Traffic Commission in brief: Councilors discourage multiday parking, parking near driveways

The Traffic Commission voted to clarify and refine Waltham’s rules for on-street parking at its meeting Thursday.

At the request of Ward 8 Councilor Cathyann Harris, the commission agreed to post 17 signs around the city displaying the regulation that drivers cannot keep a car parked in a single space for longer than 24 hours. 

“New people [are] moving into the area not knowing that we have a 24-hour parking rule,” said Harris. “I just think we need to communicate it and get it out there so we can enforce it.”

In response to a request by Ward 9 Councilor Robert G. Logan, the commission passed an amendment to the code to prevent people from parking within 2 feet of a driveway. 

Logan had proposed a 5-foot distance. However, Traffic Engineer J. Michael Garvin recommended the 2-foot distance. He said studies found that the 5-foot distance would reduce on-street parking spaces in some areas of the city by nearly 23%, saying that would be too significant a loss. He said the 2-foot rule, by contrast, would only reduce it by about 10%. 

Logan contended the regulation would cause even less of a reduction, because the majority of residents have been leaving such space when parking. “Most people are considerate enough that they don’t park that close to a driveway … It would be a 10% reduction in theoretical maximum ability to park vehicles, but in actual reality on the ground, I don’t think it’s going to really have that kind of an impact.”

Commissioners discussed how best to publicize this change, such as posting it on social media and adding striping to indicate it on well-trafficked thoroughfares. Logan said he wasn’t too worried about publicizing it, noting that “word gets around” and other municipalities have similar regulations. 

“My attitude is, even in the absence of such a regulation, when people do something like that, they’re a jerk. So they deserve a ticket,” he added.

The commission also voted to add “no parking” signs on Weston Street and officially ban street parking on South Street. South Street’s parking regulations, which haven’t been changed since the 1960s, allow parking at least during some periods along most of the street.

Additionally, the commission

• Agreed to move one flashing beacon post at Moody Street and rotate some push buttons and cabinets on other posts along the Riverwalk. Logan had requested the commission study how to make the buttons more accessible, especially for bicyclists; Garvin said most posts were compliant with accessibility regulations and would be prohibitively expensive to move.
• Analyzed the results of a trial of a flashing stop sign at Cedarwood Avenue and Villa Street. Garvin said he had seen after four months a slight increase in the number of cars ignoring the stop sign. The commission agreed part of the problem was vehicles’ insufficient sight distance from the current sign. It voted to ask the Building Department to ask an adjacent private lot owner about a large tree that blocks the intersection, and asked Garvin to design options to reconstruct the intersection to improve visibility.
• Approved a request from the Waltham Public Library for a city parking placard for a new employee.
• Approved no parking signs around Bentley University in anticipation of heavy traffic as the French National Soccer Team trains there during the World Cup.
• At the request of Ward 3 Councilor Bill Hanley, approved a Halloween-themed parade and trick-or-treating event on Oct. 24 for the Waltham Lions Club.
• At the request of Ward 7 Councilor Paul Katz, heard an update on the West End Traffic Study. Garvin said the commission had only authorized him to work on synchronizing signals along Main and Prospect streets to improve overall traffic flow. He said he has been working with the Purchasing Department to collect necessary data and would soon be putting the project out to bid.
• Authorized Garvin to study installing a stop sign at Thornton Road at its intersection with Florence Road and Flagg Circle.
• Denied a request to reduce the no parking area on Gardner Street near a recently approved crosswalk; Garvin said allowing the additional parking would be a safety hazard, impairing drivers’ ability to see crossing pedestrians.
• Designated Lowell Street a 20 mph safety zone and considered improvements to the street, intersection by intersection, to improve pedestrian safety.
• Heard a report on the Traffic Department’s progress in the last month. The department updated the light cycle at Main and Linden streets, installed flashing beacons for pedestrian crossings at Farwell and Sherwood streets and put in a blind driveway sign at Totten Pond Road.
• Heard a report that the Parking Department was making slightly more in revenue than this time last year. The commission voted to authorize the department to seek an additional $18,000 from its revenue before the end of the fiscal year in June to cover increased parking lot lighting costs.
• Rejected a request to ban parking across from a driveway on Hammond Street.
• Revisited a previous signal phasing change at Lexington and Beacon streets. Last year the commission voted to move southbound turns from Lexington Street to the end of the light cycle to reduce accidents. In fact, overall accidents at the intersection increased slightly from the previous two years. Garvin referred to this as a “cautionary tale” but didn’t suggest the commission take any action at least before getting another year of data, saying the most important factor in the intersection’s safety was consistency.