City of Worcester, MA

WORCESTER, Mass. – The City of Worcester announced Thursday new parking updates at City Hall, including relocating spaces available for public visitor parking from the garage to Main Street, effective Monday, June 23. In support of operational changes to enhance security, the garage at City Hall will be available for use by authorized vehicles only. 

To provide short-term visitors a convenient option, nine new 30-minute on-street parking spots will be established in front of City Hall on Main Street along with two handicapped parking spaces on Franklin Street on the south side of City Hall. 

Also starting Monday, June 23, visitors to City Hall will enter through the front entrance on Main Street where they will pass through a security checkpoint and then check in at a visitor kiosk where they will receive a visitor badge. Access through the Worcester Common entrance will be restricted to the public restrooms.

“These parking updates are critical to our newly implemented security measures,” said City Manager Eric D. Batista. “This will allow for a single point of entry for visitors to be screened so we have a clear account of who is in the building and what they are doing if an emergency were to ever take place. The new 30-minute parking spots will allow for convenient visitation in addition to the many nearby garages and lots. I want to thank the departments of Emergency Management & Communications, Transportation & Mobility, and the Worcester Fire Department for their interdepartmental work to bring these changes to fruition.” 

Once the garage restrictions are in place, non-employee visitors who drive to City Hall will need to choose from one of several nearby parking options. In addition to the new 30-minute and handicapped spaces, on-street parking is also provided on Main Street, Front Street, Federal Street, and other locations near City Hall. Most of these spaces have a 2-hour limit and are metered ($1.50 per hour). 

Longer-term parkers may find one of the many public parking garages or parking lots downtown more convenient. These include municipally operated Pearl Elm garage (900 ft.), Federal Plaza (900 ft.), Worcester Common Garage (1500 ft.), and the McGrath Library lot (1500 ft.). In addition, City Hall is served by the WRTA routes 2, 3, 6, 7, 19, 27, 31, and 33. Many services available at City Hall may also be conducted at the Worcester 311 Customer Service Center at 799 Main St.