[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: So just to reiterate, Traffic Commission meeting and in attendance is myself, Sergeant Canava, and Alva Erickson, and Chief Buckley will be here shortly, and Sergeant Rogers will be as well. And if you could do a roll call, Alva, that would be great.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner McGibbon?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Here.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner Hunt? Here. Commissioner Brzezinski?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I'm here. That's it. And I will be sitting in for Chief Buckley, so we do have the correct amount of people. So if we could have a motion to pass the previous September 10th meeting, that would be by the commissioners to approve the minutes or business for September. Motion. Motion by Commissioner Brzezinski, seconded by Tim O'Reilly. I'll second it. Seconded by Commissioner McGibbon.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Roll call, Alba? Commissioner McGibbon?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner Hunt? Yes. Commissioner Brzezinski?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes. I will say yes, as well. So pass of a 4-0 vote. New business and new minutes have been passed. We are moving on to the new business, which is 2024-48, a dedicated 24-7 pickup slash drop-off area in Medford Square, three locations for economic development. And Jessica Martinez, I believe I saw you here. So I will ask you to unmute and then And I can ask if you need to share anything for your screen, we can have that as well. So if you have something you want to propose, just let us know.
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: Hi, my name is Jessica Martinez. I'm the economic development planner for the city. I work under Alicia Hunt's office. I was fortunate enough to get some response to this concept from a prior traffic parking policy meeting. But I sit on the meetings for the Chevalier here and something that's come up is the issue with traffic and traffic flow in front of the Chevalier Theater on evenings when they have shows. Right now, a lot of people will call their transportation network companies, TNCs, like Uber Lyfts, and the cars will stop on Forest Street, blocking traffic going north and south on Forest Street. So that's been a safety issue that has been needing addressing. And something that we talked about was the creation of a dedicated pickup drop off area in the square so that would also benefit the other businesses like deep cuts or restaurants in the Medford square area. I'm proposing 2 different spots that would be chosen by you folks ultimately. And I welcome feedback on whether this would be a place that we could have 24 hours or just from 6 p.m. on in the evenings. And I'll share my screen briefly so I could show you where. Or can I, may I share my screen?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, I'm going to make your call now so you can share it and that should be all set. Thank you.
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: So it's making me open system settings. I'm not sure what's going on here. Let me just. Sorry, give me a second.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yep, take your time.
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: So I'd have to, I'm sorry, I'm not going to share because I'd have to quit the app, but if you,
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Can you have an email or two and then we could sure. And we can share it for you.
[Alicia Hunt]: You can send it to me, Jess.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Okay.
[Alicia Hunt]: I don't think I've seen it, but I don't think I have a copy.
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: Sorry about this, folks.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: We're not the most technology savvy people in the police department either, so.
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: I just sent it to you, Alicia, over at Teams.
[Alicia Hunt]: Opening it? OK.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: You should be able to share it.
[Alicia Hunt]: All right.
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: Thank you. So the two options that we narrowed down from the three that we had originally talked about was the three spots on Riverside Avenue. So that's a one-way going east. And then four spots on Clippership Drive, and that's going east as well. The idea would be that we would put up signs that would signal that those are dedicated pickup drop-off spots for Uber and Lyft. And we talked about with the other meeting about making it 6 p.m. on. So I would welcome feedback from you folks on the idea and the proposed places.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: From a police department standpoint, I think 6 p.m. on would probably work more effectively just with the businesses that are in that area. If out of the two options, Clippership Drive, I feel, and Sergeant Rogers would probably agree, that that would be a better location. If we put it on Riverside Ave, we have an issue with cars doing U-turns from Salem Street onto Riverside Ave from that area, and I feel like Ubers and Lyfts would maybe enhance that issue that we've already occurred there. So I think Clippership Drive might be a easier location, especially, It's kind of a straight shot and there's multiple accesses for them to get over there. But that's just our point of view. It's a heavy U-turn area over on Salem Street to Riverside Ave. So that's our input.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Larry has something else. I just want to, how do we promote this? And what I'm thinking of is Shibari. When the show lets out, it's insane there.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: That's what she's speaking with.
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: We can contact Lyft and Uber. The people ordering the cars would be directed to the locations directly. They would be given instructions on how to walk there.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: That's just our input. I know, Todd, you had your hand up.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, thank you for doing this, Jessica. This is long overdue, and yeah, it's great that you're doing this, and it's vastly needed. I was just going to comment, when we say 6 p.m. on, I think this should be an end time, whenever that is, whenever shows are usually over and out, or bars and restaurants, because there are residences that live above some of these businesses that do park overnight in the square. So whether that's 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. or what have you, just suggesting it has an end time.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: What is the latest that Deep Cuts and Chevalier hasn't, like, anything, even Tacuba, what is the latest, anybody? Is it 11 p.m.? ?
[Alicia Hunt]: So let me, what I would, my recommendation would be that we should make it 1 a.m. because I don't know if they have 11 p.m. or a 1 a.m. end time, but it's really reasonable. Deep Cuts does shows that if they were to request a 1 a.m. closing, we wouldn't wanna then have to come back and figure that out and change this up. Either people are gonna park here overnight or they're not gonna park here overnight, right? Like, are people gonna come? I just think I'd rather just say it's like 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. or 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Do we think residents park here overnight?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I'm not sure on the Clippership Drive they would, but Riverside Avenue and Talon Street, yeah.
[Todd Blake]: In the past, when we've done painting overnight, we've had a knock on doors and residents in their pajamas come out and move out these areas, because there's several above, like the Dunkin' Donuts building. It's two or three stories above. That's where they tend to. But Clippership, probably less so than Riverside. But you could probably start with like 6 PM to 1 or 2 AM and see how it goes.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: 6 to 2? I mean, the time is, on our end, it's irrelevant. I mean, for sure. It's fine for us.
[Alicia Hunt]: I don't know if there's anybody who maintains a master list of what closing times different businesses have in Medford. It's something we've talked about putting together in our office, but I don't think we've had the bandwidth to do that yet.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, I don't know if deep cuts are, I've never been here when their show has gone past like 1130 or 12, but if they did to the future, so. Doesn't have to I mean, a 1 am I don't think there's an issue with that. It's just. I'm not that's not my not my our expertise for just. whatever time they get out, I think this is a great idea to avoid the foot traffic from Chevalier and Main Street from these shows for these Uber and Lyft drivers that aren't familiar with Medford. We have them sitting on sidewalks and sitting on Governor's Ave and whatnot. I think this will help out and alleviate a lot of the congestion, so.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, this is great. I mean, Jordan can speak to this too. We don't always have great success getting messages to the individual drivers, and individual drivers may end up doing whatever they want. So I think the best case is what Jessica mentioned, target the customers. Because the customers, when they use the app, they have to pick a pin spot where the pickup is. So if they follow that appropriately when they're exiting the theater, then the driver, the individual drivers, will go to the pin spot, right? So I think that's the best way to reach them. Jessica, thank you.
[Alicia Hunt]: I think that we might want to consider whether we want to put some signage up, like the Chevalier can have signage and information for their people using their business saying like where to go for lift pickup, but they don't have the ability to put signage past the edge of their building. And I think that we would benefit a lot if we considered putting some signage, thinking about what the pedestrian path is, and then putting signage, the city pointing like rideshare pickup and signage, and then a very clear rideshare pickup here signage to help pedestrians from out of town find this location. I think it would be great if Jessica could help us figure out, like, is there standard stuff, what kind of signage we could use for that. The only place I've ever seen that is in Logan Airport.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I was going to say, I haven't seen anywhere else but Logan, but that would be extremely helpful. Medford, if you're not from here, Flipper Ship Drive is probably not a traveled way and probably may not be as easy for some people to find.
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I can definitely work with Todd's office for signage design and guidance on how to do that. And just for what it's worth, a quick search, deep cuts close at 11 o'clock. So that's the latest they'd be out.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I mean, 6 to midnight or whatever, whatever you guys think. But Todd, didn't you say you had a contact at Lyft?
[Todd Blake]: We do, but like I said, we could get in touch with the overall firm at the individual drivers. But we'll do our best. And the signage at the drop-off site itself is great. Whatever Jessica gives the theater is great. And the additional signage, that's great, too. Jessica, I just wanted to ask a clarifying question because I don't know if we mentioned this. Are you proposing this as a pilot that you could revisit like three months, six months later and see how it's working?
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: Yes. Sorry, I forgot to mention. This would be a pilot that we would initiate first.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I mean, I would think six months. I'm not sure as how many shows Chevalier had, but at least he would want to get as many shows in as possible so you get the best data for knowing how many shows they've had. If we only have one or two in a six-month period, I don't know if that would be enough, but it seems like they do a show probably every week, probably in the spring here. It's got a good schedule. This September.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: The rest of the year.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I mean, six months would bring it to, April.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, the reason I highlighted that is whatever this commission tries, we could always have another bite of the apple. So I think it's good to try something and then either add or tweak if needed.
[Tim McGivern]: During this time period, would it be no parking there for anybody else?
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: From six to midnight or whenever we decide the length of time.
[Tim McGivern]: Okay, so Those parking spaces become no parking and just the ride share pickup drop off location from six to I like at least his idea of one am because then if this works out, well, we can just keep it.
[Todd Blake]: And this commission did approve a similar thing, the other green line station of 2 or 3 spaces a while back. Yeah.
[Tim McGivern]: Those people that live at the Mystic Driving School building, those are condos now. They have their own parking lot in the back now, I believe?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I believe there's 13 spots.
[Tim McGivern]: In that little lot there? Okay.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, right where the Right basically by the river.
[Tim McGivern]: I think they're right behind the right behind the building. Yeah, I kind of see it for a little bit.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yeah. Yeah.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah. Yeah. So, I think if if the concern with overnight this for residents, I don't think there's any residents that live near these spaces. I'm not sure that they would be used for that.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I'll check. Yeah. I don't ever put it and I came back and I go straight. I'll see.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah, I'm on board.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I guess it would really be from the commission, or so I understand it. This would be a pickup drop off area from, let's say, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. No parking at that time except holidays and Sundays. I know other signs have said that. I just want to know what we're going to put on the sign. And then also is this a six month trial? And then we're coming back in the April meeting to reassess just so I can, we can write it down correctly. I guess that would be for the commissioners and Jessica, what kind of you guys all think?
[Tim McGivern]: I think the way you described it sounds fine to me. The holidays and, what are you, Sundays and holidays thing, I don't know what the schedule is. I think they have shows all the time, right? Holidays too.
[Alicia Hunt]: I was actually just going to pull up their calendar. Um, they definitely do have some shows on Sundays. I would rather just make it all the time. So it's consistent because then like restaurants can count on it as well. Although we're only making it evenings. And I will say like, I noticed Sunday shows tend to be sometimes two o'clock in the afternoon, Saturday shows are sometimes in the afternoon.
[Todd Blake]: That's a great point, Alicia. You could consider doing, you know, noon, 2 p.m.
[Alicia Hunt]: to 1 a.m.
[Todd Blake]: It's only four spaces, I mean.
[Alicia Hunt]: I would actually like to ask, why wouldn't we make it just all the time? Is it confusing that it's only sometimes? Like, what would be the demand from... Like, I don't see people who are frequenting businesses finding this to be their best parking.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: The barber shop and shop... The barbershop that's next to it, the Marine building on the corner there as well. But the bank has their own parking lot, but I know the barbershop and there's another building above. I don't know if it's a tax building above the barbershop. What's above the barbershop? There's one other business on there. That studio. But that is, we have actually, Ticketed because that where that membership drive arrows where we block off is so busy. They always park on the end. And don't park in a parking spot. We probably have 150 tickets for vehicles parking on the end.
[Todd Blake]: So this area here where I'm pointing just the triangle piece with the end of where you're pointing. Yeah, right. Yeah, right.
[Alicia Hunt]: Because they don't. Go like a block further and park legally.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Nope, they pull right there and we probably have 150 in the parking lot and the bus can't make that swing.
[Todd Blake]: So, I guess the other things to consider Alicia's question about why 6 PM currently it's paid for Park 8 to 6. so whatever, which doesn't mean you can't do what you're suggesting. It just means it would be. an impact to revenue of some sort, and you'd have to adjust those one paved-apart areas at different times, or eliminate entirely that one block.
[Tim McGivern]: Does the problem that we're solving exist during the day before that 6 p.m. hour?
[Alicia Hunt]: I was thinking more in terms of consistency for people whose behavior we're trying to change, that having a consistency is easier for changing behavior rather than it's a problem during business hours.
[Todd Blake]: Then it might make sense easier for signage and enforcement and revenue equipment to just do it all day then. If you're going to do half, maybe just do it all the time. Just thinking out loud.
[Alicia Hunt]: Right, if we're because I think there was some thought that we were going to originally some of us who saw this early an early version thought it was a request to have these spots and these spots and these spots. And then it was and we were like, well, maybe just for the evenings. And then we realized that actually it was an either or question. So which is why, because this is four spots, if I remember if I think you said, Jess.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes. And the other thing is on the sign, whether we do 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. or all day, are we putting that they'll be towed or ticketed? You know, because we need to know on our end what are, you know, if they're in these spots, what are we... I think it would be just a restricted space fine.
[Jim Silva]: Another. Can I just mention in regards to the all-day parking. The reality is a lot of restaurants are not open during the day, and there are very few shows at Chevalier during the day, during the weekday, but there are businesses and small businesses on that block that do depend on people parking there, and every time you drive by, there's always people parking there, so it's a well-utilized location. The 6 p.m. again, as Todd alluded to, was the pay for parking ends at 6 p.m. So I think maybe during the pilot process, you look at the limited time to see how many people participate in the program. And I think you'll have a better idea at that point, whether or not you expand it if there's a need.
[Alicia Hunt]: Right. OK, that's I mean, that's useful and it's useful to understand that the local businesses there usually actually are using that parking.
[Tim McGivern]: Okay, so I guess if I. Question I don't know if anybody knows the answer to this, but there's a row of parking there just on the other side of the sidewalk that. appears to be either part of the bank's parking lot or our public parking lot?
[Jim Silva]: It's ours. So along that and the first three spaces or four spaces on the other street, it's business and municipal in that location. So I know that the paint company, which is located on Salem Street, their employees park there as well. So those business spaces are pretty much used from 8.30 on from the business folks, as well as the bank, Middlesex Bank, those folks park in there as well for business.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah, I'm reluctant on the on the all day thing, the dedicated thing to Alicia, just because those those businesses that are right there, the barbershop, Medford Arts Council, I think, is there. A couple more, the recruiting agency.
[Alicia Hunt]: Okay.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I guess to reiterate, If I read it correctly or misstate what it is, Jessica, Alicia, just let me know. So if we're passing the motion so we can write it down, it would be a dedicated pickup drop-off area in Medford Square from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Clippership Drive for a six-month pilot to be revisited on April. Traffic Commission, that sound about right?
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Correct. Nothing on Riverside yet?
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: Nothing on Riverside. No, just one.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, Jordan to help specify maybe the on streets based on clippership West of Roland G pot your way also clippership West. West of Roland or yeah, just so it's clear that East of Roland. It doesn't include any of those.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Okay. All right, I will. see if anybody from the public is here too. Obviously, commissioners, if you have any more questions or you have anything to ask on this, I'll leave it up to you. Steve, I know you're here as well, so I just want to pop it out to the commissioners if there are any other questions. If not, I'll ask the public to see if there's any questions against or for.
[MCM00001809_SPEAKER_04]: I do have a question. Did we not entertain trying to set this up on one of the bigger public parking Lots, the issue I see is that your Uber drivers, which the majority of them come down Salem Street, are still gonna have to wind through the intersection to turn onto Clippership. And I just wondered why we didn't, or did we look at maybe the big parking lot down on Clippership at Riverside or the one on City Hall Mall to kind of get that traffic out of the intersection
[Alicia Hunt]: It's my feeling that the only way to get this to work is to get people to actually go to that spot and then call their Uber or Lyft. And they would get tired of walking all the way down there and say, I'm just gonna call them from right here. And so we wouldn't be as successful in getting people to use it if it was that far from the theater. That's my opinion.
[MCM00001809_SPEAKER_04]: Do we have the ability to restrict calling the Uber until you get to the area?
[Alicia Hunt]: So you can call it and tell it where you will be, but we can't. Todd, maybe you can tell me for sure, but I don't think there's any way for us to say like you can't call it here. Like the only thing that Logan is that they get fined if they come and they pick up at the curb.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, I don't believe so. Usually you see like, oh, three minutes till they arrive. And that gives you time to go over or move the pin to where exactly you are. But usually when you request it, you have to give a location. And when it's on its way, you might even be able to adjust it. But yeah.
[Alicia Hunt]: I guess the question is, Todd, can we tell Uber and Lyft you're only allowed to pick up in this area in Medford Square?
[Todd Blake]: I mean, we could suggest that and recommend to the company, but the individual drivers are mostly subcontracted. So whether they listen to that or not, this is why it's a pilot. We'll do the best we can. So I don't think we could force them though.
[Alicia Hunt]: So one of the things that I am aware of is that people have been navigating to the Chevalier Theater and then they are getting off 93 like up at Roosevelt Circle and coming down forest and that causes horrible backups in forest. And so part of the hope is that if we say on the Chevalier website, here's the location to point your This is the address to put in for Uber and Lyft. This is the rideshare address to use. And we give them the address of this spot that they would then actually take the exit off of at Medford Square instead and never come down Forest Street. We'll see if it works. But I don't think that really answers the questions about the parking lot. I don't know if others think that. That's all right.
[MCM00001809_SPEAKER_04]: I love the idea. I just am fearful of out-of-town overdrivers coming down Salem Street, taking a left on a main missing clipper ship, and then what? Just sometimes if you're not familiar with that quick turn on the clipper ship, you can miss it. Then just using the parking lot, it would seem like it gives us a lot more just room for like navigation and whatnot that, you know, there could actually be like a staging area. And to be candid, I don't think it's that compared to a place you might get off in Boston to go to a show. I don't think it's that unreasonably far, but, um, no, I'm just concerned question about why, why we didn't entertain using areas that we had control of that might provide us with a little bit more flexibility on logistics.
[Tim McGivern]: To get to the parking lots, they would need to take that left if they're going down Salem anyway.
[MCM00001809_SPEAKER_04]: You can take River Street. That's more what I was thinking actually. Did we look at those three spaces on River Street? Because I think that might be even better.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I do like the idea of River Street.
[MCM00001809_SPEAKER_04]: Listen, I think this is a great pilot program. I wouldn't vote no on it because I think we need something. But I would like us to keep in mind potentially, like, see how the traffic flow goes. Maybe we find something that's a little bit farther away that alleviates traffic.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I think if we can have a pilot program in which maybe. If it's us, that's looking into it, or somebody had to kind of figure out. you know, how the experience of people had, or, you know, is, has this been an issue? Was it hard for them to find the area? And we got feedback, not just, we put it in and then we don't look at it until April. And then we don't really know about it, which I don't think any of us would do, but it's just, we could have some feedback from Chevalier of how people and patrons or drivers are left. That would be, I don't know how we would go about that, but at least some sort of feedback, the areas we have detail officers out there, but they're, they're not going to, be able to see up here.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, I mean, in the short term, if it became very well used and we found people were stacking backwards, we could potentially emergency just expand it to the east side of Roland G. If it got that heavy use, you know, we're worried about backups.
[Jim Silva]: And I would also say that Uber drivers who are coming from Boston or other parts of Medford are going to be coming off Route 16 off-ramp and taking a right onto Main and a right there as well. So it depends on where the driver is located. And the traffic will probably be coming from the south on Main Street to take a right. So it's sort of balanced from the pickup perspective from the driver.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: If we were doing 6 PM to 1 am, I'm not sure. How many businesses are on river street, but if we. Just spitball and if we did both locations.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: I don't think there's any directly on River Street.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: If we did both locations and then, you know, had River Street and Clippership, so that way you would capture majority of people coming off of Salem Street would take River Street and the people coming off Route 16, you would have on Clippership and you're really only eliminating two, maybe two spots on River Street or whatever it may be. I know there's a handicap on the, on the bottom. and just spitball and, you know, I think this is a good idea.
[Todd Blake]: There's a music center and insurance company on River Street.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yeah. Couldn't imagine they're open after 6 p.m. But that's my input. I think if you got both locations, you're really trying to hammer the Lyft and Uber drivers. really kind of pinpoint whichever way they're coming. You're going to get them from Salem Street in 93 and then you're going to get them from 16 on the other side. That also helps out the other businesses like Tacuba and Deep Cuts and whatever restaurant that may be open after that hour. If somebody's sitting down to have a drink, they could call over. That's obviously a wise decision for that, but I will leave it up to the commissioners and we'll see if the public has anything to input on this. I'll open it up to the public if the commissioners don't have anything else to say or ask.
[Tim McGivern]: I have no more questions. I'm in support of the commission application.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: All right, so I'll just open this up to the public. Anybody for this? If you have anything, just raise your hand, question, comments, concerns. Seeing none, anybody against this for rideshare on Clippership? Just raise your hand or aren't able to do that, just type in the chat and we'll be able to. Seeing none, I'll bring it back to the commissioners. If we'd like to move forward on a motion, I think the motion on the table would be Clippership Drive, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., like we had proposed, by the program until April meeting.
[Tim McGivern]: So moved for the Clippership location as shown.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Second. Second. Okay, roll call, Elwett.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner McGibbon?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner Hunt? Yes. Commissioner Brzezinski?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Sergeant Canaba?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes. Four to nothing vote that passes and we will revisit this come April and then I don't know how long it'll take for the signs but just let us know and we'll help out with everything we can for Chevalier if we have any connections over there to kind of give them a heads up.
[Tim McGivern]: As soon as we get the sign order from Chief Alba then it only takes a couple days. Right, actually, no, if this is a custom sign, we need to make it, it might take longer. Yeah, yeah, a couple of weeks. Yeah. Great. Tony, don't worry.
[MCM00001696_SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Jessica. Yes, I'll work with the team to get signs up and communicate with Chevalier.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Perfect, thank you. All right, thank you. Okay, moving forward, 2024-49, no parking here to crosswalk on Fulton Street at Kellis Field, starting at 160 feet south of Maple Park, and I'm extending 20 feet south of the crosswalk. Todd.
[Todd Blake]: Have we passed this already before, Todd? We did a similar one on Summer Street recently.
[SPEAKER_13]: Well, no parking here at a corner when people have. Okay, the other side. St. Fulton. Fulton, okay. Sorry. At the condos.
[Todd Blake]: So this image on the right with the yellow arrow of Gillis Park Field is on the left. Is it crosswalk crossing over towards Rockwood Terrace? When a car is parked in that yellow area, it's very difficult for a pedestrian and driver to see one another. So this goes in line with other daylighting we've done elsewhere where the one parking space prior to would be restricted. That would be 24-7 restriction.
[Alicia Hunt]: It looks like a safety thing to me. I know people use all of this parking, but it looks like it's a safety thing and we need to do it. It's not like the road is full all the time. I bike up and down that on my way to and from work.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, it's probably more for when the games are being in session. So at least.
[Alicia Hunt]: Right. And people do park in these various spots. And this would be just making sure that the people who are always parking here, like, because their apartment building doesn't have parking. It's not Maple Park, but the one on the corner doesn't.
[Tim McGivern]: Tim, who is this?
[Alicia Hunt]: Tim, you're not muted.
[Tim McGivern]: Hey, Anthony.
[Alicia Hunt]: Tim. Sorry. that they just don't think to not park so close to the crosswalk. Sorry. And we'll be right back, hopefully.
[Todd Blake]: So it's just this basically just from these telephone poles to the crosswalks. It's not a lot.
[Alicia Hunt]: Oh, that's nothing.
[Todd Blake]: You have all this, and then it's just this one area here closest.
[MCM00001809_SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, unless there's some objection from the public, I motion to approve this.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Okay, I will pass it out. And is there anybody that is in favor that would like to speak on the crosswalk here at Fulton Street? Also, if there's anybody against eliminating the spot 160 feet from the crosswalk, raise your hand or enter in the chat. Seeing none, pass it back to the commissioners. And Commissioner Brzezinski, is that a motion to pass with no vote? Yeah, motion to pass. Okay, seconded by... I'll second it. Commissioner Hunt, we'll call the roll.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner McGiven?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner Hunt? Yes. Commissioner Brzezinski?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Patrick Canava?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes, 4-0, and that has passed 2024-49. Great. Moving on to 2024-50, request from Leslie Colasso, 34 Valley Road for no parking, private property side. I'm going to ask you, Leslie, to unmute. Why don't you do so? Good evening. How are you?
[SPEAKER_02]: Good, how are you doing?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: We're well. So you want to just kind of explain the no parking private property sign?
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, I live at the end of a dead end road which runs parallel to Lookout Road on 34 Valley Road. It's a dead end road. We've been here 26 years and my driveway touches the road. So people look at my driveway as if it's part of the road and park on it overnight. There've been cars, there've been trailers, there's been boats. I don't want them parking on my property. So I'm looking for two signs that say private property, no parking.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Just trying to share the screen, but.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm sorry if you can't see me.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Nope. I'm just, so the, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't, the city doesn't issue private property signs. No parking. There's no parking sign. So that's why I'm confused if you're just looking for no parking.
[Alicia Hunt]: There's nothing that would prevent the applicant from putting up her own private property sign on her side of the property line. I've done that and they've taken them down. Who takes them down?
[SPEAKER_02]: My neighbors. So I have people parking, not on the part near the house, but on the part near the dead end street. That's just, my driveway is 150 feet long. And I agree, it looks like it's part of the road, but it's not part of the road.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Which section are you talking about, where this Toyota is here?
[SPEAKER_02]: No, all the way down to Valley Road, where the pavement stops.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah, you even get the Google car going down your driveway.
[SPEAKER_02]: You see, that's my property you're on.
[Tim McGivern]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_02]: All of that.
[Tim McGivern]: All right, it's just kicking me out.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a lot of property. I know, it's a long driveway.
[Tim McGivern]: It's a beautiful property.
[SPEAKER_02]: I thank you. We've been there 26 years and never really had a problem, but now we've got somebody that likes to park there with a boat and a trailer in that area that I still own. That white car right there, I don't own that area.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah, I think I'm familiar with these property lines because there was an issue that I dealt with a while back. Anyway, where the sidewalk ends there, just for the commissioners' behalf.
[SPEAKER_02]: Exactly, exactly. To your right, you'll see a fence pole. A metal fence pole. Yeah. That's like the property line right there.
[Todd Blake]: Well, we got some snow. Jordan, I could share with you the assessment map, too, that shows.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I will stop. You can go ahead.
[Tim McGivern]: Valley Road is public or private?
[SPEAKER_02]: Public. We have sidewalks.
[Tim McGivern]: Oh, I know. But it doesn't matter if it's sidewalks. It's just whether or not it's accepted by the city in the past. That's all. It's public.
[Todd Blake]: You see that? So not the circle itself that shows in reality is on your property as well, that's what you're saying, yeah.
[SPEAKER_02]: The circle I created so that people could come down and turn around, but I don't want anyone parking there.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, yeah.
[SPEAKER_02]: My property goes all the way down to Fellsway West.
[Tim McGivern]: Do you own that other parcel with the access and utility easement on it as well?
[SPEAKER_02]: That's mine, yeah.
[Tim McGivern]: This is all... So you own lot A, lot B. And C. And C, okay.
[SPEAKER_02]: And some down on the Fells Bay as well.
[Todd Blake]: Right. So you'd like a sign that transitions from public adjacent to number 30 Valley Road.
[SPEAKER_03]: But on Valley, not on my property, on Valley Road. That would be great.
[Tim McGivern]: Todd, do you have the public-private list right there at your fingertips?
[Todd Blake]: Can we just confirm? I do. I looked it up. That's why we're thinking alike. Yep. I could share it if you want.
[Tim McGivern]: That's okay. I just want to confirm it's public because a lot of people sometimes think private roles are public.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah. It says public according to our list. Okay. Regardless of the set, I don't necessarily In my opinion, I don't think it's a traffic commission issue that needs to be voted on, because it's just a matter of, you know, it's public property, it's private property. If a sign goes there by a person or by the city, DPW, you know, whatever, I don't think it's necessarily something that needs to be voted on. It's just a matter of putting a sign, you know, on one side of the line or the other.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah, I think I agree with that. So, is it Ms. Galasso? Did I hear you say that? Miss Colasso? Is that your name?
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, I'm here.
[Tim McGivern]: Am I saying it right?
[SPEAKER_02]: Galapagos, correct, yes.
[Tim McGivern]: So I'm the Commissioner of Public Works. So you got a public way, and then it enters your private property, that lot B, with an easement that goes over to the lot that your house is on. So that's that kind of dirt circle that you made for turnaround. So your rights in there are kind of vast. You could put up a gate if you wanted to at the end of the road. You could put up all, barricades if you want, that only you can move. You can take action against people who are trespassing on your property if you put a no trespassing sign at the end of the road. So these are the options that are available to you, but the- I have done.
[SPEAKER_02]: I've done the signs and they've ripped them down several times.
[Tim McGivern]: That's illegal. They can't do that. So that's a crime. So you could take that matter up with the police. I'll ask as far as a sign. I know, but what I'm telling you is we can't really give you one. We can't really do that. So I'm giving you what your options are as a private property owner that has, you know, this end of the road property. It's, you know, this condition, you're not the only one with this condition. It happens all over the place, other towns and cities and whatnot. So we can put a sign at the end of the public way that says end of public way. Sounds good.
[Alicia Hunt]: That would be good. I think that actually might do it right if we put a thing that said end of public road or end of public way. That, because I think what I'm hearing is that the problem is the neighbors don't believe that it's her private property. They've said that yes, they've said they don't believe it's your property. Correct.
[Todd Blake]: Based on what we're looking at, you're actually very gracious to offer that circle to turn around. Because if you did do one of the things that Commissioner McGiven suggested, they wouldn't even be able to physically turn around there. So it would become worse for them. So they should realize how nice you've been over the years.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah. I can help you too. I live in this neighborhood. Now I'm moving, but I do live kind of close to you on Waterville. I could talk to your neighbor with you and explain the property lines and how they work and who's got rights for what. I don't think that access easement that you own, that you benefit from, would allow public access. You probably want to just make sure that your easement, the written words of your easement, doesn't give public access.
[SPEAKER_02]: It doesn't. It's in writing. I have it in writing if you want to see it.
[Tim McGivern]: No, I don't need to see it. I just.
[SPEAKER_02]: Anytime I've got it in writing.
[Tim McGivern]: OK, I just wanted to make sure that you, you know, read it and you know it and all that and it doesn't have anything that gives anybody else's rights. That's all. It sounds like it's a private easement on private property for your rights and all that. Perfect. I think you're in a great position to do any of the things I said you could. You could put up a gate and lock it if you wanted to. I know you're looking just looking for a sign today, but I think the most that we could really do and it's I don't even know if it's a traffic commission thing. Yeah, and I'll ask, you know, Jordan or the chief to chop in there. Maybe Todd. This is definitely not a traffic commission vote. Yeah, it could be just the DPW works with you to put up a sign that just says end of public way or something like that. That may help, but I think if I was you and I was in this position, I would definitely put up some sort of barricade. And if it's destroyed or taken down, and if you put a no trespassing sign up that says no trespassing, like you can get them at the hardware store, then you can actually prosecute somebody for passing that sign.
[SPEAKER_02]: I have done that. I have done that. And the sign disappears overnight. So I don't know who's ripping it down. Okay.
[Tim McGivern]: You should be calling the police when that happens.
[SPEAKER_17]: To file a report that goes nowhere.
[Tim McGivern]: Well, the police are here. No, I don't think it would go. These things don't go nowhere.
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, that wasn't me. I'm sorry. Sorry.
[SPEAKER_17]: That's someone else in the background. That's the daughter chiming in because we've been dealing with this for 26 years. And finally, we've tried to speak to you because I remember 10 years ago, we had, 10, 15 years ago, we had the chief of police Sasso come here and speak to us. And he said, oh yeah, we'll have it done. And then he wrote it down in his little notebook and never, never did it again, never saw any sign. He never came back for it, but he came down, spoke to us, saw the land, heard our concerns, to the neighbors. Yeah, and he spoke to the neighbors back then and we have still had people parking all along there all night long. And the other problem is that the trash truck will use that turnaround to turn around as well, which is the whole point of it. And if there's cars all along that turnaround, the trash truck cannot do its maneuvering. So I think it is a traffic
[Tim McGivern]: It isn't a problem, but it isn't. It's a private property issue, but we I can help you as the DBW commissioner and I'm sure I don't know if the chief is there now, but this is a different chief. Now we get.
[SPEAKER_17]: Yes, I understand that, but it should have been handled 15 years ago and it wasn't. Do you know what I mean?
[Tim McGivern]: I understand what you're saying, but that was 15 years ago. You're here today. We're talking about it. It's my purview, and I can come even down there tonight and talk to you about it and talk to you later. And then if we need to get the police involved because they're not obeying no trespassing signs and all that, then you can open up a conversation with the police.
[SPEAKER_17]: Yeah, I think it would be great if you could do the end of public way. Even if it's just that, and then we can take care of the no trespassing sign, the what have you, the no overnight parking. If we have to do that ourselves, we can have that done.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: If any vehicle is parked and I turn around and loop. being private property, you can call any private tow you'd like and have it towed out. Unfortunately, the police cannot tow off of that private lot.
[Tim McGivern]: You can call a tow company and just have them tow. You can put up a sign that tells a person where the tow company is, but I don't even think you need to do that.
[SPEAKER_17]: I do think that end of public way, honestly, would be more than enough. If you guys would, I don't know, agree on that, but it seems like you don't want to.
[Tim McGivern]: that we don't want to, it's not our purview. And I just, I think we can take this offline and I can continue the conversation with you after this.
[SPEAKER_17]: Okay. Yeah. That's what they had originally told us was that we wouldn't have to go through this meeting, but then they ended up sending us paperwork that we were going to be in the meeting anyway. But the woman that we spoke to, excuse me, the woman we spoke to at city hall said, oh yeah, I think we could get this taken care of before It even comes to the meeting, but yeah, I mean, we're just here because we got a letter in the mail saying to be here, you know?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: No, we understand. So Commissioner McGibbon will speak to you offline, and then you guys can handle that from there. Not that we don't want to vote for it, it's just not under the traffic unit.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, just quickly, the reason is because You know this this group decides on traffic regulations but that's that would be deciding on where is public property and in private property against it's already established it's already known right it's just signage to approve.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I appreciate it okay, thank you thank you time. Okay, I will cross it off here and I will take that off the agenda.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: I will receive and place on file where it has already been on the agenda. Okay, so I'm not just going to cross it off. The action was received and placed on file.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Great, so do we still have to vote on that? No, not necessarily. Okay, so I will take care of that and receive it and place it on file for the agenda. Moving on to the next issue. 2024-51, request from Peggy Rose, 87 Monument Street, for no parking here to corner signs on Harvard Ave at Monument Northeast and Southeast corner. So Peggy, if you are here, ask you to unmute or raise your hand. Assuming Pat Arsenault is this. Hello. Hello, how are you? Good evening.
[SPEAKER_16]: I'm Kat Eisenhart. Is that what you're going to?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: The next one? No, we're looking for Peggy Rose.
[SPEAKER_16]: Oh, I thought so. Okay.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: So I am not seeing Peggy Rose. I don't think we have anybody else here besides us and Pat. Table it. We'll table it. And do we need a vote for that? Sorry.
[Todd Blake]: I mean, excuse me for a second, Sergeant. Yeah, go ahead. Since it's not requesting any specific distance, if they're just asking for signs to reinforce the existing 20-foot rule, it may not be a traffic commission item. It would only be if it was beyond the 20 feet. And it doesn't look like they're specifying anything different.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: so that might be a you can't park in front park a vehicle 20 feet within an intersection anyways is that what you're saying correct so it's already a restriction of regulation so if it's just a matter of putting a sign reinforcing the existing 20 feet it's kind of like just a dpw request i guess we'll contact her for the next traffic commission unless she wants 30 or 40 feet something beyond 20 when we speak with her we'll ask her if it's beyond the 20 foot mark but for now it'll be tabled we'll move on to uh 2024-52, no parking, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the west side of 4th Street, approximately 90 feet north of Medford Square, extending 85 feet north in front of vacant lot. This will provide for two short lanes, verse one during rush hour. Commissioner Blake, sorry, Tom.
[Todd Blake]: Thank you. So I'll share my screen.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Before you go forward to this, if I could ask the commissioners, since 2024-56 is the last participant, 29 Ridgeway Road, if we could move that up and move that next to go over that. She doesn't have to wade through all the other proposals we have, but that's up to the commissioners to pull it out of order. She's asking for a request for Patricia Eisenhower to Ridgeway Road to discuss speed and traffic problems on Ridgeway Road. I'm not even sure this is an issue with the traffic commission, so if we can pull that up and I'll see her. If it's something that we can handle as a police department outside of this, I'd just like to move that one up.
[Alicia Hunt]: I'm happy to move that we go out of order and take that item next.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Okay, second. Second, great. So we're going to move 2024-56. Do we call for that, correct? We're going to move that. Pat, we're going to go to you and speak on this issue. If this is a police issue that we can handle, if it's speeding on your road, I'm not sure that would go through traffic commission.
[SPEAKER_16]: Well, I hope it does. I've been to the Traffic Commission for 33 years about this. 33 years, gentlemen and ladies. I started this when my daughter was five years old. She's 38 now. I don't know if you're aware of where Ridgeway Road lay. It is a private way. It has been in my family. I have lived, my family has lived on this street for 98 years. I'm in one of the ancestral homes. We have the pleasure of running between Fulton Street and Roosevelt Circle. We are the only street that dumps out onto Roosevelt Circle. And we are being used as an exit ramp to 93, both morning and afternoon. It has acerbated to the degree of ridiculousness. from 3.30 till six and seven o'clock at night. They get stuck in traffic down on the Fells Way coming northbound at Fulton Street. They come up the bike lane onto Fulton Street. They don't wait for a light or anything. They come around, they come up to our street and they fly down it trying to beat the traffic that they've circumvented at the stoplight. We have a stop sign in the middle of the road at Upland Road that we had put in with Captain, Captain, I'm sorry, Chief Sacco, just to slow people down. Right at the top of the hill there, there is a stop sign. I'm in that where the red truck is, I'm right there. That stop sign, I would say nine out of 10 people blow through. They don't stop. Now they have the point of, you can see my driveway on the left-hand side. When my daughter and I come home at night at 3.30, four o'clock, I will put my directional on to come in my driveway and they will try to pass me on the left-hand side of my vehicle and T-bone me coming into my driveway, trying to go around me at a stop sign at the top of a hill. It's mind boggling. And when I say I'm going to call the police, my daughter says to me, why bother? Nobody cares. In the end of the street, if you'll look at that end, you'll notice that the Fulton Street end has a blind corner going up Fulton Street. I have always thought that we should have, and I don't know why it wasn't done when they put Roosevelt Circle in, which I have to add was obsolete before they finished it. We are the only street that jumps out onto this. If you'll notice the traffic on the Fellsway, it's two lanes of the Fellsway meeting an exit ramp of an interstate highway with two lanes of Roosevelt Circle and a private way, all at the same place. People come out of my street onto the Fells Way. The number of accidents they've caused down there is mind boggling. We've heard people, you know, I've watched people go off in the ambulances without appendages since I've lived here. The street really should, I don't know how you're gonna solve this, but our street really should be blocked off at the end. There's the blind corner at the Fulton end. It's just the whole street, unfortunately, when it was put in, let's face it, back in the day, they were cow paths. My grandmother climbed over cow pasture land fences to pick out her lot of land here. So, I mean, these streets weren't planned, but it's now they're coming up. Yeah.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Can we just ask you?
[SPEAKER_16]: Yeah.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: So obviously this is before the Traffic Commission, so we can kind of narrow in here what exactly you're asking for.
[SPEAKER_16]: Well, I'm asking for a solution. I went to Chief Sacco years ago, many, many times about this, and I was told, and I don't know if you're aware of it, but I was told that there really wasn't too much they could do about it because my brother was the head of traffic, and he lives on the street, and it would be considered nepotism, favoritism. So they gave us the stop sign to kind of slow people down. But as you probably know, being police officers in the city, people don't obey signs anymore.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: So we have been out on Ridgeway, the traffic department, and out here from Fulton to Ridgeway on mornings more so than the evening.
[SPEAKER_16]: Right, right.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: To alleviate the issue of people turning right.
[SPEAKER_16]: Right. which they still do. We had officer I believe Sebastian was there.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: So I guess I guess before we can talk offline but this Unless you have something that you'd like to traffic commission.
[SPEAKER_16]: Well, what I'm asking you for is some way. I mean, I've been told because it's a private way, there's not too much anybody can do. But what I'm asking you is it's public safety. So I'm seeing these speed tables around the town. Why haven't we been given a speed bump?
[Tim McGivern]: I just want to address the private way piece of this. Um, The ownership of that road belongs most likely, because I'm sure it's derelict the way you described it, is to the frontage holders.
[SPEAKER_16]: So when you say- Actually, excuse me. We were told by the solicitor, Mark Rumley, that is not true. That we were always believed that we owned to the middle of the street. We had to put in our own sidewalks. And then when Mike McGlynn came and paved our street and none of us wanted it, we now have a runway. And we were told we do not. If we thought we owned that street, then we don't have to have garbage collection and we don't have to have fire and police and all those things.
[Tim McGivern]: No, that's not how it works. I'm not sure. I wasn't around back then. I know.
[SPEAKER_16]: Yeah.
[Tim McGivern]: I'm pretty well versed in what's allowed in public ways and private ways and what the differences are and all that. So, you know, this is a private way. It's signed as a private way. The speed tables that you're seeing around the city are on public ways.
[SPEAKER_16]: I know that. I know that.
[Tim McGivern]: We're just going to let him speak and then you can. So we can spend public tax dollars on the public ways, but we We can't spend public tax dollars on private ways in the capital improvement sort of way. So we can do things because the public does have rights in the private way, and they can travel through it, as you know, and we're talking about that. But we don't have care and control of the road. We can pave it, which you saw Mike McGlynn do, Again, I wasn't around back then. You should have received permission from the title holders of the land, which would be the folks who are frontage holders. In this case, I believe it's derelict. If it's not derelict, that's different, but I don't think that's the case. There's no homeowners association that owns it. There's no developer that built the houses that's still around that owns the way and plows it. The city plows it. We fix potholes. It sounds like we paved it in the past. We put up a stop sign. We probably shouldn't even have put up a stop sign, to be honest with you, but we did. So what's done is done. Now, when the city says that there's not a lot that we can do, that doesn't mean that there's nothing that the owners of the land can do. As long as you're not violating the rights of the public who can travel through the way from Fulton to Roosevelt Circle, As long as you're not violating those rights, you can really do what you want. So you could put your own speed table in if you and your neighbors all agree to do it. You can build your own sidewalks, like you said. You can't do these sorts of things in public ways. The public ways are under the control of the city. So hopefully that helps sort of clear this up a little bit. Again, I'm not sure what Mr. Rumley told you back in the day. Maybe this road does have an owner and we don't know about it, but it's probably not the case. So anyway, that's what I have to say.
[SPEAKER_16]: So who has jurisdiction on the speed on the street?
[Tim McGivern]: The police department. That would still be the police department.
[SPEAKER_16]: Okay, so I have not seen a police cruiser on this street since my brother retired.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: except we've got a trailer up there a radar trailer you know when no we put a radar trailer there what three four years ago so we can speak offline on any speeding enforcement that you would like on You can speak with Sergeant Caraviello or Sergeant Rogers, either one of us, both in the traffic department, and we'd be more than happy to get our enforcement officers out there. And we've had enforcement on Ridgeway Road from Fulton and Ridgeway, and we had a speed trailer on there, I believe, for six months. I'm not exactly sure on the date.
[SPEAKER_16]: I think four years ago. Is it possible for the Medford Police Department to speak to the state police about the traffic coming up from the Fellsway illegally on a bike path?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: We can absolutely speak to the state police. Absolutely. So I think this is better served on the offline. I have your information. I will personally call you after this meeting and we can get all your information for an email and anything else that we can get through. I apologize. It's a very.
[SPEAKER_16]: upsetting thing to be able to come home at night and not pull in your driveway. And I've actually had men get out of their car and tell me to shut my mouth or they'd snap my neck. I mean, you just, you know, when you live someplace, you don't expect people to abuse the street you live on. Some kids gonna get killed up here, guys.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: We will absolutely understand your frustration and myself and Sergeant Rogers will speak with you offline and we can get everything settled and situated for the traffic, a few speed radars and whatever else not.
[SPEAKER_16]: All right, and I do seem to have people that probably know. I'd like to know who owns the end of the street on the Fellsway end. I understand when it was put in, the Roosevelt Circle end was put in, that Leonard Circle up to the first house after Leonard Circle was owned by the state, is that correct?
[Tim McGivern]: Well, we'd have to look it up, but at some point it goes from private way to State Road. The city doesn't have a road down there.
[SPEAKER_16]: Right, so they would be, it would be the state then that would have to shut it off, the street off, correct?
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah, that's a gray area, because the public does have rights to pass through the private way. So I don't know if you can block it off,
[SPEAKER_16]: Well, they did to the other streets across the Fellsway off of South Porter Road. Those are dead ends and circles. Those used to end up on Forest Street before 93, just like we did.
[Tim McGivern]: Oh yeah, but now they're dead ends, so they have nowhere to go. I'm talking about this is a through street, so it has one end on a road and the other end on the road, so it's not a dead end or anything like that. So when you have a right-of-way, private, public, or otherwise, and it connects two places, then the public does have a right to pass through there.
[SPEAKER_16]: I guess what I'm trying to say, Tim, is why can't it be for public safety closed off because of where it ends up with that number of roads meeting all of that place? I don't know if you're aware in your lifetime of the number of accidents that are down there.
[Tim McGivern]: I know there's a lot. Yeah, this is something that you'd have to take up with the state because that's where the private road intersects with state. Okay, that's what I'm wondering. Okay, yeah, that we'd have to take that up with the state if the state decided to, you know, do it, change the road. They, they could do that.
[SPEAKER_16]: Yeah, that's what I'm wondering.
[Tim McGivern]: One more thing I wanted to just to make sure you know, you and your neighbors are interested in making that a public way so that the city can spend public tax dollars on things. We can have that conversation too. I can tell you the step-by-step process on how to get from private way and where you are now to an accepted public way that the city.
[SPEAKER_16]: What would be the benefit in that?
[Tim McGivern]: Well, we can't spend public tax dollars for capital improvements on a private way. So when that road falls apart in the future, the city, we don't have it on our capital improvement plan. We don't have plans to repave or rebuild that road in the future. We don't have any plans to really do anything with that road in the future, but all the public ways we do. So any improvements to that road, betterments they call it, would be on the owner's responsibility as opposed to the city's or the public's responsibility. That is the major benefit.
[Todd Blake]: Also right now, you're telling this board who has control of the public ways and regulations that you want them to do something, but right now they can't because it's private. So there's pros and cons of private and public. One of the pros of the private is what Tim explained earlier. You have the ability, there's many other streets asking for speed tables as well, but you have the ability with your neighbors to do it yourself if you wanted to, where the public street, they cannot.
[SPEAKER_16]: Well, I heard that we did put in a speed bump as homeowners with what you said we own to the middle of the street, that we would be liable for any damage done to a car by that table.
[Tim McGivern]: You already, unfortunately, you already are liable for damage that happens to vehicles because of your road. You already are liable. And also, the center of the road is just a helpful use for where your title is. But really, you've got to treat it as one whole thing, because any individual owner of the road can't really do much of anything. But if you and your neighbors get together, form a homeowner's association, which is one of the steps I would tell you about, then you can actually take some actual substantial action. So again, I can help you out with this online. You can just contact me and I can tell you the process, okay?
[SPEAKER_16]: All right, thank you so much, Tim. You've been very helpful.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, one last thing. I agree with everything that Tim said earlier. Take what he said to heart. There's one thing I could see that this board, possibly this commission could potentially have purview over that could help not eliminate things, but could help a little bit. is the restriction from the public road on Fulton to Ridgeway, you could potentially consider a no-left turn 4 to 6 p.m. or 4 to 7 p.m. I believe there's already a no-right turn. There's a no-right turn coming down the hill during the morning hours, but now she's explained to us that in the evenings, people are shortcutting from Fulton to Ridgeway to get around the traffic on 28th. So that's the only thing I think of that's in this commission's purview, because it's on the public intersection side of things that the Medford owns. So it would be like the reciprocal of what's there now coming down the hill. No right turn, 6 to 9. You could potentially do no left turn, 4 to 7 in the evening coming up.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: So didn't we speak of these that there's no way for us to really enforce them, say somebody does take a left turn?
[Todd Blake]: Well, we could do it as long as it applies to everyone. So the old, you know, Pat and all of her neighbors couldn't take the left turn either. So they'd have to come home downhill and, you know, and if they were coming in the morning, they'd come uphill like they do now. So it would apply to everyone. That's, yeah, the issue with enforcement was residents only.
[SPEAKER_16]: And you know, I appreciate that and I understand that and I even thought of that and I doubt my neighbors, you know, I have some that would not go along with that. We're not looking for people not to be able to use the street. It's really the speed they're coming through and the lack of consideration for people's safety when they come down. I mean, they're doing the same thing coming up from the Fells where they get out of that traffic and they fly up over the hill and the road narrows right in that hill area. And if somebody is going to be killed, you mark my words.
[Todd Blake]: If you or your neighbors did consider doing your own speed device, I would strongly suggest having an engineering company design it in a proper build or build it to limit anything. You do whatever you want. We're not advising you to do one thing or another, but if you did take that approach, you should do it. you know, to limit your life, but you could do it in a professional way to make sure it's done right.
[SPEAKER_16]: Right, right. Well, that would be the only way. You know, again, I have young couples that live on the street. The neighborhood is starting to change over from the original owners. And let's face it, with the economy, nobody wants an extra bill. So I don't know whether that would be even an idea for them to go along with. But it's just the speed is ridiculous. And if Sergeant Rogers is there, I'd be more than happy to speak with him about what we can do.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yep, we are both here. We will contact you offline immediately after this meeting.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Todd, what about making it a one-way?
[SPEAKER_16]: We've talked about that.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: We talked about that was... From the Thursway to Fulton Street. Is that... Could that be done legally?
[SPEAKER_16]: I don't know. I don't know why it wouldn't be. I mean...
[Todd Blake]: Usually when you do one-ways, you want to, so the neighborhood and including the people who live there themselves have ways to get around. Usually you want to pair it with another street that's a one-way the opposite. So it doesn't become like, you know, very closed in neighborhoods. So if you did consider that, I would advise potentially, St. Francis is already West. Ridgeway is East, you know, Foam Spring has similar issues. I don't know if they'd be interested, but. something to consider.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Okay, thank you.
[SPEAKER_16]: St. Francis Street is a one-way.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, that's where he's standing.
[SPEAKER_16]: And actually, I was told it had to remain open to the Fellsway for the emergency vehicles. We've already had a fire truck hit a house on the corner of Fulton and Bridgeway when they came down the hill. St. Francis is a much safer way for them to get onto the Fellsway with what they need at the bottom of the hill. I'll work with Larry. It is crazy up there. It really is.
[Todd Blake]: you might have to consult with legal and I don't know Tim's opinion on this because would one way still qualify as allowing passage right I think so but right right we'd have to we'd have to talk about it and understand you know
[Tim McGivern]: I live up there. I use this road a lot, too. I agree with you, Pat. It's a raceway. It's dangerous. People blow through that stop sign.
[SPEAKER_16]: You don't want to know what, I'm sorry, but the people from the Heights, and you have to be one of them, grew up there. When we first put this stop sign, they came down with a bandsaw and cut it down in the middle of the night. I mean, this is what we're dealing with, you know? And again, we're not trying to be a private, private way. We're just trying to have a safe road.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah, well, we're going to support as best we can. And I think you got some commitment from the officers. And, you know, it sounds like we'll take a look at maybe some private way options. I mean, sorry, some one way options that I can help, you know, walk you through the process. If you're interested in your unit is interested in making a public way. I think that's what we can offer you.
[SPEAKER_16]: That's wonderful. Larry has my email. If you want to email me and I get yours to talk with you.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_16]: Thank you, everybody.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Thank you.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Okay, so we'll go back to 2024-52, no parking, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Todd, sorry, I cut you off there. All you.
[Todd Blake]: That's fine. It made sense what you did. Trying to share this. So I think this agenda item is the one on the left here. So I could go to an aerial as well, but this shows the new lane structure that would be created at the signal come down Forest Street. Right now it's a single lane. It would be a short two lanes during rush hour only in front of the vacant lot, which is this square parcel here. It would not impact the post office parking or parking during theater events after rush hour. I could show you Ariel as well. This is related to, it's a precursor to a state project that we got a congestion management grant for. So it's an air pollution congestion management grant. So the state's gonna do some other improvements at the signal to help things out. And this is one of the things that came out of it.
[Alicia Hunt]: Sorry, will this make that a right turn only lane? or two lanes straight through the light? I just wanted to make sure what happened.
[Todd Blake]: It would be a left through and a right through. So if you're in the left lane, you can take a left towards Clippership, what we've talked about earlier. And if you're in the right lane, you can take a right towards High. But there are two receiving lanes on Main Street in front of Deep Cuts, because there's double left turn from Salem already.
[Jim Silva]: Oh.
[Todd Blake]: So. I could show the aerial might be easier too. Let's see.
[Unidentified]: I can do that myself.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Tim, I just get it. What about the stop line, which is well back from the light?
[Alicia Hunt]: My understanding is it has to be there for the fire trucks.
[Todd Blake]: I've watched it. Yeah, the fire trucks come northbound and the median's in their way to go straight across, so they go opposite direction for that short bit. So we're just talking about these four spaces here. You see this in the city of Boston a lot, where there'll be parking, and then during rush hour, it's restricted. If you're ever in Boston, the red meter heads are like that. If there's a red meter head, don't park there during rush hours. But it would allow two lanes to queue here and process it a little quicker, because delay contributes to air pollution. That's the congestion management piece that the state's working on. So back here would still remain this one lane with parking. And so this parking would be available during lunch and night, just not rush hour. So this sign would be revised to say 9 to 4, 2-hour parking, and then no parking other times. 7 to 9 and 4 to 6. I guess it's unrestricted after 7 p.m. right now.
[Alicia Hunt]: I have a selfish question, Todd. On my bike, my bike is wider than lots of bikes, can never get through. Like I literally have to go on the sidewalk because there's not enough space between the vehicles and the cars. There's still gonna be, bikes would have to get sharrows, right? And just get in the lane with the vehicle because there would never be enough space to even go next to them.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, right now, the current situation is a sharer situation, and then this future would be a sharer situation as well. Yeah.
[Alicia Hunt]: Might be an easier situation.
[Todd Blake]: Because this end of forest definitely narrows up compared to the north end of forest. That's why the north side parking drops out this far down towards Dunkin' Donuts. But as you get up towards Webster, it becomes wide enough to have parking on the east side, I should say.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: That's the only thing for me that my question or I guess my concern would be is, you know, obviously, there's the white arrows to not pull up to the light. Obviously, so emergency vehicles can come from. you know, onto Forest Street from, say, Maine or Salem. So, you know, obviously if that line is still there, you know, sometimes when you come up there, when you're trying to get up to, you know, Forest Street for an emergency, that would be my only concern. There's a white line painted there so they don't pull up ahead so that we can't get by them as well. Or a bus can't make the turn. We've had the buses, school buses and things like that.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, the big X would remain, be repainted, and the stop here in red would stay.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, that would be my only concern. I think this may alleviate some of the traffic issues, but other than that, I'd pass it on to commissioners.
[Alicia Hunt]: I would move approval.
[SPEAKER_06]: I second that. I did have one question. Did we talk to the businesses that have bought these parking spots around Woods Avenue?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I think the hours in which they're open, I don't know if Tom Young-Koon and the cleaners are open before 9 a.m.
[SPEAKER_07]: I'm positive, Tommy, I'm curious. The dry cleaner is open. That's where I take my clothes. I think this puts more people parking in the Chevalier side lot just to get to her. Just curious.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: All right. Alicia, I believe. And then Tim seconded it. Roll call.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner McGibbon?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner Hunt? Yes. Commissioner Brzezinski?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Sergeant Canava? Yes.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: 4-0, houses for 2024-52. Moving on to 2024-53, Forest Street, Southbound at Lawrence Road, lane structure B, formally changed to two lanes, right turn only and straight lane.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, so this image on the right is coming down from Roosevelt Circle. Right now, we kind of all know if you use this practically that people use it like this anyways, even though it's not striped this way. So this would formally make it through in a right turn only, just in the short block between Lawrence and Homer Circle. Let's see. Yeah, so as I said, right now the yellow is drawn kind of in the middle of the road, which gives us a narrow two lanes there and a wide one lane going north. This would formalize it, and it would be standard-sized lanes. Yeah, so this would enable, you know, again, for the congestion management credits ahead of that, the signal system could be adjusted to potentially have a right arrow that that right lane could go at the same time as the Lawrence Road maneuver. so then it would be more efficient, getting less delay and congestion coming out of tailpipes. But if anyone, the pedestrians would still operate the way they do now, if they press the button, everyone stops. So that's not an issue. It should still be no turn on red, which this board approved a while ago. So it's just formalizing what they use it practically as today.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Northbound is not going to be as wide, correct?
[Todd Blake]: Correct.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: The right lane is tight as it is now.
[Todd Blake]: So share the aerial. So this is see how the northbound lane to the circle is the same width as the southbound where people operate two lanes. So that kind of shows this with the no parking here is wider than it needs to be going north. So there's room to kick the yellow over a little bit and have formally two lanes. So you can see these cars back here making the two lanes already. So, because there's no parking on this little stretch here between the crosswalk and Homer, it's actually plenty wide. And then that leads to the next item on the agenda. It's kind of paired together, but it's two separate requests, the no parking east side and for south of that intersection. I'll just share that. The left side of this image here, so south of Lawrence Road on the east side of Forrest, there'd be 99 feet approximately of no parking because the yellow will shift over so that it aligns properly with that new maneuver or that new yellow coming down. So I will go to the aerial there again.
[Alicia Hunt]: In that case, so I am totally on board with the you do not own the parking spots in front of your house. Has anybody had any conversation with the property owners there? So they're aware that there's stuff that's being discussed in front of their homes on public meeting.
[Todd Blake]: I have not, but these are all, you know, single family homes with huge driveways. Parking is a lot on both sides. It's, yeah, it's, Lily and I and Amy before were trying to get a handle on parking utilization in the street, because really it's much like some of the other streets where you could probably get away with only parking on one side. It's so sporadic on both sides that, So it shouldn't be too much of an impact. And if they did need to park on the other side, this one stretch from this one driveway to the crosswalk, then you could press the button at the crosswalk and park immediately on the other side. So there's a way to safely do it at the crosswalk.
[Alicia Hunt]: So just to be clear, when we're looking at the street right now in this orientation, it's the right side of the street.
[Todd Blake]: It's where my cursor just measured this. So it is right here from this driveway to there. So this yellow will be over a little bit. So this yellow will be over a little bit and taper over there from back here. So just getting people to be aligned kind of along this path here. So the street's kind of wide enough for three lanes across. Yeah. So that's, it's right here that you're seeing. So there'd still be this whole block back to Webster available in opposite. So it'd still be, yeah. almost 300 feet available there, and directly opposite, another 350 feet available. You know, it's not atypical to have this in the end sections, like this section from Homer to the signal is already restricted, right? And then this section from this Lawrence, the signal is already restricted. And then this section on this side of Lawrence is already restricted for the lane structure. So, it's not that uncommon being that close to an end section to have that occur. Yeah, so you could see this multi-car driveway here, this one here, this one here, this long one here.
[Alicia Hunt]: I think these changes make sense, especially if we're It sounded like you were saying there was additional changes coming that these were going to be paired up with to make it more comprehensive.
[Todd Blake]: So the right turn only from Roosevelt Circle, this no parking that we just discussed is related because the yellow to get the traffic going northbound over closer to the curb as they go through Lawrence Road. So those two are directly linked. And again, this signal in Medford Square will have other upgrades to it associated with the MassDOT congestion management grant. So it's air pollution congestion alleviation grant. So it's supposed to make things more efficient, which means less delay, less tailpipe pollution from the cars for unnecessary delay.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Cheers.
[Todd Blake]: Timing-wise, N-Grid owes us the repaving of that entire street from Medford Square to Lawrence Road because they ripped it up, and it's a guaranteed street. So after they pave it, they gotta repaint it. So whatever's approved or not approved tonight, then that informs the pavement marking plan that they have to restore. So tonight, we're hoping they can do that this season before the winter. Otherwise, we gotta wait another whole season to either pave and paint.
[Alicia Hunt]: Oh, you think that they're going to repave it this fall?
[Todd Blake]: Well, that's the hope. Don't say I said that they will. That's the hope. Right. Yeah. Owen's already informed them of it, so we'll, yeah.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Oh, they haven't even done that section yet, have they?
[Todd Blake]: So they did work. They did work. Remember last year when all the parents complained they couldn't get to school there in Russia?
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, but I don't think they did north of Lawrence Road.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, they ripped up from Dunkin' Donuts up to Lawrence Road itself, and then they temporary patched it. Now they got to do permanent road. Yeah, I'm not sure if they went beyond the north of Lawrence either, but whatever Ingrid doesn't do, the Mass Stop project would capture.
[Tim McGivern]: Larry, are you asking if they're done? Yeah, yeah. They're done. They're done? Farm or street? They should be done. By now, yeah. They only had two weeks left, four or five months ago or something like that. Okay. Yeah. They made the mistake on that road. They told us we could pave it. And then a year later, they're like, oh no, we need to replace the gas main. So we're taking their word for it, but they should be done. I mean, they could make another mistake, but unlikely at this point.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Motion. Or, um.
[Alicia Hunt]: A motion to approve both of them.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Okay, motion to approve 2024 dash. We actually discussed 3 of the things are doing. Did you or did they already approve the earlier 1?
[Todd Blake]: We did the 1st, 1 already.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes, sorry, I apologize. Now we're just approving both of them, 2023-4 and 53 and 54. It is Commissioner Hunt and then seconded by, sorry, I missed the first one. Second. Second, Commissioner McGibbon. Roll call for both 2023 and 54, ALBA.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner McGibbon?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Yes.
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: Commissioner Hunt? Yes. Commissioner Morizinski? Yes. Sergeant Canava? Yes.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: 2024 and 53 both pass. Moving on to discussion on Washington Street parking lot, 2024-55, Commissioner Morgan.
[Tim McGivern]: Thank you. So we own a parking lot that was deeded to us as part of the Swan School Project a while ago, a long time ago. And this parking lot is on Washington Street near the corner of Park. And this parking lot is managed, well, no, it's not managed. It's not managed really at all. So it was, when it was deeded to us, it was deeded with the intent for it to be used by the neighborhood, something along those lines. We recently took down the fence because it fell in. Well, it's not our fence, it was put up as part of the project. but we took it down because it was falling into the parking lot. We put up some Jersey barriers since. The lot's kind of a mess. It really hasn't been treated like a public parking lot, but I think we need to, should treat it like a public parking lot. Cars just sit there. There's been people working on cars in the lot. There's been people probably sleeping in their cars in the lot. People store their cars in the lot. So, you know, I've learned a lot of this over the last year or so, just dealing with the fence and the condominium. And I did read the deed and looked at the information associated with the Swan School. And it is under our title. It's our parking lot for sure. The only question is, is that, you know, dedicated or whatever, committed to neighborhood use. I'm not sure that's working out very well. And I would make the argument that You know, making it a paid public lot would still be in the interest of the of the neighborhood and the community. So, I wanted to open up the discussion now. We don't we don't need to come into conclusions tonight or voted on anything tonight, but I wanted to bring it to the table and see if there were any other opinions on the commission. that I can take into consideration here for development of some sort of more of a real agenda item to make it a paid lot, put signs up, kiosk, whatever.
[Todd Blake]: Tim, to kind of back you up, that language that you described, the generic kind of flexible language of neighborhood use, seems to be the same language in the Yale Street lot agreement and possibly others. And just as an example to others, the Yale Street lot is structured in a different way than Washington Street. So it shows what could be if that same language was used and what interpretation the city may have.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah, and I want the city to be making revenue on the lot, really, so then I can feel good about spending public tax dollars to, you know, if we wanna put up a fence, if we wanna, you know, make some improvements to it, et cetera.
[Alicia Hunt]: I had a so this is not the first time I've heard about this and I don't know why this is the first time I've thought of this, but we should do some level of public outreach. And I'm not sure what that is. And it might be that we should put up some signage in there saying the city is considering. making this a paid lot or other public uses or whatever and some sort of like place where they could provide feedback. And I don't know if that says come to a meeting or fill out this form and send in your thoughts or something, because clearly people are using it. And I'm not thinking that some of those uses might be perfectly fine and some may really not be or really appropriate in a public lot. But there should be some opportunity for that. And it might be that the right answer is that it should be a little park let you know that it should not be parking. I don't know that I'm not saying it should be just because my office keeps making parks. but that we should think about a little bit of a public process to go with it. And I don't just say that, I mean, I was thinking through what level my staff could do, like put together a form, design some signs that go there to do some public outreach to sort of gather information about what is the right thing. And part of what that would do is say, this is public space and we're paying attention. And that might help some of the more inappropriate uses of the space.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Tim, I could increase the enforcement. Now I know that it exists. Increase the enforcement down there, or do we want to hold off? And like Alicia said, advertise first, like we did Hormel.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I was going to just say, Hormel was a huge, I know it's totally different aspects, but Hormel Stadium, You know, went to, unbeknownst to us, we went to the leasing offices at Lumiere and the Mystic Towers and we had no idea that the Mystic Towers was telling people to park over there. Luckily, we were able to inform them that this lot is not owned by the Mystic Towers and there is no. Anything that says that they can park over there and luckily we took. All necessary steps before we started towing vehicles and that lot has never been better. I'm not saying that this is similar situation where we have. Yeah, jet skis and barbecue setups and trailers and whatnot there, but it seems like you have similar issues, but. Not not barbecue trailers and jet skis.
[Todd Blake]: Other options besides the meter could be resident permit, which then they pay a small fee for permit, and you'd be able to regulate in some way. Other ones could be business permit, which, you know, it seems pretty far away, but I just measured at 1,600 feet from Washington Street Park. There's several businesses that the employees might be able to use that for business permit. It's like a six minute walk. So there are some other options that could be beneficial for various reasons.
[Alicia Hunt]: Um, do you, what do you think? Cause like, I'm happy to go back. Oops. I hope I didn't get knocked off there. I'm happy to go back to my staff and ask them about doing, uh, some outreach around this. It feels right up Amanda's alley. She just had a ribbon cutting on one of her major projects. The sort of do some outreach and maybe we do like a little web form that has, you know, scan a QR code that has some options has an email address could put in a phone number for our office to say, you could provide feedback and input. And we can put some of these choices business parking. resident parking, paid parking, park let, see what comes up and say something like, if you are currently, you know, ask, are you currently using this? I've never heard of it. You know, I rely on this, this space to like, get drop downs like that to kind of open them.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I like that idea. Sorry, Tim, I jumped off on you.
[Tim McGivern]: Oh, that's OK. We're just talking over each other. It's fine. It's one of the things about Zoom. It's wonderful. I think that makes a lot of sense, Alicia. And I think since this is the body that is charged with the care and control of off-street public parking lots, maybe we can use some of our time at our meeting to have this. Like, we set aside an agenda item that is just for community feedback with some options, like you were saying. And in a couple months, we could schedule it for a traffic commission meeting and take a half hour and let people speak about it. Because I think it's going to be the people that use it who have cars there. They're going to come. They're going to give their feedback. Right now, they're getting a free ride on very valuable public property.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: You know, like Todd had mentioned a resident permit parking issue. They still cannot work on a vehicle there. That is still illegal. They cannot have a disabled motor vehicle in there. So. You want to let them know that as well, you can't be working on vehicles.
[Tim McGivern]: Yeah, we can even I mean, 1 of the options is could just be, I mean, putting up rules rules for the lot or something, you know. I didn't come here today with solutions just to open up a discussion and see see where this needs to go.
[Alicia Hunt]: Do you have an idea about how many parking spots are there? That would give me a better sense of the size than if you gave me dimensions.
[Tim McGivern]: Probably a dozen to 20. I didn't count them. It's not a huge lot. Todd's good at that. If you have the screen available, we could probably take a quick look.
[Todd Blake]: I'm only counting eight official, but I can't see in the back where the trees are.
[Tim McGivern]: It's kind of like a bit of a dog legs. It's probably 12. There's three or four right over there. And that's where I've noticed that cars just, I went there for a few weeks in a row just to sporadically, and it was the same cars parked over there, kind of hidden. Yeah, kind of back there.
[Alicia Hunt]: We could even flyer those vehicles specifically saying the city's looking at this area, you know.
[Tim McGivern]: That's a sign up in the lot, though, that says, you know, on this day discussion on the lot looking for community feedback or something like that for the city to. I don't know something like that, but I think it's a great task for for the office to see. to plan out sort of the use of that public space?
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I would like to also go along with Hormel. Hormel Stadium, we're only talking about making a profit on Hormel Stadium when we know we don't have events. There is a heck of a lot of spaces every single night that we are not using. And there's a lot of profit that can be made similar to this lot for the city. you know, formal stadium 90% of the time, if there's no event, there's 10 cars in the lot. I mean, you could get landscaping companies and schedule them out, but that's, you know, we're chatting about it. It's just my piece. I like it, you know.
[Tim McGivern]: All right, so, I mean, we don't really need to vote on anything or.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I guess that's I think we're agreeing that if you put a sign up in there, and it comes back to a traffic commission meeting, I think it's.
[Tim McGivern]: All right, I'll talk to you and I maybe we'll talk offline about this tomorrow or the next day or something and we'll come up with a plan. Yeah, thanks Tim 2024 slash 57 proposed variance policy.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: All right, I was pulling this up.
[Alicia Hunt]: So to just give this little context, there's sort of like two ends of this problem that I was talking with Jim to see about how we could solve. And one end of the problem is that the parking office was telling people that they had to come back to the traffic commission every year to renew their variance. And so we need to officially formally say a rule that that is not true, that once we pass a variance for parking on that street instead of this street and your visitors permits, that you can keep renewing it with the parking office without coming back to the traffic commission every year. I assume none of us wanna see these people every year, 50 people. The other end of it is that we do have a variance list of people who have been granted variances over time that is insanely long. And it's insanely long because variances from the 1980s and the 90s, they don't fall off because there is no way to say when does your variance actually end and under what conditions. And so I had drafted some language that I want to say is spitball language is It's not exactly worded exactly right. I'm going to post it into the chat for everybody. But the idea would be, one, the statement that the variance is specific to the, and we need just some guidelines on it, that it's specific to the address and the person who requests it, and they should have a start date. And then we must, something that says they don't have to come back and renew it. So the language I had was the variance remains in place as long as the resident resides at the address the variance is at, or until a parking zone is created at that location, making the variance unnecessary. But then as long as they exercise the variance, as long as they come and get the permit, and I thought we ought to give people like, oh, you could skip a year, but then you can come back the next year and get it. So you would have to, if you don't purchase it for one year or don't purchase it for two years, then it literally falls off our books and we delete it. And you would have to come back and reapply if you hadn't actually bought that resident permit for a couple of years in a row. And that would allow us to clear the, I don't know, I wanna say it's like 150 on our list that are like more than five years old. And I think Jim actually was able to run the data on how many of them haven't been used in more than five years because we don't have a rule or a process that says we can remove it from the list. So that's what this is about. And I don't know if it's as urgent as it had been, but the piece about saying people don't have to come back every year to renew the variance, that I think is that we have to pass and make it official so that it's clearly written out for the parking department.
[Todd Blake]: This is great, thank you. Can there be just a little tiny asterisk at the end that says, you know, parking restrictions may change over the years. So you still have to follow whatever parking rules. So in case there's a variance given on like some side street and then there was no parking at all, you know, allowed on that side street at a later date, these people don't think that they, you know, they trump whatever their restriction is. Could have, but this is great. This is huge solution.
[Jim Silva]: I also think it's timely with the annual renewal coming up in December, the possibilities of multiple people having to come back to traffic commission will no longer be the case, potentially. And as Alicia alluded to, variances will If we go to zone parking, variances will no longer be an issue, per se, as they are now because of street by street.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, I'll do it, Jim. I'll give the plug. This is a plug for additional zones to eventually eliminate variance.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: So, I don't know if Alicia and Jim, you guys may have said this, but for the variances that have been there, is there any way to notify them that they haven't renewed their variance an X amount of time, and if they would like to renew it, that they could come into the parking department to do so. That way, like Alicia said, if they don't come in, then it's just eliminated. I know you said after two years, it would be eliminated. Sorry, did I mishear that?
[Alicia Hunt]: Right. I feel like there might be some rationale in notifying people who haven't used it in the last one or two years. that if they don't come in and purchase it will determine that they no longer need it and won't use it. If there's a variance, it would be a lot more legwork. It would be possible to compare the list to property owners, but there is no way to know if people still live there, if they're renters or not. A little bit would be nervous about sending the letter to property is where the people don't live anymore. And then now the new tenants are going, oh, I should do this. And granted, they might not if it was specifically addressed to the name person, they might not open it. We do have some weird ones in there that are just like this whole building gets variances on this street. And I'm not really sure. I'm not even my brain couldn't even wrap my head around those. I was like, let's first deal with the ones that are already too individual.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I don't want to open up more. You know, can worms and need to be, but I think obviously the people that. Now say I live on 100 Main Street and I had a variance. I think I'm still living there. I think obviously you want.
[Alicia Hunt]: I suppose it would not actually be that hard to do a mail merge where you literally sent a paper letter to the that address that person's name at that address and in the letter you say you've had you had a variance in the past. You know you haven't purchased it. in many years and it will go away if you choose not to purchase it this year or in January. And then with the assumption that if they don't live there anymore, somebody else isn't going to open the letter and go, oh, I can do this.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Well, then we would have how would they come to the commission randomly? They didn't open up some of the legally open up somebody's mouth. Right, right.
[Jim Silva]: So we will in regard to that in at this point, if you are utilizing your variants, you are have already done that. And if you haven't, when we need to run a report to actually get a dump of who is active and who isn't into a comparison, I like to look at this as sort of the voters list. We do an annual census. We to register to vote, to continue to vote, you may drop off, but it gives you an opportunity to value. Once this is passed, it's an opportunity to then dump that report and get a much better perspective.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Jim, I got a quick question. It has nothing to do with this. The signs have been whited out that your time is going to be towed. Do we know what's going on with that?
[Jim Silva]: White it out, yes, it's because we cannot actually tow, the parking department cannot tow, or there is a, I think it's Todd, from your perspective, how we check.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, the sign that crew asked me about this too.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Well, hold on, let's just go back to this one and pass this, and then we'll come back to that. We can talk about it, I thought we were just talking about it. No, no, no, it's gonna pass. All right. Sorry. So I guess proposed variants, I guess, is there anything we need to write?
[Alicia Hunt]: Like this language, if people want to wordsmith it, I'll pop it in another document where I can edit it.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Is it what you listed in the chat, correct?
[Alicia Hunt]: Yeah, that's the language that I also did send this around an email a couple of weeks ago just so that people would have the language in advance. I think I sent it to...
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I'm just taking a picture of it so that way Allah can translate it.
[Alicia Hunt]: I did email it to her a couple weeks ago and then I forwarded it like three days like right before the weekend. You have it.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Okay, we have it if commissioners want to take a read in the chat and then they like that and then we'll somebody wants to propose a motion that
[MCM00001809_SPEAKER_04]: I have a question. I think what she wrote looks fine, but has the parking.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Group taking a look at this, like, if they looked at it, do they I think they were the ones bringing this forward because they're getting all the people into the parking department.
[MCM00001809_SPEAKER_04]: Who wrote this did Alicia did you write this?
[Alicia Hunt]: I wrote it.
[MCM00001809_SPEAKER_04]: Does this match what they're I mean, like, if you give this to them, do they go? Perfect. have we done that correct this is brought up in our stakeholder group at city hall so yes this is part of one of the journey yeah i i don't i don't see an issue i mean it looks like more guidelines than anything so i don't see anything wrong with it i'd be happy to make a motion to approve it okay commission seconded by commissioner given roll call allowed commissioner mcgiven yes commissioner hunt yes commissioner berzinski yes
[MCM00001607_SPEAKER_07]: I apologize.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I just wanted to get that through.
[Todd Blake]: to make them all uniform with the G in the bottom left and consistent. You know, some signs had that language, some didn't. We whited out all the, you may be towed at your own expense. It's not necessary. Our city and other cities ticket for permanent parking without that language, and they never tow for it anyway. So it's unnecessary, yeah. So future, to be more consistent, we should probably drop that language from our current parking system. For permit parking or for other reasons?
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Yes, for resident parking. We don't? Yes, we do. Yes, we do. Resident permit parking? Yeah. Absolutely, we don't.
[Todd Blake]: So for hydrants and other things, maybe?
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: No, for permit parking. This isn't on the... We don't. I just don't know if that's changed, is what I'm saying.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: I guess Thursday we can talk about this?
[Todd Blake]: Oh, yeah. The signs aren't uniform throughout the city. So if it was related to an actual regulation, if it's a towable offense or not, then it's probably not consistent throughout the city.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: OK. I guess we'll talk about Thursday. We've got a meeting. No. Traffic meeting.
[Todd Blake]: 11 o'clock. Is Burgett have a problem with actual, since the G Zone was implemented? I haven't heard anything being like the fears that they had of being a parking lot.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, there's, I'm getting a lot of the tough students. I'm getting complaints.
[Todd Blake]: But in terms of the numbers, it's not full like a parking lot, right? It's just that car's been there for a long time.
[4FrRjkCyMqA_SPEAKER_06]: Nope, it's one particular party's calling concert. And my officer told me today, that the toll pots has been lighted up.
[Todd Blake]: Yeah, that was us. Okay.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: All right. Motion to adjourn the meeting.
[Tim McGivern]: I just got one question for Jim. Are you in San Francisco?
[Jim Silva]: No, that's actually my backyard here in South Medford. Motion to adjourn. I'll snag it.
[Todd Blake]: That looks like the view behind Valley Road.
[MCM00001829_SPEAKER_08]: Have a nice night. Drive safe. Don't sex and drive. I did.