Town's Fairgrounds Road Parking Lot Closing For PFAS Investigation And Housing Staging

The town announced this week that its parking lot at 2 Fairgrounds Road will be temporarily closed starting on November 18 to accommodate two ongoing projects and that the Nantucket Regional Transit Authority will launch a new "fast ferry route" between the Surfside Beach parking lot and the Hy-Line and Steamship Authority terminals.

The parking lot at 2 Fairgrounds Road is being closed due to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's PFAS investigation, which will involve drilling several test wells around and inside the lot to assess PFAS contamination. The other project is the Waitt Drive Municipal Workforce Housing Project, which will utilize the lot as a staging area for modular housing units, with deliveries beginning on December 6.

The lot is typically open to all vehicles for overnight parking.

The town advised that all vehicles must be removed from the parking lot by November 18. Vehicles left in the lot will be towed at the owner’s expense. The lot is expected to reopen in late January 2025, though an exact date has not been set.

In conjunction with the temporary closure, the NRTA announced a "Park Free & Ride" service beginning on November 11. On that date, the NRTA Airport route will no longer stop at 2 Fairgrounds Road. Instead, the NRTA will provide a ferry shuttle from the Surfside Beach lot. This park-and-ride service will run daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., with shuttles departing every 30 minutes, continuing until the 2 Fairgrounds Road lot reopens.

According to the town's existing parking enforcement plan, the parking regulations for the 2 Fairgrounds Road parking lot are as follows:

"2 Fairgrounds Road Commuter Parking Lot: Parking lot remains open to
overnight parking for all vehicles [200.13.2]. Vehicles parked for more than seven
days (168 hours) shall be considered abandoned [200.13.5]. Vehicles over 12,000 lbs. gross weight prohibited [200.13.4]. Trailers prohibited [200.8.4]. Vehicles over 30’ prohibited except in designated spaces [200.13.6]."