By Journal Staff
The Revere Traffic Commission held a regular monthly meeting last Thursday, June 12, in the City Councillor Joseph A. Del Grosso Council Chambers. On hand for the session were Chair and DPW Director Christopher Ciaramella and fellow members City Engineer Nick Rystrom, Interim Police Chief Maria LaVita, and Acting Fire Chief James Cullen.
The commission held a number of public hearings, after which the commissioners voted to adopt proposed changes to the city’s parking and traffic control ordinances.
The first matter essentially sought to codify the ineligibility of residents of certain residential complexes to participate in the city’s resident parking sticker program. Those buildings had received variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals on the condition that the residents not be eligible for on-street parking stickers.
There were no opponents and the commissioners unanimously voted to adopt the amendment to the ordinance as follows:
The following new and proposed multifamily residential developments shall be included under Section 10.34.020 (G) as non-eligible for residential parking stickers:
8 Avon Street (12 units)
Amaya at Suffolk Downs (475 units)
650 Beach Street (32 units)
51-53 Centennial (13 units)
21 Green Street (29 units)
1510 North Shore Road (16 units)
1499 North Shore Road (38 units)
1198 North Shore Road (144 units)
1473 North Shore Road (11 units)
110 Ocean Avenue (48 units)
100 Revere Street (32 units)
571 Revere Street (52 units)
8 Revere Street (9 units)
451 Revere Beach Blvd (16 units)
459 Revere Beach Blvd (59 units)
37 Revere Beach Blvd (18 units)
133 Salem Street (71 units)
163 Shirley Avenue (24 units)
38 Walnut Avenue (20 units)
55 Walnut Avenue (30 units).
Tom Skwierawski, the city’s Chief of Planning and Community Development, came before the commission seeking traffic-calming measures recommended by the city’s Traffic Working Group (TWG) on Charger St. and Proctor Ave.
As for Charger St., he said a flashing “You’re Speeding” sign and an additional stop sign at Grover St. are the TWG’s recommendations.
As regards Proctor Ave., he said the TWG recommended a speed bump and a new stop sign at B St.
Christine Robertson of 187 Charger St. requested a speed bump also be installed on Charger St. “because the amount of traffic and volume and speeding on Charger St. is out of control. I appreciate the ‘You’re Speeding’ and a stop sign, but they will not be enough to impede people to make them slow down. It takes four or five light cycles sometimes just to get out of our driveways. Only a speed bump will cause them to slow down.”
City Councilor Chris Giannino echoed Robertson’s request. After noting that a stop sign already is on the books, but it simply has never been installed, he also advocated for a speed hump because it will be more effective at slowing down speeders, especially given the unique configuration of Charger St.
Ciaramella suggested that the commission adopt the TWG’s recommendations and see whether they work to reduce the speeding on Charger St., and Robertson agreed that it be done on a trial basis.
The commission then took up a number of recommendations by the city’s Department of Planning and Community Development to convert the MBTA’s pilot program — which has been ongoing for the past six months — into a permanent program beginning June 15th. Those recommendations are as follows;
• Permanently remove the bus stop located at Walgreens (Broadway southbound) and relocate the stop to Mountain Ave and Broadway (south side) to improve bus stop access for riders of the 116, 119, and 411.
• Request to place a stop sign at the intersection of Grover Street & Charger Street.
• Request to place a speed hump West of Smith Street
• Request to place a Stop sign at Proctor Avenue at B Street Westerly and at Proctor at B Street Easterly
• Permanently remove the bus stop located at TD Bank (Broadway northbound) and relocate the stop to Mountain Ave and Broadway (south side) to improve bus stop access for riders of the 116, 119, and 411.
• Move the left-turn lane stop bar on Central Avenue at Broadway back 10’ and paint don’t block the box markings to allow safe turning for large vehicles and improve intersection operations.
• Move the right-turn lane stop bar on Central Avenue at Broadway back 23’, paint don’t block the box markings and formally prohibit right turn on red to allow safe turning for large vehicles and improve intersection operations.
• Move the left-turn lane stop bar on Park Avenue at Broadway back 5’ and paint “Don’t block the box” markings to allow safe turning for large vehicles and improve intersection operations.
• Lengthen Park Ave eastbound curb hashing between Broadway and metered parking spaces.
There were no opponents and the commission unanimously approved the changes.
The commission then took up a number of new requests. The first sought to remove the current one-sided parking restrictions on the streets in the Riverside neighborhood (Archer Street, Lawson Avenue, Wadleigh Avenue, Beckett Avenue, Blanchard Avenue, River Avenue, Gilbert Avenue, Frank Avenue, and Tobin Avenue) to allow for two-sided parking.
City Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya spoke on this matter.
“This issue has been causing significant frustration for the residents of Riverside,” she said, noting that up until a few years ago, two-sided parking had been allowed on all of the streets in that neighborhood. “However, the change to one-sided parking has created inconvenience and parking unavailability in an area where space is limited to begin with.”
She said that the residents wish to return to two-sided parking, though with “No Parking Here to Corner” signs to ensure that emergency apparatus can make the turns onto those streets.
Mark DeSimone of Gilbert Ave. told the commission that the change to one-sided parking has all but eliminated the ability of residents and their visitors to park in front of their homes. He noted that there never had been a problem with emergency vehicles navigating the streets when the streets had two-sided parking. He further pointed out that the Riverside neighborhood is the only area in the city where only one-sided parking is permitted.
“We’re begging you to please give us our parking back,” DeSimone said.
Dennis Tarantino, who has lived in his home for 75 years, echoed DeSimone’s request. “I never saw a problem with emergency vehicles when there was two-sided parking,” Tarantino said.
Three other residents also spoke in favor of returning the area to two-sided parking.
However, Ciaramella said that the roads are not wide enough for the DPW’s snowplows to make it down the street if there is two-sided parking, to which Guarino-Sawaya suggested that an emergency parking ban be instituted for snow removal.
After some back-and-forth, Ciaramella then suggested that the motion be tabled to allow for a study to be conducted by the TWG to determine the width of each of the streets and make a recommendation about the feasibility of two-sided parking in the area.
Next up was a request to add two handicapped parking spaces at 35 Fernwood Avenue and 11 Wave Avenue. The commissioners voted to move those matters to a public hearing for their next meeting, when they will take a formal vote on whether to approve the spaces.
Next up was a request to Amend Schedule VIII of Title 10 (Parking Restrictions Generally) by removing “No Parking Anytime” on Mill St. westerly from Hall Street to the Revere Beach Parkway and by adding “No Parking Anytime” on Mill St. easterly from Hall Street to the Revere Beach Parkway.
Ward 1 City Councillor Joanne McKenna submitted a petition signed by 22 residents in favor of the motion. Ciaramella noted that the reason for the petition is because there is more parking available on the easterly side of the street than on the westerly side.
The commission voted unanimously to send the matter to a public hearing at which time they will take a vote.
McKenna spoke on another request to Amend Schedule VIII of Title 10 (Parking Restrictions Generally) by adding one-sided parking on the east side of Eaton St. McKenna submitted a petition signed by 10 residents.
James Caramello, a former firefighter who lives at 11 Eaton St., said there are seven homes on the street, of which six are single-family. He noted that Eaton St. runs parallel to Broadway and that a similar street, Wilson St., has one-sided parking because emergency vehicles were unable to operate on the street with two-sided parking. He said that similarly, emergency vehicles will not be able to traverse Eaton St. if there is parking on both sides.
The commissioners unanimously moved the matter to a public hearing.
McKenna spoke in favor of another amendment to amend Schedule VIII of Title 10 (Parking Restrictions Generally) by adding No Parking signs in front of the Liston Towers on Dolphin Avenue, westerly from Atlantic Avenue to Jones Road.
“This is a safety issue,” said McKenna. “The residents of Liston Towers have off-street parking, but they are parking on the sidewalk and the emergency apparatus are unable to get down the street.”
The commissioners once again unanimously voted to move this matter to a public hearing.
Councillor McKenna also spoke to the commission about the feasibility of installing a portable speed bump on Endicott St., McKenna noted that the residents are seeking the traffic-calming measure because “cars fly down the street.”
The commissioners referred the request to the TWG.
The commissioners referred to a public hearing a request by Parking Director Zach Babo to install a number of new parking meters in the area of the Shirley Ave. business district. Babo told the commission that a community meeting (a suggestion that the commission had made at its meeting last month) had been held to explain the reasons for the meters at the various locations, The commissioners moved the matter to a public hearing.
Ward 2 City Councillor Ira Novoselsky made a request to have the “No Parking here to Corner” section on both sides of the corner of Walnut Ave. and Shirley Ave. be enlarged from 20 ft. to 40 ft. in order to allow for better turning.
The commission unanimously moved this to a public hearing.
Novoselsky also made a request to move the stop bar on Beach St. back from 20 ft. to 40 ft. in order for buses coming southbound to Beach St. from Wonderland to be able to make the turn.
Ciaramella noted that the MBTA already is looking at this issue and the matter was tabled until the T can get back to the commission with its recommendation.
