baseball fans more than $20 during home games to park at meters near Fenway Park. Currently, fans who find spots at 75-cents-per-hour meters avoid $40 lots.
“The meters only go to 6 [p.m.] so people pull into spaces and park for free,” Brookline Transportation Board member Bill Schwartz said.
But season ticket holder Christian Galvin, who is writing a book called “Fenway My Way,” said those spots are hard to land.
“When you did find one it felt like winning the lottery,” Galvin said. “I know some business owners are torn. Losing spots to Sox fans never helped, but raising prices likely won’t help much either.”
The plan was one of several rate hikes discussed at a hearing last night. During games, the meters along the Beacon Street median between St. Mary’s and Hawes streets would be live until 10 p.m. and charge drivers $1 an hour for the first two hours and $10 for an additional two hours. There might also be a four-hour limit.
“The spaces get taken up so it’s a revenue issue, but also every single business along that way basically saw no business,” Schwartz said.
Brookline is currently installing multiple-space meters similar to the ones on Boston’s Newbury Street that take credit cards and can be programed with different price schemes during Sox games.
Schwartz said the board will likely vote in November.
