Hi, my name is Courtney O'Keefe and I am speaking tonight on behalf of myself, Courtney Koslow, and SPARC, the Somerville Parking Advocacy and Reform Coalition. SPARC was formed in response to the Traffic Commission’s May 21st parking regulation votes and the way in which they were made. SPARC seeks to work collaboratively with the City of Somerville towards the creation of an innovative parking plan, devised through community input.
Our members include:
- Somerville Local First
- Davis Square Area Resident Business Initiative (DARBI)
- Union Square Main Streets
- East Somerville Main Streets,
- Magoun Square Neighborhood Association
- Somerville Open Studios and
- Concerned residents
SPARC is not opposed to making changes in parking regulation but believes that any changes must be devised thoughtfully as parking has significant and real impacts on businesses and quality of life.
Under Mayor Curtatone, Somerville has become a much more transparent City. 311 helps people navigate the City bureaucracy and Resistat allows for residents to provide regular input into City decision making. There has bee much public processes around Union Square Rezoning as well as around the Somerville Vision plan for the future. In fact, Somerville just won the All America City Award in part based on an acknowledgement of the City’s exemplary community process.
The May 21st votes were made through a legal process. However, it is not a just process. It is true that it was in the Traffic Commission’s authority to vote on such sweeping changes. However, the City could have chosen to discuss the issues with the people who will be affected before asking a nonelected Commission to take a vote, or even advertised that the vote was to be taken. While we understand that it is not within the Traffic Board’s authority to address the process, it is within the Board’s purview to repeal a decision that was not made justly, nor within the framework of the City’s focus on community process.
We acknowledge that Somerville, like most other municipalities in Massachusetts, is facing a budget crisis. However, in the Mayor’s presentation on the budget to the Board of Alderman he states that one of his core principals in devising the budget is to: “Avoid irresponsible cuts that generate short-terms savings at the expense of long term prosperity. We will not build long-term plans on short-term fixes. “ The Mayor is contradicting himself in stating this as a core principle yet advocating for this sweeping change that can have lasting impacts.
Substantively, SPARC and our members have concerns about specific impacts that the parking regulations will have. SPARC appreciates that the Mayor has convened the Parking Solutions Task Force, which is addressing many of SPARC’s concerns about the parking regulation changes. However, the City has not made a commitment to resolve theses issues before the May 21st votes are put into effect. We think it is imperative the issues be resolved before implementation. Our concerns include impacts on:
- Artists who rent studio space
- Residents who enjoy living on or near non-residential streets and enjoy having the flexibility
- Businesses not on main thoroughfares or with opening hours before 10am will be impacted
- Religious community with services on Fridays and Saturdays
- Industrial neighborhoods such as Boyton Yards and the Inner Belt
- Promoting Drinking and Driving
- Business employees- 8am-6pm does not reflect everyone's work schedule and some flexibility should be allowed. The business permit price is also a burden for many nonprofit organizations and their employees. In addition, businesses should be allowed to purchase passes in the businesses name.
Without a true community process, it is difficult to know exactly what the best alternatives are for each of these groups.
A few possible solutions include:
- Making all non-permit parking streets permit parking from 2:30am-10am and making the $1/car party passes online.
- Designate 2:30am to 7am resident only parking on main thoroughfares, industrial neighborhoods, artists studio neighborhoods.
- Provide ample, easy to access passes for religious congregations.
- Provide discounted employee parking for nonprofits, allow business to purchase business permit passes, not just individuals, and allow flexibility on the times the passes are valid.
SPARC requests that the Traffic Board repeal the May 21st votes to modify parking regulation in the city. We request that the Parking Solutions Task Force study the current parking conditions in Somerville and hold public meetings in order to devise a modified parking regulations plan that focuses not on the need to write tickets to generate revenue but a plan based on proven parking theory, the needs of local businesses and the interests of the community.
