Parking & Traffic committee files, approves and holds a slate of street‑level petitions

The Worcester City Parking and Traffic Committee voted on a large batch of parking and traffic petitions at its Sept. 17 meeting, approving some requests, filing others and holding several for more information or re‑advertising.

The committee front‑loaded routine approvals for on‑street handicap parking, installed and planned crosswalk upgrades, and a set of traffic‑calming changes recommended by a MassDOT consultant. Commissioners and residents debated more contested items, including an accessible‑parking request in the District 120 development and a petition to remove a left‑turn restriction on Otsego Road; the committee ultimately filed the Otsego petition (keeping the restriction in place) and accepted staff recommendations to advance traffic‑signal and stop‑control work where independent studies recommended action.

Votes at a glance

- Item 3b (4th Street, 3–5 Fourth Street): Recommendation to file accepted. Outcome: filed. Roll call: Councilor Priscillo: Yes; Chair Councilor Donna Calorio: Yes.

- Item 3c (20 Strathmore Road): Recommendation filed (petition filed by the applicant). Outcome: filed.

- Item 3f (District 120 area, Theodore Toner Way/Green Street): Petition for three on‑street handicap spaces — committee accepted staff recommendation to file. Outcome: filed.

- Item 3g (Washington Street, 171 Washington): Petition to install a handicap space — committee voted to hold and re‑advertise because the proposed space would be located on the odd side of the street and would affect neighbors across the street. Outcome: held/re‑advertise.

- Item 3h (5½ Bluff Street): Request for a handicap space; committee held the item for additional, off‑meeting follow up with the petitioner. Outcome: held.

- Item 3e (2 A Salwa Avenue): Request for a handicap space — committee approved pending validation of the placard. Outcome: approved.

- Item 3p (Stoneland Road): Request for a handicap space — committee approved, with the petitioner advised that the space is within a declared winter parking ban. Outcome: approved.

- Item 3s (15 Caroline Ave area): Request to add a second handicap space — committee approved. Outcome: approved.

- Item 3t, 3u, 3v, 3w (downtown / City Hall zone handicap/curb adjustments and Front Street spaces): Committee accepted staff recommendations to file or monitor in progress and to ensure full compliance with accessibility standards; many of these installations are already in progress and will receive final signage. Outcome: filed/monitoring in progress.

- Item 4a (Chandler & Mill Street): Resident request for an audible pedestrian signal — committee filed the petition and issued a chair’s order requesting the commissioner to pursue retrofitting with Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) pending funding. Outcome: filed + chair’s order.

- Item 4b (Dorchester & Ward streets): Crosswalks and ADA‑compliant curb ramps requested near Learning First Charter Public School — committee approved a chair’s order for installation pending funding. Outcome: approved (chair’s order).

- Item 5e (No parking 2 p.m.–3 p.m., Wall Street at Dorchester): Committee approved a no‑parking restriction tied to school pickup/drop‑off. Outcome: approved.

- Item 8a (remove stop sign, Pioneer Road & Westborough Street): Staff recommended filing the petition to remove the stop sign; committee accepted the recommendation. Outcome: filed.

- Item 8b (June Street at Brownell): MassDOT consultant recommended all‑way stop control at June & Hadwin (and related corridor treatment); the committee accepted staff and consultant recommendations and approved installation of an all‑way stop. Outcome: approved; installation and warning signage to be deployed, with police enforcement requested for initial rollout.

- Item 6c (Vernon Street, 23–27 Vernon): Committee filed the petition and asked staff to audit signage and lane markings so the public clearly understands where the parking lane ends and a second travel lane begins. Outcome: filed; study/audit requested.

- Item 10a (Otsego Road / Forest Street left‑turn restriction): Following substantial public comment expressing safety concerns for children and pedestrians, staff reported that a traffic signal is warranted at Forest & Salisbury and is in the capital pipeline; the committee voted to file (i.e., leave the left‑turn restriction in place) and noted speed‑hump requests for Otsego are on the candidate list. Outcome: filed.

- Items 12a–12c (additional always‑stop control locations identified via the MassDOT program): Committee approved installation at Greenwich/Locksmith/Holcomb; Elm/Severs; and Proven/Holcomb per the MassDOT consultant analysis. Outcome: approved.

Other procedural outcomes

Several petitions were put on the October agenda for additional information or re‑advertising (including items where adjacent owners must be notified). Multiple handicap‑parking requests were approved with the caveat that some requested pole locations fall within declared winter parking bans and therefore would not be usable during declared snow‑ban periods; staff noted that in those cases petitioners can request an alternate pole location outside the winter‑ban side of the street or accept the seasonal limitation.

Why it matters

The committee’s actions collectively shape street access for residents with disabilities, the safety of schoolchildren and pedestrians, and traffic flow on neighborhood streets. Several approvals implement accessibility upgrades that include PROWAG/ADA‑compliant curb ramps and signage; several filings and holds reflect the committee’s need to balance competing uses — on‑street parking, loading, business access and pedestrian safety — while aligning with state funding and design requirements.

What’s next

Staff will proceed with installations already in progress, finalize signage where work is near completion, prepare chair’s orders (for the APS retrofit and certain crosswalk/ADA ramp installations) and bring held or re‑advertised items back to the committee in October. The Department of Transportation & Mobility will also continue coordination with MassDOT on corridor projects that require capital funding.

Speakers quoted in this summary include Councilor Donna Calorio (chair), Commissioner Todd Raleigh (Transportation and Mobility), Crystal Rodriguez (property manager, Maloney Properties LLC), Dino LaRusso (business owner), Michael Marquis (resident), and multiple petitioners and neighbors who testified during the meeting.