Additional MBTA Parking spaces
The MBTA parking lot in Framingham can handle 166 cars on any given day. Did you know that the lot can easily handle at least 5 more cars with very little effort. This is because in the middle of the parking lot there is a gate which allow construction trucks to an area of land between the parking lot and the station. There is no parking in front of that gate.
The problem is that the MBTA doesn't use that entrance at all. This is because there is another entrance just outside of the parking lot which offers better access to the property.
This leaves a large section of the parking lot to be empty everyday for no reason. In fact, the gates never get open in the winter because the plows create a pile in front of the gate preventing anyone from even opening up the gate.
If LAZ Parking was to allow 5 cars to park in front of the gate they could easily collect an additional $25 a day or $500 a month. They would simply have to take down the signs and put parking lines in.
Having five spaces isn't a lot, but it can certainly help people on those very busy commuting days when your face with uncertainty when the lot is full. One thing is for sure, those five spaces will make a difference for those five commuters.
Should the MBTA actually need to use the gate, they could put cones up to prevent people from parking in front of the gate. However, I have never seen the gates open in the past 3 years that I have taken the train.