City traffic engineer will visit residents directly to tackle emergency access to private ways

Some private ways in Waltham are so narrow that cars parked on them can prevent emergency vehicles like fire engines and ambulances from passing through. The Traffic Commission this week authorized Traffic Engineer J. Michael Garvin to try out some unusual tactics in an attempt to address this issue.

In April 2025, the commission requested Waltham adopt new regulation allowing it to restrict parking on private ways when necessary to ensure emergency vehicles could access the streets.

The proposal went to the City Council later that month, which sent it into the Ordinances and Rules Committee to work out details of the legislation. Since then, Garvin has regularly informed the commission that he expected to discuss the ordinance with councilors at a future committee meeting. 

On Feb. 2, however, the committee voted to permanently file away the proposal, saying the city did not have the legal backing to enforce parking regulations on private ways.

At the Feb. 19 Traffic Commission meeting, Fire Chief Andrew Mullin expressed that street parking that hindered emergency vehicle access remained “an issue that needs to be addressed” for many private ways in Waltham.

Garvin told the commission he had been studying this problem for nearly six years, and at this point intends to use the legal tools already available to him. The city can currently regulate parking on a private way if it receives the consent of all residents, and Garvin requested commissioners authorize him to create parking plans for private ways that are inaccessible for emergency vehicles and present them to individual addresses for approval.

Garvin said he had identified a total of 32 roads that were fully or partially private ways, allowed on-street parking, had curbing and were narrow enough that parked cars could pose a barrier to emergency vehicles. 

The commission voted to authorize Garvin to proceed with his plan. Still, Director of Public Works Michael Chiasson expressed skepticism that individually approaching residents would work. 

“I think we’re going to spend a lot of time [on this] and people are going to say no,” Chiasson said. “I’m not saying don’t go through the exercise. I just think, don’t expect much in the end.”

City Clerk Joseph Vizard, however, encouraged commissioners to be more optimistic, saying that even if residents only agree to adopt regulations on a portion of private ways it would mean an improvement over the status quo. 

“I uphold that these neighborhoods are going to come together for the greater good,” he argued.

Garvin identified the following roads as private ways in need of parking regulation for reasons of emergency vehicle access:

• Antico Circle 
• Bishop Terrace 
• Charlesbank Way 
• Daniels Court 
• Drew Street 
• Evergreen Avenue 
• Exchange Court 
• Falconer Circle 
• Farnsworth Avenue 
• Helen Street 
• Keach Terrace 
• Lincoln Woods Road 
• Morris Street 
• Muldoons Court 
• Robbins Place 
• Sagamore Way
• Spencer Street 
• Summit Avenue 
• Totten Circle 
• Wight Street

He additionally identified private portions of the following roads as in need of parking regulation for emergency vehicle access:

• Circle Drive 
• Gregory Street 
• Hawthorne Road 
• Hibiscus Avenue 
• Indian Road 
• Marguerite Avenue 
• Mount Walley Road 
• Prospect Hill Road 
• Royal Street 
• School Avenue 
• Seminole Avenue 
• Stone Road