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Watertown to restrict overnight downtown parking for targeted street sweeping
Summary
City staff will install no-parking signage and launch an outreach campaign to clear parked vehicles during two-hour weekly windows so street crews can sweep downtown thoroughly.
Rob Bainon, Watertown street superintendent, told the City Council on Monday that staff will install timed no-parking signs and run an information campaign to improve downtown street sweeping.
The change is intended to let street crews clean curb-to-curb rather than working around parked cars. Bainon said the plan will place signs reading “No parking 4 to 6 a.m. on Wednesdays, May through October” on certain streets and “No parking 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Thursdays, May through October” on the avenues, and that signs will take about four weeks to arrive.
The measure grew from a May 12 council work session and subsequent outreach. "Laura from our executive assistant, public works reached out, by phone calls, Facebook messages, and texts. The results of the poll. Laura attempted to contact 58 businesses in the downtown area. We had 29 respond to the poll and every one of them were in full support," Bainon said. He also told council staff expect roughly 160 to 180 parked cars to be a factor the crew must work around under the current pattern.
Bainon said the city will launch an information campaign, coordinate with police, and initially issue warning notices before enforcing parking tickets. He said current parking tickets cost $15. The city plans to allow parking on adjacent streets and in 10 downtown city lots on alternate days when sweeping is scheduled.
Council members welcomed the follow-up and said the plan should reduce the time crews spend working around parked cars. Bainon said he will work with staff member Kelly on the public outreach and that enforcement would begin once signs are installed.
The report was informational; council did not take a formal vote during the meeting. Implementation steps listed by staff are ordering signs, conducting public outreach, using police to educate the public during an initial warning period and then issuing standard parking citations once signage is in place.
