City of Pittsfield Adds New Grab-and-Go Zones; Modifies Parking Enforcement

As part of the City of Pittsfield’s effort to support local businesses offering take-out and delivery services, the city will be providing temporary “graband-go” zones throughout downtown for curbside food pickup. The zones will be in effect starting Wednesday, March 25.

The initiative is in response to the order by Gov. Charlie Baker announced on March 15 to close bars and suspend dine-in service at restaurants in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 throughout the Commonwealth.

Currently, the city has identified 13 curbside customer Grab-and-Go zones in areas with high concentrations of restaurants on downtown blocks that do not otherwise have enough loading options. The zones will be marked with blue and white “Food Pick-Up Priority” signs and will be able to accommodate up to two vehicles. These designated areas will be free and time limited to 5 minutes to allow for quick customer turnover and adequate social distancing.

Proprietors of restaurants which have transitioned to take-out services and are not included in the existing identified zones, are asked to call the city at 413-499-9330 (between the hours of 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday) to request a zone evaluation.

In addition to these changes, the city has also modified its parking regulations. While paid parking is still in effect, the city’s primary enforcement focus will be directed toward violations that interfere with the safety of all road users and violations including parking on sidewalks, by fire lanes and hydrants, and illegally parking in handicap spaces.

Effective immediately, the city has also implemented a 30-minute grace period for those who may have extended their paid parking time. Drivers are encouraged to download the city’s parking app, Passport, to manage their transactions. The app is available in Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

THE CITY OF PITTSFIELD OFFICE OF THE MAYOR 70 Allen Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201 To stay connected to city updates, a COVID-19 link is available on the home page of the city’s website, www.cityofpittsfield.org, and will feature continuous updates from the city. The public is also encouraged to use the subscription service to receive a notification when a new update from the city is available and sign up for CodeRed.

For more information, please contact Roberta McCulloch-Dews, Director of Administrative Services, Office of the Mayor, 413-499-9322.