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Mayor, fire and law department urge caution over regulating on-street parking on private ways; council sends draft back to committee
Summary
Councilors debated a proposed ordinance to allow traffic commission regulation of on-street parking on private ways to ensure fire-apparatus access; mayor and city solicitor warned of liability and limits, and the Council recommitted the draft to Ordinance & Rules for further work.
WALTHAM, Mass. — Councilors returned a proposed amendment to Chapter 17 of the general ordinances, which would permit the traffic commission to regulate on-street parking on private ways for the limited purpose of ensuring access for fire apparatus, back to Ordinance & Rules after hearing warnings from the mayor, the city solicitor and public safety officials.
Why it matters: The proposal responds to constituent complaints and traffic-commission requests about vehicles parked on both sides of narrow private streets, which, petitioners say, can hinder emergency access. Councilors sought a public airing of liability questions and practical enforcement before endorsing any citywide power over private ways.
City Solicitor Katie Lachman explained the limited legal question that prompted the draft: whether state law allows municipalities to regulate parking on private ways specifically to ensure means of access for fire apparatus. Lachman said the state statute provides municipalities that authority but that…
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