By Journal Staff
The Revere Traffic Commission held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, April 16, in the City Councillor Joseph A. Del Grosso Council Chambers of Revere City Hall.
DPW Director Christopher Ciaramella presided over the session that was attended by Police Chief Maria LaVita, Fire Chief James Cullen, City Engineer Nick Rystrom, and Chief of Planning and Community Development Tom Skwierawski.
The first matter taken up was a request to add two stop signs at the intersections of Sumner St. & Walnut Place and at Overlook Ave. & Campbell Ave. Ward 2 City Councillor Ira Novoselsky spoke in favor of adding the stop signs.
“Cars have been flying around the corners,” said Novoselky, who noted that both are T-intersections. “We are hoping that the stop signs will slow them down.”
The commissioners voted to move the matter to a public hearing at its next meeting.
Next up was a request from Director of Parking Zach Babo asking that the language in the city’s parking ordinances be updated. “This is just a housekeeping matter more than anything. We are not making any substantive changes to the ordinances,” said Babo, who noted that the City Solicitor has opined favorably about the changes.
The members unanimously moved the matter to a public hearing for its next meeting.
Next up was a request to add a handicapped parking space 54 Carson Ave. The commissioners also moved this item to a public hearing.
The commission then took up a request put forward by Ward 5 City Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya to ban parking in the right-hand travel lane on Revere St. (heading easterly) from Sagamore Ave. to No. Shore Rd. “This section of Revere St. has become a consistent source of traffic congestion and a growing public safety concern for the residents,” said Guarino-Sawaya, “I’ve received numerous constituent complaints about excessive delays, unsafe driving conditions, and difficulty navigating this corridor, particularly during peak travel time. If we get rid of the parking on that side of the road, it would really move the flow of traffic,” she said.
“I agree with you completely,” said Ciaramella. “The parking makes that intersection much more difficult.”
Rystrom questioned where the people who park there now will be able to park and Babo added that there are no other options in the area for people to park, including delivery vehicles and visitors.
After Guarino-Sawaya said she will speak to the owners of the four or five vehicles who routinely park there and will try tio find them alternative parking, the commissioners unanimously voted to send the matter to a public hearing.
The commission als moved to a public hearing a request to make Genesee St. to Mountain Ave. northbound and Furness St. to Park Ave southbound one-way streets.
Rystrom said that he made this request as a resident of the area. “It’s very difficult to have two-way traffic on these streets because they are so narrow, especially during the winter,” Rystrom said.
Ciaramella added that snow-plowing is difficult on these streets. The commissioners moved the matter to a public hearing.
The final matters on the agenda were requests by Guarino-Sawaya to make Bates, Douglas, and Shurtleff Sts. “Parking for Residents Only 24 hours.”
“The problem is that the patrons of La Hacienda are using these streets as overflow parking and as a gathering area after leaving the establishment,” said Guarino-Sawaya. “Residents of these streets have been dealing with these ongoing problems for years. Non-resident vehicles park directly in front of residents’ homes, leaving residents without access to parking on their own street.
“There have been consistent reports of individuals congregating at vehicles late at night after the restaurant closes and loud music with the radios blasting from cars at excessive volumes well after-hours,” Guarino-Sawaya continued. “This creates a quality of life issue for the residents of these streets, which is strictly a residential area.
“There have been fights and there have been bottles thrown in the middle of the street and these residents should not have to live like that,” added Guarino-Sawaya, who said she has tried to work with the owners of La Hacienda (which had been the location of the iconic Maggio’s Restaurant for almost four decades from 1973-2011), but to no avail.
A resident of Shurtleff St. spoke in favor of the amendment to the commission. “This has been an ongoing thing and it seems to be escalating, especially on Thursdays through Sundays,” he said,
After Guarino-Sawaya suggested a compromise that the streets be made “Resident Parking After 6:00 PM,” the commissioners tabled the matter until their next meeting to determine the language that would be needed to make the change.
The final item on the agenda was a request to remove the handicapped parking spot at 54 Eastern Ave. because the person for whom the spot was created has moved. This too, was moved to a public hearing for next month.