After receiving complaints from residents not being able to access their driveways, the Director of Traffic and Parking will conduct a survey to get resident feedback on the situation. This is legislative item number 195308.
Cedar Street offers parking from Franey Road to Broadway for users of Trum Field with parking set for four hours to accommodate games. A couple of Cedar Street residents who live across from the park are having difficulty accessing their driveways because of cars parking on the opposite side of the street.
Soon, these residents will be surveyed to have their concerns brought directly to the Traffic Commission and the Committee on Traffic and Parking to see if eliminating parking spots would help the situation or the loss of spots would impact them negatively.
By surveying residents, we can find a solution that best fits the neighborhood.
13 comments:
I really do not see how cars parked on the odd side of Cedar (@ Trum) hinder getting in and out of driveways on the opposite even- side of Cedar.
How many years has it been no problem for residents to access their driveways at that location--now, all of sudden its a "problem."
There are many one-way AND two-way streets in Somerville, much narrower than Cedar, where cars are only permitted to park on one side, where access to driveways on the opposite side is not a problem.
Same for many other streets where parking is allowed on both sides, with driveways on both sides that are accessed with little or no problem.
If Traffic & Parking sees fit to ban parking at that stretch of Cedar Street for the reason given by residents then they should do the same for other streets where driveways are supposedly "impacted" by legally parked cars.
I had no idea you could even park on that side of the street! Seems a little haphazard. They should just update the parking up on Broadway to the back-into spots (I heard a rumor this was being considered) and get rid of those spots! I'm glad they're going right to the residents! Awesome job Courtney!
The cars there do create a tight situation even just to drive through there. The idea of doing angle parking on Broadway is great, it would create enough spots to make up for the ones lost there.
I agree with Amber. Cars are getting bigger and wider, so it makes sense that it was not an issue some years ago. I'm also going to throw in that *maybe* it was an issue an no one listened(?)
Over the years I have seen 18-wheelers, big box trucks, and fire trucks make the turn off Broadway onto Cedar, with cars parked at that location; and conversely, off Cedar onto Broadway.
True, oncoming vehicles have to give way to to the above mentioned vehicles with cars parked on odd-side Cedar, but so be it on countless other streets in Somerville and surrounding cities.
Much ado about nothing in my opinion.
It it important to the residents on that side of Cedar and, if approved, will lead to less-at night-car door slamming, yelling and people pissing in my driveway. Clearly, the above commentor doesn't live in the area and does not have to deal with this BS every summer.
Un-intended consequences???? If we accept that cars are getting bigger and wider as a reason for eliminating parking at the subject location, then the suggested back-into spots on Broadway would have to be made wider and longer thus reducing the additional number of spaces supplanting spaces lost on Cedar. (as suggested by a good poster above)
Would also follow that vehicle spaces in city metered parking lots, and streets with parking meters would have to be re-aligned/enlarged with loss of meters and $$$ revenue.
Hello, Mayor Curtatone!
To say nothing about enlarging commercial parking lot spaces at malls and supermarkets.
So how far do we want to go, or have to go, with this thing!?!? Because (according to the complaint report above) "two" people have registered complaints about being hampered by parked cars when entering and/or exiting their driveway at that location.
To the poster's complaint about "car doors slamming" (noise)and people pissing in his/her driveway.
Now we have slightly different issues
Trum Field, with all its night and day activities, has been there for many, many decades. You and others renting or buying in that vicinity should of known that the field is/was there and specifically designed for activities, day and night, that attracts either as spectators, or as participants, throngs of people.
People renting or buying a house in that area rented or bought knowing that field was in close proximity.
{If you, or others, rented or bought there before Trum was built (which I doubt) then ignore the above.
Parked cars involved, or no parked cars involved, people pissing in your driveway, for the most part, are coming from persons utilizing Trum Field; not necessarily having arrived there via automobile parked on Cedar.
As for noise from car doors slamming, welcome to the club!
This is a densely populated city; late night car doors slamming happens in every neighborhood.
Trum does a posted 10:00 PM curfew.
If you are having a problem with noise, etc., after that hour, a simple call to the police will resolve the situation.
By the way, how about 2-way Ryan Road, on the east side of Trum Field?
Cars owned by ball players, fans, and some residents and visitors, are parked on Ryan at all hours.
Basically a situation no different than Cedar on the west side of Trum.
Also houses there having windows broken by baseballs hit foul from the "A" diamond.
Lucky if a person is not injured.
Pick ANY Somerville neighborhood or street, one without an issue is a rarity; especially late night problems impacting those living near city playgrounds.
We all have one of two choices, simple: either
put up with a problem!
or, move!
Oh, sorry one more choice: call your ward alderman to "fix" the problem!
Charles E. Ryan Road features undesignated parking-no hour constrictions, no permit.
If eliminating a couple of spots at the end of the street allows residents to access driveways, what is the problem?
Like the poster above commented...maybe this has been a problem all along and this is the first time an alderman is doing something.
"Oh, sorry one more choice: call your ward alderman to "fix" the problem!"
Um, yes. That is an option.
I like Amber's idea and remember that this was a consideration at one time. I hope it still is.
......"maybe this has been a problem all along and this is the first time an alderman is doing something."
It appears what you are intimating: kudos to Courtney for bringing the problem forward and all former ward 5 aldermen be damned for not taking any action to resolve this specific problem.
While I am all for, and voting for Courtney, let's put the protocol regarding fixing a problem straight.
Initially, the initiative for bringing a neighborhood problem forward for correction does not begin with any alderman. By and large, complaints are initiated and made known to an alderman by an impacted citizen or citizens; praying for the alderman to seek corrective action by the proper powers-that-be.
Until someone tells me that a citizen(s) complaint was received by a former Ward 5 alderman in regard to the issue at hand, resulting in no action taken, then this is a first-time issue; with Courtney, seeking re-election, is more than happy to address at this time.
By the way, what is the issue? Two spots designated "no parking" at the north end of odd-side Cedar?
Or, all Cedar odd-side "no parking" from Franey Road, north to Broadway?
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