Somerville Parking Rule One Alderman Calls 'Unwelcoming' and 'Frustrating'

If you're new to Somerville and you get one of these tickets, you might think, "Wow, the city's trying to get me," said Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz.

Ward 6 Aldermen Rebekah Gewirtz would like the city to reconsider a parking regulation that she says has been causing headaches for some residents. "If you're new to this community … and all of a sudden you get a ticket, and you don't think you did anything wrong, and you kind of didn't, that's very frustrating, that's very unwelcoming, and people think, 'Wow, the city's trying to get me,'" she said of the regulation. She was talking about the 48-hour rule, which says cars, even those with residential stickers, can't remain "in the same space on any street for a period exceeding 48 hours," to quote the city's traffic and parking website. "Over the years I've gotten a fair amount of complaints about the so-called 48-hour rule," Gewirtz said…

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Mayor Defends Street Improvements that Don't Emphasize Parking [VIDEO]

"People aren't moving to Somerville because they have more parking," the mayor said at the annual Business Town Meeting.

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone defended his administration's push to create more biking and walking infrastructure in the city, even when those plans come at the expense of parking. What's more, he said embracing multiple modes of transportation is good for local businesses and the local economy. The mayor spoke about the matter Wednesday after addressing members of the local business community at the annual Business Town Meeting hosted by the Somerville Chamber of Commerce. During a question and answer session, an audience member asked the mayor to talk about the city's efforts to build cycling infrastructure and reconstruct streetscapes and complaints from some about lack of parking. "I argue that people aren't moving to Somerville …

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Which Parking Meter is Better?

Magoun and Ball squares get new credit-card capable parking meters as the city experiments with different models.

In January, the city installed 30 new parking meters in Magoun and Ball squares as part of a pilot program that could lead to a "wider-scale" purchase of parking meters that accept credit cards, according to an announcement from the city of Somerville. The announcement says the credit-card parking meters installed in Davis and Union squares in 2011 have "garnered positive feedback from both drivers and business owners." "We are considering a wider-scale purchase based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback," Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said in a statement about the meters. However, the city "felt it was important to sample more than one product before taking this next significant step," the mayor's statement continued. That's why …

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Courtney O'Keefe

9:40 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013

A few Magoun Square business owners really like the more advanced meters because of the ease for patrons. This was the same case with the parking kiosk in the municipal lot located in Magoun, as well.   more ›

Blog: Where Did You Park During the Storm? Take A Survey

Blogger Charlie Denison asks readers to take a survey about parking during the recent blizzard.

Somerville Gets Three-Day Visitor Parking Permits, Online Transactions

Residents will be able to buy and renew their parking permits online, according to the city.

Somerville residents can now get three-day visitor parking passes, and they can renew their parking permits and passes online, according to an announcement from the city of Somerville. Perviously, residents could buy two-day parking permits for guests—those thick-paper placards that visitors put on their dashboards. Guests staying for more than two days, which isn't unheard of, risked getting a parking ticket. The new three-day passes will cost $40 a year, and residents can still buy the normal two-day permits, which cost $10. In a statement about the new visitor passes, Ward 7 Alderman Robert Trane said, "It's really the best of both worlds; those who really need the extra time can purchase the new three-day visitor [pass], while most …

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Parking in Somerville: Patch Readers Split on Issue

Readers had some interesting ideas about how to improve what some think is a parking pinch.

On Wednesday we asked Somerville Patch readers, "Is there a parking problem in Somerville?" Readers had different thoughts about the matter, though slightly more readers indicated there is a parking problem.  One reader, Elizabeth Rose, summed it up by writing, "Yes, of course there is a parking problem. Me to new neighbors: 'Hi, nice to meet you. Do you have a car?' Neighbor: 'We have two cars.' Me: 'Ok, I hate you.'" (By the way, some responses here have been lightly edited.) Noreen Headle agreed, saying, "Somerville has forgotten about the people who live and grew up here and haven't left. They cater now to the college kids with no cars, the bicyclists. Sad." Tim Donovan said he moved out of Somerville due to the parking tickets, and …

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Is There a Parking Problem in Somerville?

Do you have trouble finding a parking space? What would you do to improve parking in the city?

How would you grade the parking situation in Somerville? Some residents and businesses along Beacon Street are opposed to a plan to reconstruct the roadway that would eliminate parking on one side of the street, saying it would lead to a parking pinch that would hurt business and significantly inconvenience residents. The plan would add cycle tracks to Beacon Street, and some think there's room for both. "There is plenty of parking for everyone on Beacon Street with a cycle track—but the parking that's there has to be properly managed," one commenter, Mark, wrote on Somerville Patch. But another commenter said a parking squeeze in Somerville forced him and his family out of the city. "Because my wife got squeezed out of parking options, we…

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Union Square Back-In Parking is Working, Says City

It's slowed driving speeds, made life better for bikers and pedestrians, and could lead to more business in the square, the city argues. Others have disagreed.

A new method of parking in Union Square, called back-in angled parking, is working, according to an announcement from the city sent Wednesday. With normal angled parking, drivers pull forward into diagonally situated parking spaces. With back-in angled parking, drivers reverse into the spots. It requires them to pull in front of the spot, stop, then back in—similar to parallel parking, but not as complicated to finish the job. This new method, which accompanied a new single-lane traffic configuration on Bow Street, debuted in Union Square at the end of May, and almost immediately there was a mixed reaction. A Boston Herald article panned the initiative. And on Somerville Patch, some readers agreed. "The worst," one person commented. "This …

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Is Back-In Angled Parking Working in Union Square?

A new method of parking in Union Square—that has created 11 new parking spots but narrowed a traffic lane—has begun in Union Square. It's an experiment. Do you think it's working?

Back-in angled parking is now under way in Union Square. The new method of parking, in which drivers back into angled spots, is meant to create more parking spots, increase safety for pedestrians, drivers and bikers, make it easier to load and unload your car, and be safer to pull out into traffic when leaving. The new parking configuration, on Bow Street in Union Square, adds about 11 new parking spots to the business district, but it also narrows the traffic lane. A video on the Union Square Main Streets website shows Bow Street's back-in angled parking in action. The video was created by LivableStreets, a biking, walking and transit advocacy group, and it includes interviews with locals who love the new parking method. Check out the …

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Jonah Petri

8:18 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012

I bike through Union Sq every day to/from work. The back-in angle parking is definitely safer for me, and I totally support it.   more ›

Union Square Gets More Parking, with a Twist

Ever heard of "reverse angle parking?" Somerville is brining the practice, which is used in San Francisco, Washington, Montreal and New York, to Bow Street.

Update, March 27, 2012: The city of Somerville just issued a correction to its announcement about these parking spaces. There will be a total of 10 or 11 new spaces, not 22 new spaces. Currently, there are 12 spaces, so with the addition of the news parking spots, there will be 22 or 23 new parking spots. ------------------------ Bow Street in Union Square is getting 22 "reverse angle" parking spaces beginning in May, according to an announcement from the city. Reverse angle parking, as the name indicates, makes drivers back into the spaces as opposed to pulling in forward. The city says it's easier than parallel parking, it allows for more spaces, it's safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, and it lets people pull out of spaces facing …

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