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City presents citywide parking and curb-use study with recommendations to reallocate curb space
Summary
Somerville’s parking department presented a living curb-use study that recommends clarifying curb-management roles, reallocating curb space for bikes, buses and loading, expanding technology and staff capacity, and piloting automated enforcement to reduce safety conflicts.
At its Feb. 25 meeting the Somerville City Council received an update from the parking department on the citywide parking and curb-use study and attached recommendations. Director Renfrid described the study as a “living document” that inventories curb use citywide and proposes a menu of strategies to meet the city’s mobility, equity and safety goals.
Key measures presented include clarifying interdepartmental roles for curb management, using a curb prioritization framework when redesigning streets (favoring bus lanes, protected bike facilities, pickup/drop-off and loading over long-term vehicle storage), expanding protected bike lane mileage and improving loading-zone procedures for businesses. Renfrid said the city is aiming to install 30 miles of protected bike lanes and 10 miles of neighborhood ways by a target year and has already added over four miles.
The report also highlights technology and staffing needs: a project manager role was created in FY24; the city piloted automated parking enforcement cameras (SafeTick) at locations where illegal parking creates safety problems; and staff are exploring platforms to manage curb regulations and data. Recommendations include unbundling off-street parking in new developments, adding EV charging stations, formalizing parklet permitting, and expanding accessible parking in commercial areas to at least 5% of curb space.
Councilors asked about outreach methods for residents with limited internet access, ways to measure and publish unbundled parking and travel pattern reports from major developments, enforcement of bus lanes and safety on Broadway (where councilors said cars sometimes drive in bus/bike lanes), and how fire-lane and clear-corner changes affect net parking supply. The director said the study’s priorities will be implemented as budget, staffing and technology allow and the report will be sent to the Traffic and Parking committee for further discussion.
