The Revere Traffic Commission held its regular meeting last Thursday, July 21, in the City Councilor Joseph A. Del Grosso Council Chambers of Revere City Hall.
City Planner Frank Stringi chaired the meeting that was attended by fellow members City Engineer Nicholas Rystrom and Fire Chief Chris Bright.
The commission took up the following matters:
Public Hearings
1. Request by Ward 6 Councilor Richard Serino to amend Schedule VIII of Title 10 Parking Restrictions Generally by adding Malden St. southwesterly from Washington Ave. to Newhall St. “No Parking Anytime.”
Although Serino was not on hand for the hearing, he submitted a letter stating that his request was motivated by safety concerns.
“There has been an uptick in people parking along Malden St., particularly from Aurelia Sylvia Drive to Hall’s Corner in the direction headed towards Newhall St.,” said Serino in his letter. “The parking constitutes a serious hazard” that often forces oncoming drivers over the yellow line.
Serino said he had been approached by constituents who are concerned about the problem. Two of them spoke to the commission, with one telling the commissioners,”The situation is becoming increasingly more dangerous with cars parking there for hours and hours, with many accidents nearly occurring,” and the other pointing out the heavy traffic of all kinds, from bicycles to buses, that increases the potential for a tragedy along the busy thoroughfare.
The commission voted unanimously to approve the amendment.
2. Ward 3 Councilor Anthony S. Cogliandro requests the Traffic Commission to amend Section 10.32.211 Commercial Vehicle Parking – Application for Permit, by striking Sub-Section 10.32.211 (1) A valid business certificate must be on file with the city clerk’s office for the business associated with the commercial vehicle.
Councilor Cogliandro spoke in favor of his proposal. He noted that this would pertain to Revere residents whose commercial vehicles are registered in the city, and who therefore are paying the appropriate excise taxes, but whose businesses are not in Revere, which is why they are being ticketed under the existing ordinance.
He noted that under his proposal, these residents would be eligible to obtain a commercial parking sticker, limited to one per household, which would bring in an additional $425 of revenue per vehicle for the city.
City Parking Director Zack Babbo spoke in favor of the measure, though adding that a business certificate or insurance policy, reflecting a Revere address, should be included with the amendment.
The commissioners approved the amendment with the additional language suggested by Babbo.
3. The Parking Director requests the following:
Section 1. Schedule VIII of Title 10 – Parking Restrictions Generally is hereby amended by adding McKinley School Parking Lot, interior (9 spaces).
Type Parking: City Hall employee parking by permit only, 8:00am – 5:00pm, Monday – Friday.
Babbo told the committee that there are no available parking spaces for city workers and that non-city residents are using the spaces at the school all day for free.
Under his proposal, city workers with parking permits could use the lot in the designated spaces during the day. The commission approved the amendment.
Section 2. Schedule IX(B) of Title 10 – Parking by Business Parking Permit only is hereby amended by adding the following location:
Location: McKinley School Parking Lot, 9 spaces, Type Parking: 8:00AM – 12:00AM, Monday – Sunday
Babbo noted that this would apply to area business owners who would be able to obtain parking permits for their employees to park in nine designated spaces during their business hours.
The commission approved this amendment.
Section 3. Schedule IX(A) of Title 10 – Parking by Permit Only is hereby amended by adding the following location:
Location: McKinley School Parking Lot
Type Parking: Resident sticker parking only, 5:00PM – 8:00AM, Monday – Friday; 24 hours Saturday, Sunday, and holidays.
This amendment would allow area residents with stickers to use the McKinley School lot in the evenings and on weekends.
The commission unanimously approved the amendment.
4. Ward 1 Councilor Joanne McKenna requests to amend Schedule IX of Title 10- Resident Parking Streets, Twenty-Four Hour Enforcement by adding:
— Bellingham Ave. for the entire length
Councillor McKenna spoke in favor of her proposal. She noted that residents are being ticketed for overnight parking only along a certain stretch of Bellingham Ave., but not on the rest of it, which is confusing for the residents. The net effect of the change would be to bring consistency to the area.
Babbo spoke in favor of the change and the commission unanimously approved it.
— Webster Street from Winthrop Ave. to Crescent Ave.
McKenna said this amendment would bring some relief to three homeowners who are effectively are unable to park in front of their own homes because of the influx of parking by residents from nearby neighborhoods.
The commission unanimously approved the amendment.
Requests
1. Request for a public hearing to convert the Broadway Bus Only Lane Pilot Program to a permanent program on the southerly side of Broadway beginning from 730 Broadway southerly towards 80 Broadway onward to the Revere -Chelsea City Line. The bus lane will operate during the hours of 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday . Parking will be prohibited during the hours of 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. during the operating hours of the bus lane on the southbound side of Broadway. A parking penalty of $100.00 will be imposed by the Revere Parking Department for vehicles parked in the bus lane during the bus lane operating hours of 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Julie DeMauro, Transportation Coordinator from the City Planning Dept., spoke in favor of the proposal, adding that her department is open to working with the commission to add or subtract any clarifying language to the proposed amendment as needed.
Eric Burkman of the MBTA, who runs the bus lane program for the T, provided the commission with data that showed that the reduction in average travel time for bus riders was significant during the pilot program, including a reduction in the number of trips that experienced longer-than-usual delays.
“Overall, the bus lane has been working really well and I appreciate the partnership with this commission and Ms. DeMauro,” said Burkman, who also added that the heavy ridership on the route has held steady both during and after COVID.
The commission voted unanimously to send the matter to a public hearing.
The exact language of the proposed amendment that will come forward at the public hearing is as follows:
Request to amend the City of Revere Ordinance Title 10, Vehicles and Traffic, to include bus lane(s), and the operations of, within in the following sections of the City of Revere Ordinance Chapter 10, Vehicles and Traffic :
Title 10, Vehicles and Traffic, Chapter 10.04.010 Definitions of the General Provisions section to include ‘Bus Lane’
Bus Lane or bus only lane: A lane restricted and marked for buses only
Title 10, Vehicles and Traffic, Chapter 10.32.150- Misuse of bus stops and taxicab stands to include bus lanes
Title 10 Vehicles and Traffic Chapter 10.08.050 Designation of bus stops and other special zones to include bus lanes
Schedule XIV of Title 10 Bus Stops to include Bus Lanes
Bus Lane Broadway southerly beginning from 730 Broadway southerly towards 80 Broadway onward to the Revere -Chelsea City Line
To operate Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 4: a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Section 10.48.160 Title 10, Section 1 Parking Penalties to include bus lane
GROUP E FINE – $100 EACH
Schedule 8 of Title 10 Parking Restrictions Generally to include
No Parking on Broadway South Side from Revere Street to Route 16 from 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for the purpose of the bus lane.
2. Request by Councilors Serino and Cogliandro to amend the city ordinances by:
a. Adding stop signs on Fenley St. where it intersects with Conant St. One sign in each direction.
b. Adding stop signs on Fenley St. where it intersects with Carlson St. One sign in each direction.
Councilor Cogliandro spoke in favor of the amendment. He noted that the goal of adding the stop signs is to reduce the speeding problem on these streets.
The commission voted unanimously to send the matter to a public hearing.
3. Request by Councillor Cogliandro to add Fire Lanes onto Folsom St. at Broadway.
“It is difficult to turn from Folsom St. onto Broadway because of the cars that are parked at the corner,” said Cogliandro. “There is a potential for head-on collisions. And if cars are parked on both sides, it would make it difficult for fire apparatus to make the turn to get down the street.”
Babbo noted that the specific area in question presently is a No Parking Any Time zone, but the sign has been ripped out of the pavement. Babbo said that numerous tickets have been issued for violators, but it has had no effect on the parking scofflaw situation.
Cogliandro said he would be amenable to amending his amendment to establish a no parking zone on the southerly side of Folsom St. The commission voted to send the amended amendment to a public hearing.
4. Request from Councilor McKenna to amend Schedule VIII of title 10 by adding 917 Winthrop Ave., one-hour parking.
McKenna spoke in favor of her amendment which would allow for a business at that address to be able to have its customers park for an hour while making deliveries and pick-ups without getting a ticket.
The commission voted to send this amendment to a public hearing.
5. Request from Councilor McKenna to amend resident permit parking by adding: Atlantic Ave., one hour parking, up to 15 Atlantic Ave., for a business in that part of Atlantic Ave. between Bradstreet Ave. and State Rd.
The commission voted to send the matter to a public hearing.
6. Request from Councilor Serino to amend Schedule V of Title 10 by adding:
a. Derby Rd northeasterly Grover to Squire as a one-way.
b. Derby Rd. southwesterly Grover to Malden as a one-way
The residents of the area requested this change, which the commission voted unanimously to send to a public hearing.
7. Request from Councilor Serino to amend Schedule V of Title 10 by adding:
a. Sigourney St. Southwesterly Grover to Malden
b. Sigourney St. Northeasterly Grover to Squire
This also was requested by the residents and the commission likewise voted to send this to a public hearing.
8. Request from Councilor Serino to amend Schedule V of Title 10 by removing:
— Derby Rd. southwesterly, Squire Rd. to Malden St.
— Sigourney St. northeasterly, Malden St. to Squire Rd.
— Sigourney St. northwesterly, Grover St. to Malden St.
The commission voted to send this matter to a public hearing.
8. There was a late-added request to add a handicapped parking sign at 74 Victoria St.
The commission voted to send the matter to a public hearing to allow the resident to address the commission regarding his request.
The commission then voted to adjourn.
