When the news spread across the city that the Traffic Commission had authorized a move in August to citywide permit parking, a rise in meter rates to one dollar an hour, and the extension of metered parking hours to 10 p.m. in Davis and Magoun Squares (and 8 p.m. everywhere else) – the aldermen and I started to hear plenty of comments.

Some of those comments – especially from business owners of all types and sizes – raised legitimate questions that our Traffic and Parking Department had already been planning to address. We heard the concern that a 10 p.m. shut-down time and a two-hour meter limit were incompatible – that customers wanted to be able to park at a metered space and walk away for the evening, even if that evening included drinks, dinner and a two-hour movie. We heard the concern that business employees wouldn't be able to find a place to park for an evening shift if meters ran until 10 p.m.

We also heard about business owners who are accustomed to parking on unpermitted streets but can't get to their offices, shops and lofts if every street is posted for residents only. We even heard from some businesses that aren't in our traditional business districts and whose owners feel that they depend on unpermitted parking spots on streets like Highland Avenue and Elm Street in order to accommodate their evening customers.

Now, all of these are fair issues to raise in the context of the changes we are making, and they have, by and large, been raised in a reasonable way. There are also good solutions to all of these potential problems. To help develop those solutions, and to help work through other issues around these changes, I have created a Parking Solutions Task Force (PSTF) that will bring representatives from the business community, the Board of Aldermen and city officials together to review pertinent information and think about how to address concerns about these new policies. I have also asked Mark Chase, an entrepreneur and Tufts-educated urban planner who has studied urban parking models and strategies, to lend his expertise to the PSTF.

By the time we move ahead on the new rates, hours and resident permit policies, I have no doubt that, with the help of the PSTF, we will be able to address most – perhaps all – of the issues that have come up. For example: if we extend the maximum time for evening parking; if we provide kiosks in the lots (so that patrons can pay with paper bills and credits cards as well as park cards and quarters); if we expand the use of business permits so that businesses can help their employees (and the owners themselves) find parking; and if we put meters near businesses in residential areas, but let Somerville residents with permits use the metered spaces without paying, we can address many of the objections already raised.

That said, I think it's reasonable to ask interested parties to give the new task force a chance to do its work. They should have their recommendations before the end of the month, and I expect that they will be thorough, thoughtful and fair.

I also think it's very important to remember that a primary goal behind these policy changes is to improve the availability of parking in the City of Somerville.

Understandably, everyone wants free, or at least subsidized, parking. Businesses want it for their employees and customers; residents want it for themselves and their visitors. But Somerville is, by a wide margin, the most densely populated city in New England. Except in one or two specific locations, we don't have the big open lots and empty curbs associated with suburban sprawl. Parking is a scarce and valuable resource here, and we need to treat it that way.

Right now, our business districts need to get more out of their existing parking spaces through better pricing policy and increased turnover. In Davis and other busy squares, we need to take steps to make sure that visitors can find a space when they need one – otherwise they'll stop showing up. Now, some out-of-towners have already written to say that they not only expect parking, but they expect it to be free after 8 p.m. as well. I don't think that's actually true: we may be in a recession, but paying a dollar an hour to park in a walkable entertainment district like Davis Square is not an undue burden – provided you can find a space and pay for it conveniently. If we can find the right balance of availability and convenience to go with a reasonable price, I think we'll actually be helping our businesses and their customers.

As for citywide permit parking: right now, Somerville's taxpayers are providing free parking for hundreds of people who don't register their cars here, pay excise tax here or participate in the permit system. That's not right in the best of times: during a fiscal crisis, it's totally unacceptable.

And for those folks who say, "This is all about the money," my answer is that these policies stand on their own merits, but we can't afford to pass up any legitimate revenue opportunities at a time when the state has cut Somerville's local aid by 30 percent. Of course we need the money – but we also need to manage our parking to maximize supply for residents and businesses alike. If we work together on this, and show some patience and creativity, I think we can do it all.