By Journal Staff
The Revere Traffic Commission (RTC) held its regular monthly meeting last Thursday, September 19, in the City Council Chamber at which the commission held a number of public hearings regarding proposed amendments to the parking and traffic regulations on various streets in the city. On hand for the session were RTC Acting Chairperson and DPW Supt. Christopher Ciaramella, City Engineer Nick Rystrom, Fire Chief Chris Bright, and City Planner Frank Stringi.
The first matter was a request from Ward 1 City Councillor Joanne McKenna “to Amend Schedule IX of Title 10 (Resident Parking Streets, 24 hour Enforcement) in order to have the remaining upper half of Endicott Avenue to have 24 hour/7 days a week permit parking. The lower half of Endicott has already been completed.”
McKenna, speaking on behalf of her amendment, noted that the portion of Endicott Ave. above the Winthrop Parkway has become a popular spot for sightseers to park their cars for extended periods in order to watch the seals on the rocks of Short Beach below.
“I’ve been hearing from the residents for the last couple of years that they can’t park in front of their homes. People come in cars and sit and eat and drink. They’re inundating the quality of life of these residents,” said McKenna, who also noted that the excessive parking by non-residents presents a safety concern because Endicott Ave. is on an MBTA bus route.
Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto said he has witnessed the parking situation and spoke in favor of the amendment. “This is really necessary and I hope you’ll approve it,” Zambuto said.
Marybeth DiBlasi of 237 Endicott Ave. told the commission, “This is a prime location of concern for the residents. We don’t have off-street parking and the area is very inviting for people to come and loiter and linger, but we can’t make calls about them until after midnight.”
Jenny Colangelo of 261 Endicott Ave. added, “This has been quite a problem. I grew up there, but there is nowhere to park when I am carrying bundles into my house.. People park there and take their beach chairs and go down to the beach, while others park there and take the bus.”
Zach Babo, the city’s Director of Parking, spoke in favor of the amendment. “I am a proponent of this request. Almost all of the other streets in Beachmont are 24/7 resident parking, but many Boston commuters park there on Endicott and walk to the T station,” Babo said.
There were no opponents and the commission unanimously approved the amendment.
Next up was a request from Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya “to remove the ‘No Parking’ signs located on Gilbert Avenue from the even-numbered side of the street to the odd-numbered side of the street.”
Babo noted that there could be an issue for fire trucks making the turn onto Gilbert Rd. from No. Shore Rd. However, there were no proponents of the amendment on hand and the commissioners voted to table the matter until a further meeting.
The next item was a request by Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro “to have two crosswalks placed at the intersection of Cushman Avenue and Adams Street. Crosswalks would be placed on Cushman Avenue on both sides of Adams Street. This would allow for pedestrian safety while school is in session.”
Ciaramella made the observation that there are two nearby crosswalks with ADA-compliant ramps, but that the proposed new crosswalks would not be in compliance with the ADA. Rystrom noted the availability of crosswalks nearby and also reiterated the concern about the new crosswalks not being ADA-compliant. The commissioners unanimously denied the request.
The commission then took up a request to, “Amend Schedule V of Title 10 (One-way streets) by adding the following: Linehurst Rd. westbound from Agatha St. to Rt. 1 North.”
Zambuto spoke in favor of the amendment. However, Ciaramella noted that the change would require that the commercial vehicles in the area be redirected through the residential neighborhood, which would not be preferable for the residents. Zambuto then suggested that the commission table the motion until further observation could be made, and the commissioners did so.
However, he commissioners approved a motion to amend Schedule VI of Title 10 (Heavy Commercial Vehicles) by restricting heavy commercial vehicles from using Linehurst Rd., Agatha St., Morris St., Robin Rd., and Bennett St.
Babo noted that some of the streets in the area already have that restriction and the mayor’s office is seeking to add the other streets in the area. Ward 6 Councilor Chris Giannino pointed out that the Mass. Dept. of Transportation would have to approve the change and institute “an alternate truck route” to accommodate the large trucks en route to Kappy’s Liquors.
The commissioners approved a weight limit of 30,000 pounds for the streets, subject to Mass. DOT reviewing the measure.
The next request was for “traffic calming measures to be placed in front of the Rossetti-Cowan Senior Center located at 25 Winthrop Avenue. Measures requested include a Speed Table and/or Traffic light.”
Deb DiGiulio from the Senior Center spoke in favor of the request and presented a packet to each commissioner which contained 20 letters from seniors in support of the request. “Please hear their pleas,” said DiGiulio, who read from a selection of the letters. “No one should be afraid of crossing the street. My seniors want a button to press to make the traffic stop.”
Councilor at Large Robert Haas also spoke in favor of the measure. “This definitely is needed,” said Haas.
“This is my ward,” said McKenna. “People are driving too fast everywhere, but we need to keep our seniors safe. This is a long stretch to cross the street from the central parking lot to get across Sprague St. and Winthrop Ave. to the Senior Center.”
Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky also spoke in favor of the measures. “I go up to the Senior Center often and these are the people who are vulnerable,” said Novoselsky. “Signs alone are not doing the job. Perhaps a raised crosswalk and a push-button system with flashing lights for pedestrians would be appropriate.”
“We’re lucky that up to now no one’s been killed there,” added Zambuto, who also spoke in favor of the amendment.
The commission approved the motion for a traffic control system for pedestrian crossing, with the proviso that the most-appropriate measures will be researched and adopted by the DPW in consultation with the Senior Center.
New requests that the commission moved to a public hearing for next month included making Essex St. one-way northerly from Park Ave. to Mountain Ave.; installing a crosswalk on Sargent St. at the Paws and Dog Play Park; and placing traffic-calming measures on Lantern Rd. between Squire and Rumney Rds., on Charger St. between Grover St. and Squire Rd., on Sigourney St. between Malden St. and Squire Rd., on Derby Rd. between Squire Rd. and on Malden St. between Newman St. and Washington Ave.
As regards the last amendment, Giannino told the commissioners of the huge volume of traffic that uses those streets, all of which are in residential areas. Christine Robertson, a Charger St. resident, also spoke of the huge amount of traffic that inundates her street and urged the commissioners to approve the installation of traffic-calming measures.
In other matters, the commission approved allowing resident parking on Beach St. at Flaherty Park between Kimball Ave. and No. Shore Rd. where the MBTA formerly had a bus stop that now has been eliminated.
The commission also voted to conduct a speed study to determine whether to install speed humps or other traffic-calming measures in the vicinity of 74 Yeamans St. and 130 Prospect Ave.
