PERMIT PARKING CHANGES TO GO INTO EFFECT ON JANUARY 4TH

[somerville311.livejournal.com]

Sign Installation Begins Nov. 16; Warnings Issued Starting December 21; No Tickets to Be Written until after New Year’s Weekend; Citywide Connect CTY Calls Scheduled for Nov. 15, Dec. 19, Jan. 2

[Please note that this message is designed to provide responses to questions raised in an earlier thread]

SOMERVILLE - Acting Director of Traffic and Parking James Kotzuba announced on November 12th that changes to the City's permit parking rules will become fully effective on Monday, January 4, 2010. Contractors will begin installing new signs on affected streets during the week of November 16th, and Parking Control Officers (PCOs) will follow up the sign installation by placing multilingual flyers on all vehicles parked on affected streets. PCOs will begin issuing warnings (with no fines) on December 21st, but will not issue actual violations of the new rules until January 4th. Beginning on Sunday, Nov. 15th, the City's Communications Department will make three separate citywide reminder calls using the connect CTY mass notification system.

The new regulations, which extend permit parking to the remaining one third of Somerville streets that were unregulated, had originally been set by a May 21st vote of the City's Traffic Commission to go into effect on August 1st. Implementation was delayed for five months in order to make additional modifications to the city's parking policies based on recommendations from the Parking Solutions Task Force - an advisory body of residents, business leaders, and public officials appointed by the mayor - and from the public.

"We've seen many improvements to these policies over the past several months," said Kotzuba, "and the work of the Task Force will go on. Even though we are proceeding with full implementation, we are also looking at additional ways to fine-tune the new policies. We've already made major changes to hours, to streets affected, to permitting for businesses, and to other aspects of the new policies, and we'll keep working."

Kotzuba also said that the Traffic and Parking Department is looking at the possibility of offering special Saturday hours on Nov. 21st and Dec. 5th to make it easier for residents who need new resident or visitor permits to pick them up in advance of the Jan 4th final deadline. "We will finalize our plans later this week and begin promoting them immediately, said Kotzuba. "Saturday hours will give the public more access, and we will also look at whether to offer some additional evening hours." T&P's offices at 133 Holland Street are already open until 7 p.m. every Thursday evening.

The Traffic Commission had previously voted on August 20, 2009 to approve an amendment to the city-wide permit parking regulation to implement 2-hour parking except by permit from 8 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. and permit parking only from 2:30a.m. to 8 a.m. (except Sundays and Holidays) on the following streets or portions thereof (unless otherwise posted):

* Beacon Street
* Boston Ave (Pearson Ave to Broadway)
* Bow St (#41-#68)
* Broadway
* Central St (Summer St to Highland Ave, and Cleveland St to Monmouth St)
* College Ave (Powderhouse Rotary to Morrison Ave)
* Cross St (Broadway to McGrath Highway)
* Elm St
* Highland Ave
* Holland St
* Lowell St (Somerville Ave to approximately 100' northerly, and Richardson St to Medford St)
* Medford St
* Pearl St (Medford St to Bradley St)
* School St (Knapp St to Somerville Ave)
* Somerville Ave
* Summer St (School St to Prescott St)
* Vernon St (Central St to end of Rogers Foam Co. property)
* Walnut St (Bow St to Sanborn Ave)
* Washington St
* Westwood St (Central St to end of Somerville Museum property)

In addition, the commission voted to extend the same regulations (2hr parking unless otherwise posted with permit parking only from 2:30 a.m. to 8 a.m.) to a number of streets that currently have time restrictions rather than permit parking. These streets include: Barton St (Broadway to 60ft north of Broadway); Bristol Rd (west side, 25ft north of Broadway extending 60ft, and east side 40ft north of Broadway extending 80ft); Chapel St; Herbert St (20ft east of Day St extending 40ft); Ivaloo St (Harrison St to Park St); Josephine Ave (Broadway extending 78ft south); Lowden Ave (west side, Broadway extending 20ft south and east side, 20ft south of Broadway extending 40ft); Meacham Rd (west side, 55ft northeast of Lester Terrace extending 270ft and east side, 95ft northeast of Glover Circle, extending 190ft); Newbury St (Teele Sq. extending 162ft south); Rogers Ave (west side, 27ft south of Broadway extending 20ft and east side, 20ft south of Boston Ave extending 80ft); and Webster Ave (Prospect St to Cambridge City Line).

For additional information about parking policy changes, permit costs and availability, and the implementation schedule, please call 311 (617-666-3311 outside the city) or visit the T&P webpage
A PDF-format copy of the informational brochure mailed citywide in September may be downloaded here

Comments

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

This is not necessary in the Winter Hill part of Broadway where I live; in over 4 years of living here, I have never had a hard time parking, not even on street sweeping nights, and now if I have more than 2 visitors from outside of Somerville at once, particularly if it is not planned in enough time to get party permits, they are screwed.

Part of what informed my decision to move to this part of Somerville was the lack of the damned parking regs. To those who voted these damn things in? Thanks for making Somerville even more unfriendly than it already is to visitors. Anything for money, I guess.

[rax.livejournal.com]

While I agree with you, the people who voted for these regulations probably don't read LiveJournal, and do read letters/emails sent to them directly...

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

And promptly dismiss them apparently if it comes between them and their money.

[twe.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely and am in the same boat. And, heck, they aren't even getting that much more money from me, since I found the parking sticker for my car useful enough that I got one even though I don't need it to park on my street, even if I didn't have a driveway.

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

I used to live in Winter Hill, and for those two years, not once did I have to park more than 2 houses away from my apartment.

Looks like my friends in Somerville, all of which live in very T-unfriendly parts of town, aren't going to be getting many visits anymore. Thanks, Somerville.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Many? At once? No. The city has decided it is enough for you to have 2 at a time, with visitor's passes that you have to go to the parking office to obtain, and that you have to pay for. I expect they have some kind of accommodation for planned parties, but impromptu ones? Not so much. Maybe these people who make all this damn policy forget that not everyone likes to live their every moment of their lives planned, and don't necessarily see it as an unreasonable burden to have jump through all of these hoops, even if doing so kills the joy to begin with. No, not unreasonable to them. Unreasonable to the folks who make these damn policies, is coming between them and the money they are extorting from people who live here and who want more visitors than they are apparently allowed to have without a lot of extra fuss. /rant off.

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

Implementation was delayed for five months in order to make additional modifications to the city's parking policies based on recommendations from the Parking Solutions Task Force - an advisory body of residents, business leaders, and public officials appointed by the mayor - and from the public.

Really? I don't think you did any of that besides the waiting five months part, because if you did, the entire city wouldn't require parking permits.

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

We've already made major changes ... to streets affected

That's some kind of joke, right?

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

Jim Kotzuba has confirmed that Chapel Street-- a small Residence A street off College Avenue-- has been taken off the list for 2:30 a.m. non-permit parking. Chapel Street will remain at the status quo.

They won't get away with this -

[kalimba21.livejournal.com]

Once it's in effect and the tickets begin, there will be an uproar.
I don't think this rule can possibly stand through another election. Anyone will become the new mayor on an anti all-permit platform.
It's gonna be a long 2 years...

[yourenotwithme.livejournal.com]

Flyers were put on cars on the streets affected? Really?
If I did not read LJ I probably would have no idea that this was going on. Luckily I have a driveway full time now but this truly still is a nuisance.