The Revere Traffic Commission held its regular monthly meeting last Thursday, August 20, in the City Councillor Joseph A. Del Grosso Council Chambers.
DPW Director Christopher Ciaramella presided over the session that was attended by Police Chief Maria LaVita, a representative from the Fire Dept., City Engineer Nick Rystrom, and Chief of Planning and Community Development Tom Skwierawski.
The commission opened the meeting by voting to add two Handicapped Person Parking spaces at 84 Florence Avenue and 178 Constitution Avenue. Ward 2 City Councillor Ira Novoselsky spoke in favor of the former request.
The commissioners next voted to amend Schedule VIII, Section 10.99.080 (Parking Restrictions Generally) that will impose new parking restrictions in the lots at all of the city's schools. The new regulations will restrict parking to school staff only on Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. while school is in session. In addition, there will be no parking before, during, or after snow emergencies. Vehicles in violation will be towed at the owner's expense.
City Parking Director Zach Babo said that the issue has been particularly acute at the Hill and Paul Revere Schools, where neighborhood residents have been parking in the lots overnight, but have not been moving their vehicles by the time school gets underway the next morning, forcing staff to park in the street.
Ward 5 City Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya, who put forward the motion, noted that school employees had informed her that vehicles that are left overnight in the school parking lots create a safety hazard for children.
The next matter pertained to establishing a portion of Harris St. as a one-way roadway. The commission considered two scenarios, one that would have made Harris one-way northbound from Winthrop Ave. to Sewell St., which has been in effect as part of a pilot program for the past 90 days, vs. making it one-way from Winthrop Ave. to Beach St.
Ward 1 City Councillor Jim Mercurio spoke on the matter, telling the commission that he would support whatever the residents favored — and most supported the plan to make it one-way all the way to Beach St..
Ryan St. Marie and Abigail Cherry of Eustis St. spoke in favor of making Harris St. one-way up to Eustis St. However, the commissioners noted the practical problems inherent with doing that for vehicles coming off Beach St.
Residents Larry Smith of Sewell St., Daniel Monteiro of Bixby St., Mark Kelleher of Harris St., Robert Rose of Harris St.,and Carol Smith of Eustis St. all spoke in favor of making Harris St. one-way northbound from Winthrop Ave. to Beach St. in order to remove the cut-through traffic from Beach St. that speeds through their neighborhood.
After hearing from the residents, the commissioners voted to make Harris St. one-way from Winthrop Ave. to Beach St.
The next item was a requested amendment to Schedule VIII, Section 10.99.080 (Parking Restrictions Generally) by adding "No Parking Here to Corner." on Franklin Ave. (on its southerly side) at Walnut Ave. for an additional 20 feet beyond the current 20-foot length.
Novoselsky spoke in favor of the proposal, as did resident Joseph Cole. The commissioners unanimously voted in favor of the amendment.
The commissioners then took up new proposals.
They moved to a public hearing for their next meeting an amendment to the Resident Parking Sticker program that would bar residents of an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) from participating in the program if the ADU is within a half-mile of public transportation and is added onto an already-existing multi-family (two family or more) home.
They also moved to a public hearing for next month another amendment to the Resident Parking Sticker program that would add the following properties to non-
eligible status for Residential Parking Stickers:
— 8 Revere Street (9 Units);
— 500 Revere Street (112 Units);
— 331 Revere Street (62 Units);
— 1559 North Shore Road (8 Units);
— 114 Shirley Avenue (78 Units);
— 1 Shirley Avenue (30 Units);
— 76-82 Revere Beach Blvd. (80 Units); and
— 349 Lee Burbank Highway (29 Units).
The members also moved to a public hearing amendments to Schedule IV of Title 10 (Isolated Stop Signs) by adding: Bixby Street southbound traffic at Sewall Street, Sewall Street for westbound traffic at Bixby Street, and for eastbound traffic on Sewall St. at Bixby.
The members moved to a public hearing a request for a Handicapped Person Parking space at 30 Oxford Park.
Another matter moved to a public hearing for next month was an amendment to Chapter 10 Section 10.34.020 (Resident Parking Sticker) to add Suffolk Ave., from Broadway to 46 Suffolk Ave., "24 Hours a day – 7 Days a Week Resident Sticker Parking."
Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio spoke in favor of the proposal, stating that motorists who are avoiding the meters on Broadway are parking on Suffolk Ave.
The commission moved to a public hearing an amendment to Schedule VIII, Section 10.99.080 (Parking Restrictions Generally) by creating a 15-minute parking zone for those who come for police business to the Revere Police Department, 400 Revere Beach Parkway. All other vehicles will be towed at the vehicle owner’s expense.