By Journal Staff
The Revere Traffic Commission held a regular monthly meeting on April 17 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 Planner Frank Stringi, City Engineer Nick Rystrom, and Acting Fire Chief James Cullen.
The commission held one public hearing regarding a request to Amend Schedule VIII of Title 10 (Parking Restrictions Generally) by removing Wilson Street Easterly from “No Parking Anytime” and by adding Wilson Street Westerly as “No Parking Anytime.”
A resident told the commissioners that the present situation prevents buses from making the turn off Beach St. onto Wilson St., forcing residents to the top of Wilson St. to catch the bus.
Acting Fire Chief Cullen also said he is in favor of the changes.
After a brief discussion, the commissioners unanimously approved the measure.
The commissioners then took up a number of new items. The first was a request from the city for the metering of 17 public parking spaces designated for public use in the area at the new Gibson Point apartments.
After Stringi explained the purpose of placing meters in the area, the commission unanimously approved moving the matter to a public hearing at its next meeting, at which time they will take a vote on the measure.
The next item was a request to Amend Schedule IX, Section 10.99.090 (Resident Parking Twenty-Four Hour Enforcement) to include Prince St. Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro (who was not present for the meeting) had filed the request at the behest of the residents.
Zach Babo, the city’s Parking Director, told the commission that a nearby construction project on Broadway had created the problem because the construction workers are parking on Prince St.
After both Ciaramella and Rystrom suggested that the problem will go away once the project is completed (which is imminent) and that placing a “Residents Only” parking restriction on Prince St. only will move the problem to another street, the commission voted to table the matter until a future meeting.
Next up was a request to remove the residential building at 41 Revere St. (which consists of 12 units with 12 parking spaces) from Title 10, Section 10.34.020; Subsection G (Multi-Family residential properties having more than six units shall not be eligible for Resident Parking Stickers).
“This would open up a very large issue with parking in the entirety of our city because there are so many of these properties that are not eligible for on-street parking,” said Ciaramella. “This would open up a can of worms and would become a larger issue if we approve this.”
“This would cause further problems,” agreed Rystrom. The commission then unanimously voted to deny the request.
The commission voted to refer to the city’s Traffic Working Group item #4, which was as follows: “A request to place appropriate signage and/or blinking lights ahead of all speed bumps to provide sufficient warning to drivers and improve roadway safety. Furthermore, that the Traffic Commission and Department of Public Works conduct a review of all existing speed bump locations to ensure proper signage and report back with recommendations.”
The commission also voted to postpone taking up item #5, which was a request to install two speed bumps along Mills Avenue and two on Rice Avenue.
The next item was a request to reduce the speed limit on Campbell Ave. between Centennial Ave. and the Revere Beach Parkway from 25 to 20 miles per hour. Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky spoke in favor of the request.
“There are other streets in the city that are commercial streets that have a speed limit of 20 miles per hour, but this is a residential street with 25 miles per hour,” said Novoselsky.
The commissioners unanimously voted to move the matter to a public hearing at its next meeting.
The commission then heard a report presented by Olivia Mobayad, a :Project Manager with the MBTA’s Better Bus Transformation Project, regarding the Bus Stop Pilot program that was launched this past December. Mobayad first reviewed the pilot program’s main goals, which are as follows:
— Relocation of bus stops for Routes 116, 119, and 110 along Broadway and Park Avenue to improve transfers for riders; and
— Installation of new Transit Signal Technology to allow buses to safely serve the new bus stops without adverse impacts to intersection operations.
Mobayad said that bus routes 116 (which absorbed former bus route 117) and 110 are now Frequent Bus Routes, which has increased service to every 15 minutes or better during service hours every day. In addition, she said that consolidating the bus stop at Park and Broadway for both of those routes has made transfers between the two routes easier and more accessible for riders.
Mobayad also noted that the project has eliminated the use of the so-called “driveway” behind the fire station that previously had been used by buses to get from Broadway onto Park Ave.
Mobayad said that there are 5,100 total daily bus riders (compared to 30,000 automobiles), who traverse Broadway and that there are 255 average weekday transfers and 580 daily boardings at the new bus stops.
“Things are working well and we are benefiting a lot of riders every day,” said Mobayad.
Mobayad noted that large vehicles have difficulty making the right turns from Broadway onto Central Ave. and Broadway onto Park Ave. She said the T is proposing to move the stop bars in the roadways on Park and Central 10 feet further back from the intersections. The commissioners suggested that the area right after the current stop bars could be “X’d” out wth “Don’t Block the Box signage,” rather than moving back the stop bars, to which Mobeid suggested a compromise of moving the stop bars back five feet, along with instaling the “X” striping.
Mobayad also said that the T is recommending placing new bus stops on Mountain Ave. that would avoid 170 pedestrian crossings on Central Ave. and 400 additional “ons and offs” at the new stops between Park and Central Aves.
Mobayad said the T’s present timeline calls for the six-month pilot program to end in June. She said that if the commission agrees to make the changes permanent, the construction work to be undertaken by the T for ADA-compliant sidewalk improvements along the bus routes will begin in the fall.
Mobayad said the proposed changes include the following:
— 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;
— 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 up to 15’ back from the intersection to allow safe turning for large vehicles and improve intersection operations; and
— Move the left-turn lane stop bar on Park Avenue at Broadway up to 15’ back from the intersection to allow safe turning for large vehicles and improve intersection operations.
After Julie DeMauro from the city’s Office of Planning and Development suggested that the commissioners take up the matter again in May in order to take a formal vote on the T’s permanent proposals, the commissioners unanimously did so.
The next matter was a request from Babo to add 44 parking meters in the Shirley Ave. business district (for a total of 110) which he said will benefit the new businesses, especially those in Sandler Sq., that have come to the area since 2019.
Babo said that the new parking meters will have sensors that will allow for 15 minutes of free parking for customers who are making quick pick-ups at the businesses. He also asked that the meter rates be increased from $1.00 per hour to $1.50 per hour after the 15-minutes of free parking.
John Festa, the economic liaison for the city with the Dept. of Community Development, spoke in favor of the proposal, as did Ward 2 Councillor Novoselsky, who suggested that there be different configurations for the new meters that will take into consideration the needs of both businesses and residents.
Richard Viscay, the city’s CFO, Auditor, and Budget Director, also spoke in favor of the proposal. “Parking meters will help the businesses by creating turnover in parking in that district,” Viscay said.
The commissioners unanimously voted to move the matter to a public hearing next month.
The meeting concluded with DeMauro updating the commission about two items that have come within the purview of the Traffic Working Group regarding measures that have been undertaken to reduce speeding on Walnut and Crescent Aves. She suggested that speed pillows be installed on Crescent Ave. and a pedestrian beacon be placed on Walnut Ave.
Novoselsky however, noting that two pedestrians were struck by automobiles recently, strongly advocated for the installation of a speed bump on Walnut Ave. as being the “only way that we can reduce the speeding on that street.”
The matters will be placed on the agenda to be taken up at the commission’s next meeting.
