The Revere City Council is considering an ordinance amendment that would increase notifications for road closures in the city.
The motion, sponsored by Councillors Anthony Cogliandro, Joanne McKenna, and Angela Guarino-Sawaya, is headed to a public hearing on Monday, Sept. 28.
“Currently on the books is an ordinance that the street closures are only to be reported to the fire department,” said Cogliandro. “We are changing that to add, I believe, the police and city council as well. We have had quite a few road closures that we have not known about; I actually don’t know if I’ve known about 90 percent of them.
“All that we are asking for is an email,” he continued. “I’ll reference it again, every time there is a watermain break anywhere, all of us get an email. It should be that simple and I hate that we have to do it this way, but now we can make it an ordinance.”
McKenna said the goal of the ordinance amendment is to increase communication because councillors are often called about road closures and they don’t always know the details.
“Residents should not have to wait and find out about street closures when they are all ready to leave their house or return home from work,” said Guarino-Sawaya. “Advance notice should be given to families in time to make proper arrangements. Construction and utility work is necessary, I understand that, but communication should be part of the planning.”
Advance notification of road work and road closures is especially important for seniors and people with disabilities, Guarino-Sawaya said.
“They have (vehicles) come to their house for home health care and they have deliveries and they have food, and they can’t have any of the stuff taken in if the roads are closed,” she said.
Council President Anthony Zambuto said he has seen more road closures in the city over the past several months than he has seen in decades.
“It’s absurd, you’re going down Broadway, and then Broadway stops; you’re going down Revere Street and Revere Street stops,” said the council president. “It’s out of control. I think this is one of the best motions I’ve seen and I support it 1,000 percent.”