By Journal Staff
The Revere Traffic Commission held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, July 18, in the City Councillor Joseph A. Del Grosso Council Chambers at Revere City Hall. DPW Supt. Chris Ciaramella presided over the session that was attended by fellow commissioners Fire Chief Chris Bright, Police Chief Dave Callahan, and City Engineer Nick Rystrom.
The commissioners held a number of public hearings on a variety of matters. The first item was a request to install “a traffic-calming speed bump on Mountain Avenue to be located 20 feet east of Kilburn Street.” Ward 4 City Councilor Paul Argenzio spoke on behalf of the measure. “As you know, Mountain Ave. is a straightaway and lends itself to speeding. A speed bump hopefully will slow the traffic down,” Argenzio said.
“This is probably the best place for this sort of implementation,” said Rystrom. “It’s an appropriate measure for that location.”
The commissioners unanimously approved the motion.
Next up was a request to amend Schedule V of Title 10 (One Way Streets) by making Cambridge St. one-way southerly from Mountain Ave. to Park Ave.
Argenzio said a number of residents have mentioned to him that motorists are using Cambridge St. as a cut-through by vehicles which this hopefully will prevent.
A resident added that vehicles are “flying” when they use Cambridge St. as a cut-through. She also noted that during the winter months, vehicles have a difficult time making it up the hill on the street. Another resident, who has lived there for 35 years, reiterated the speeding by vehicles that use the street as a cut-through.
However, Rystrom suggested that by making Cambridge St. one-way, the problem will be passed off to adjoining streets, a sentiment with which Ciaramella concurred. “This is a larger problem and we have to address the neighborhood as one issue,” said Ciaramella. However, after Argenzio suggested that the traffic would be dispersed throughout the area and the commission always can revisit their decision, the commissioners unanimously approved the motion.
Next up was a request to Amend Schedule VIII of Title 10 (Parking Restrictions Generally) by: “Removing NO PARKING from the odd side of the street and adding NO PARKING to the even side of the street on River Ave. from Mills to Hayes Aves.”
Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya spoke in favor of the measure, noting that this will add much-needed parking spaces on the street. A resident also spoke in favor of the motion. There were no opponents and the commissioners unanimously approved the measure.
The next item was a request to amend Title 10 – Chapter 12.12.020 as follows::
“1. Establish two lanes on Winthrop Avenue, heading towards Broadway, between Lowe Street and Beach Street at Immaculate Conception to provide for a right-turn lane onto Beach Street, left-turn/straight lane for Beach Street and Winthrop Avenue.
“2. Establish two lanes on Beach Street from Harrington Street to Winthrop Avenue, heading towards Winthrop Avenue, to provide for a right-turn lane onto Winthrop Avenue, and left-turn/straight lane for Winthrop Avenue and Beach Street.”
Ciaramella noted that this already is the case de facto and that the lanes need restriping, which the commissioners unanimously approved.
The commission then took up a number of new matters. The first was a request for the installation of a speed bump on Walnut Avenue “in the interest of public safety for the Senior Residents of 50 Walnut Avenue.”
Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky spoke in favor of the motion. “Cars are flying down that street. We’re looking for some safety for our seniors there,” the veteran councillor said. The commissioners voted to send it to a public hearing at its next meeting.
Next up was a request from the mayor “for a sign that says No Left Turn on North Shore Road to Cove Street during school hours (unless you are a resident) of Cove Street. The traffic congestion is out of control and dangerous. Vehicles block the intersection, make illegal U-turns, and incessantly beep horns while students are trying to cross the street. Standish Road can handle the traffic flow much better than Cove.”
Novoselsky also spoke in favor of this item. When Rystrom pointed out that No. Shore Rd. is a state road, Novoselsky said that Mass DOT in the past has not raised objections to other signage that the city has implemented along No. Shore Rd.
The commission, upon Ciaramella’s suggestion, tabled the motion until MassDOT is contacted and given a chance to weigh in on the change.
The final agenda item was a request to Amend Schedule XI of Title 10 (Handicapped Person Parking) by adding 288 Crescent Avenue. Ralph DeCicco, the chair of the Commission on Disabilities, sent a packet indicating that the request meets the legal requirements and the commissioners unanimously moved the matter to a public hearing for its next meeting.
Lastly, William P. Mertz, a vice-president from Tighe & Bond, spoke to the Traffic Commission about a grant given to the city from MassDOT’s Safe Routes to School Program. The project will include safety improvements in the vicinity of the Beachmont School on Everard Street, Belle Isle Ave., and Crescent Ave. The changes will focus on making the sidewalks ADA-compliant. Mertz said that the grant for the project, which amounted to about $350,000, is in the early stages of development, but had wanted to give the commissioners a heads-up as to what to expect in the months ahead.
