[OT] looking for Medford traffic regulations

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

Sorry for going a mile afield. If there's a decent community forum/site for Medford (or south Medford) I would appreciate if someone could point me in that direction. I just moved from Teele Sq to about a mile north of Davis Sq in Medford.

What I am looking for is the current parking regulations for the City of Medford. Specifically, this would be all of the rules and regulations passed and amended by the city Traffic Commission.
As of October 2002, the title of the document I am searching for was "TRAFFIC RULES and REGULATIONS, CITY OF MEDFORD TRAFFIC COMMISSION". I have that document, taken from some non-public computer systems at City Hall, thanks to a few helpful folks. I also have a one-page addendum from December 2002 that was distributed as a flyer to the PD and the Hearings Office.

What I do not have is any further information on any additions, amendments, or deletions to those rules and regulations in the past 11 years. As a new resident, I want a current copy of these regulations so that I can be informed and ensure I do not violate them.

I have spoken on the phone with the Police Department, Police Department Traffic & Accident Investigation Unit, Collector's Office, Law Department, City Clerk's Office, and Hearings Office. I have spoken in person with the Police Department, Police Department Traffic & Accident Investigation Unit, Law Department and City Solicitor, City Clerk's Office, Parking Clerk's Office, Mayor's Office, and Hearings Office. I have also spoken on the phone with individuals from the Office of Community Development, and in person with the Office of Community Development and Department of Public Works, the heads of which are members of the Traffic Commission. I have left voicemails and/or in-person messages for the secretary of the Traffic Commission (who is out on personal leave, and I am told by multiple people is my last resort to find information related to Traffic Commission business, and whose office is inaccessible in her absence), the Police Chief (who is also the Traffic Commissioner and the chairman of the Traffic Commission), Lauren DiLorenzo (on the traffic commission and head of the Office of Community Development), Paul Gere (on the traffic commission and head of the Department of Public Works), and home voicemails for Felix Blackburn and Beth Govani, citizen members of the traffic commission. I have been told four possible dates and two possible locations for the next Traffic Commission meeting, and been unable to confirm either of those pieces of information with either of those locations.

At this point I am prepared to wait until next week and attempt to contact the secretary who has been out, but I am not hopeful. I expect to find that the regulations in question are not published. Can anyone offer advice on how I should proceed (assume I place no value on my personal time)?

Comments

[zard.livejournal.com]

I can't offer much in the way of the actual regulations, except that they are only sporadically enforced and that there is much complaining. I've been in Medford for 7 years and have had one ticket for parking on a street where you need to buy a pass. Usually tickets appear when neighbors complain.

The group to join in Medford is the medfordmass Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/medfordmass/. It takes 24-48 hours for them to accept you, last I checked. If you post your question there, you might get an answer. It is an active group.

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Medford operates on benign neglect. It's rare that enforcement happens (it'll happen in snow emergencies), and just follow the signs and you'll be fine.

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

I actually got a ticket for an unpublished ordinance (it exists as a flyer in a binder behind a desk at city hall, and another flyer with a different fine amount in a folder behind a desk at the police department), so I have some immediate/direct interest in finding this information. But, generally, I want laws to be public, and I'm willing to spend some time to make that happen.

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

"Beware of the leopard."

But, unpublished ordinance? That's legal? Shit.

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's almost a "Beware of the leopard" sort of situation. An 11 year old copy of the regulations exists digitally on city hall computers, but is not published anywhere in dead tree or digital form. One newer section was published as a flyer, also about 11 years ago, and that flyer is not posted anywhere public (it's in a binder in an office at City Hall, and another at the Police Dept, both with different fines listed). Anything else the Traffic Commission has done in the last 11 years is not available to the public right now. When their secretary is back from personal leave she might have it in her office, but as long as she's gone it's locked up and no one has access.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

If there's no snow emergency, do they not enforce the one-side winter overnight parking rule?

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Two winters ago, when there was no snow, we never went to one side. When there is snow, the plowing is shitty enough that there's barely room on most of the side streets for one side parking, and no one even tried for two side parking in my neighborhood. It wasn't physically possible

Oh, and for street cleaning day, they'll (probably) post when it is, and will drive down the street with a loudspeaker yelling at people to move their cars at obnoxious o'clock in the morning.

But the rent is cheaper than Davis, so there's that.

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

I remember thinking that Waltham seemed laxer about snow removal than Camberville. Higher density means more assiduous removal? More tax money per square meter to fund removal with?

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I do know that we had several houses on my walk from my house to the bus stop who didn't shovel their walks at ALL after a couple blizzards last year (well, to be perfectly fair, they'd shovel from their front door to the street), And nothing happened, even after I called and emailed the DPW, the police, and finally, after a week had gone by, the mayor (with pictures).

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

Don't I know it. The ones who "forgot" the cub cuts intensely pissed me off.

[hissilliness.livejournal.com]

We may be moving to Medford too. Perhaps we need to form a DSLJ_in_Medford LJ community.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

or we could just meet for beer once a month. :) there is an LJ medford group and nobody ever used it.

[ron_newman]

Or revive medford_mass ?

[hissilliness.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm attempting to do that.

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

Funny you should say that. We moved to Medford this year, too.

[leafshimmer.livejournal.com]

I live in Medford. On my street, between around Dec. 1 and April 1, we can only park on either the odd or even side of the street depending on the last digit of the year--13 is an odd number so it will be odd side this winter.

We have street cleaning twice a year, roughly, and they post for it beforehand. Other than that, there seem to be no (enforced) parking regs to speak of.

Best of luck getting the current info. That's awful about being ticketed for some ordinance that isn't publicly available or posted.

[ron_newman]

there's a medfordmass Yahoo group (mailing list)

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Have you posted what you have so far anyplace? How about registering 'MedfordParkingRegs.org' ? :)

[squirrelitude]

Definitely at least deserves a post to reddit.

[mytheria.livejournal.com]

As yet another recent transplant to Medford (from North Cambridge), creating an active LJ presence would be great.

[ron_newman]

It would make more sense to revive medford_mass than to create another new LJ community.

Does the moderator, enochs_fable, still exist?