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Police traffic safety grant draws scrutiny over bicycle and pedestrian enforcement; committee sends to council without recommendation
Summary
Councilors questioned whether a $60,000 municipal road safety grant would target vulnerable road users or focus enforcement on cyclists and pedestrians. The committee discharged the item without recommendation to allow full-council review after staff agreed to share grant application materials.
A $60,000 municipal road safety grant proposal for the Somerville Police Department drew extended questioning Jan. 21 about how the funds would be used and whether enforcement would target vulnerable road users.
Sergeant Michael McCarrie, traffic unit, told the finance committee the State’s Municipal Road Safety Grant divides funds among high-visibility enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle safety enforcement, safety equipment and non‑enforcement community engagement. "It also gives us an opportunity to interact with the public in a non enforcement capacity," he said, citing plans to buy helmets, speed feedback signs, handheld lidar devices and portable breathalyzers.
Councilors expressed concern about language in the grant program that can be interpreted to allow plainclothes "decoy" pedestrian stings and stops of cyclists. "That is partly correct," McCarrie said when asked whether plainclothes decoy operations might be used in combination with uniformed officers. He added the department’s current plan emphasizes pedestrian safety at mid‑block crosswalks and that officers will not proactively target bicyclists for minor infractions, though "if an officer sees something that's egregious, obviously, he's gonna address it."
Councilor Scott pressed for the full grant application and the department’s measurable goals; McCarrie agreed to provide the application and said deployment plans and equipment purchases are drawn from that application. Councilors also noted a prior city ordinance that barred accepting grants with quotas for traffic stops and welcomed a state change to remove a quota requirement from the grant guidance.
Officials agreed more detail was needed before council approval. The committee discharged the grant without a recommendation to the full council so all members could review the grant application and supporting materials before Thursday’s council vote. Sergeant McCarrie committed to sending the application to the full council within 48 hours.
