Revere traffic commission approves one-way, resident-only and other parking changes; several items moved to public hearing

The Revere City Traffic Commission on Sept. 18 approved multiple amendments to parking and traffic schedules affecting neighborhood streets and moved several other items to public hearing for additional review.

The commission voted to: make a section of Cary Avenue one-way southerly from the Cary Avenue high school parking lot to East Mountain Avenue; add a northbound “Do Not Enter — Residents Only” restriction on the Cary Avenue approach to East Mountain Avenue; install a stop sign on Winthrop Avenue at Webster Street; add a handicap parking space at 40 Warren Street; add a 30-foot no-parking zone on the northwest corner near 650 Beech Street; and remove 24-hour residential parking permit restrictions in the Riverside neighborhood and instead implement overnight residential parking from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. The commission also moved several items — a separate handicapped-parking request on Bateman Road, two Lincoln Street parking-schedule amendments and proposed changes to parking-penalty groupings — to public hearing for further public comment and review.

Why it matters: The approvals change on-street rules for neighborhoods near the high school, business corridors and the Riverside area, and will affect where residents and visitors may park overnight and at curb corners. The items the commission sent to public hearing will return with more detail or public testimony before a final decision.

Most of the approvals came during the meeting’s public-hearing portion. The commission’s chair called each item, commissioners moved and seconded motions, and the chair announced each item as approved after unanimous verbal “Aye” votes. Individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the meeting transcript.

Councilor Joanne McKenna, Ward 1 councilor, spoke in support of the Winthrop/Webster stop sign, saying the stretch is “about 2 and a half blocks without no stop signs and this speeding up the street. I'm just trying to slow down the traffic. It's not in front of anybody's house.” McKenna suggested trying the stop sign for a limited period and removing it if it proved ineffective.

On the Riverside parking change, a council member described the area as having difficulty finding parking under the previous two-sided pattern and said the change was a compromise to restore more usable resident parking overnight.

Several items were explicitly advanced to public hearing. Commissioners said Bateman Road’s handicapped-parking request should be heard with the resident present so the commission can evaluate the need; Lincoln Street amendments were characterized as “cleaning up the books” and limited to specific blocks where parking is no longer posted; and a proposed reclassification of parking penalty groups was moved to public hearing to align local fines with neighboring communities and the fiscal-year 2025 budget.

Votes at a glance

- Amend Schedule 5 (one-way streets): Cary Ave southerly from high school lot to East Mountain Ave — Motion to approve; mover: Commissioner (name not specified); second: Commissioner (name not specified); outcome: approved. - Amend Schedule 5 (Do Not Enter — Residents Only): Cary Ave northerly from Cary Ave to East Mountain Ave — Motion to approve; mover: Commissioner (name not specified); second: Commissioner (name not specified); outcome: approved. - Amend Schedule 4 (stop signs): Add stop sign at Winthrop Ave and Webster St — Motion to approve; mover: Commissioner (name not specified); second: Commissioner (name not specified); outcome: approved. (Councilor Joanne McKenna spoke in favor.) - Amend Schedule 11 (handicapped parking): Add 40 Warren St — Motion to approve; mover: Commissioner (name not specified); second: Commissioner (name not specified); outcome: approved. (Commission discussion noted the applicant’s lack of a driveway.) - Amend Schedule 8 (parking restrictions): Add no-parking zone at northwest corner near 650 Beech St (30 feet) — Motion to approve; mover: Commissioner (name not specified); second: Commissioner (name not specified); outcome: approved. - Amend Schedule 8 (remove 24-hour residential permit restrictions): Riverside neighborhood (Archer, Lawson, Wadley, Beckett, Blanchard, River, Gilbert, Frank, Tobin, John, Thayer, Hayes Avenues) — Motion to approve (6 and 7 considered together); mover: Commissioner (name not specified); second: Commissioner (name not specified); outcome: approved. The change establishes overnight residential parking from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. - Bateman Road handicapped-parking request — Moved to public hearing (resident asked to appear); outcome: moved to public hearing. - Lincoln Street — Amendments to narrow posted no-parking sections (Washington Ave to Burbank / Amasa to Vivint Street) — Moved to public hearing. - Proposed changes to parking-penalty groups (Schedule 1) — Moved to public hearing.

Discussion and next steps

Commissioners and staff said the approved changes were mostly bookkeeping and local safety fixes; staff will post and install signs where required. The Bateman Road and Lincoln Street items will return for public hearings with residents and additional materials. The handicapped-parking request Councilor McKenna raised earlier in the meeting (a separate case she said she will present with photographs) was tabled so commissioners can review documentation before acting.

The commission closed the public-hearing portion and moved on to agenda communications and traffic-working-group reports before adjourning.