Controversial parking meters at Revere Beach defunct under new law

Parking meters bordering Revere Beach will be removed after local uproar led to a legislative change from state lawmakers.

An emergency law passed on Beacon Hill prohibits the state Department of Conservation and Recreation from charging for beach parking and from installing meters on department-owned roads — such as along Revere Beach — without approval from local officials, WBZ reports.

“Those meters need to be removed from Revere Beach once and for all,” state Rep. Jeff Turco told the news station. “Once again we’ll restore the first public beach in the nation and make it truly a free public beach.”

DCR installed the metered parking during the COVID-19 pandemic and was soon met with vocal pushback from residents this summer.

WBZ’s investigative team reported the story, and DCR later gave up some metered spots for residents. But the protests continued, according to the station.

“This is our beach; this is open for everybody regardless of their economic status,” said Turco, one of the lawmakers who caught wind of the situation. “The DCR essentially put a charge on the use of the public beach and the Legislature said, ‘No, we are not going to do that.’ We overrode the governor’s veto, and the meters will come down. It’s a great win for the people.”

The new law takes hold immediately, while another law now requires DCR to give half of the revenue it brought in to the City of Revere.

DCR told WBZ it was reviewing the legislation on Monday.

In the meantime, residents are holding off on celebrations until the meters are actually hauled off.

“This is the result, and this shows when the people get behind something what can happen,” Nick Rusteria, a resident, told WBZ. “The American way of doing things. It’s absolutely amazing.”

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