Revere Traffic Commission approves metered public parking at Gibson Apartments; several speed- and parking‑change requests sent to public hearing

Revere City Traffic Commission members on May 15 approved metering 17 on‑street public parking spaces at the Gibson Apartments and forwarded a number of traffic‑calming and parking changes for additional review or public hearing.

The commission voted to authorize meters for the 17 spaces after hearing from Zachary Bobo, the city's director of parking, who said the spaces were required under state approval for the Gibson Point development and were intended to serve a new restaurant at the building and members of the public visiting the nearby pier and conservation area. "This came up as the development of Gibson Point looked for additional conservation land to build up their parking lot... they were to provide us with 18 public parking spaces," Bobo said, and told the commission the developer would pay for the meters.

The action passed on a voice vote with no recorded opposition.

Why it matters: metering will change how the short block of street adjacent to the new development is used and establishes paid public parking tied to the project's state approvals.

The panel also considered a resident and councilor request to reduce the posted speed on Campbell Avenue from 25 mph to 20 mph. Ward 2 Councilor Iren Ovacelski told the commission he submitted the request on behalf of constituents and cited police records he said show multiple crashes on the downhill portion of the avenue. "If you go into the police records over the last three years, there's been 11 accidents on the lower going down on the hill part of Campbell Ave," Ovacelski said.

Because the city lacks unilateral authority to change a posted roadway speed, the commission approved a motion to submit the requested 20 mph posting to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) for review; implementation will be contingent on MassDOT approval. The motion specified the commission's approval is conditional on MassDOT's formal review and award of the change.

Several proposed parking‑meter and parking‑restriction changes on a larger list of streets were then discussed. The commission agreed to table two agenda items proposing broad changes to on‑street meter zones (agenda items 3 and 4) so Ward 2 council staff could hold a neighborhood meeting and present details to residents before final action. A DPCD (Department of Planning and Community Development) grant tied to meter equipment was noted as expiring June 30 if purchases were not completed; commissioners and staff emphasized scheduling constraints and discussed meeting dates in mid‑June to meet that timeline.

Other actions moved to public hearing included: - Adding a list of new and proposed multifamily addresses to the city code provision that makes certain buildings ineligible for residential parking stickers (the commission voted to move those addresses to a public hearing). - Converting two short Rossetti Street segments from a proposed "Do Not Enter" sign to a 24‑hour resident‑only parking proposal and sending that amendment to a public hearing (the commission explicitly amended the request to a 24‑hour resident parking restriction to avoid affecting an adjacent auto‑body business and May Institute driveway). - Sending a request to add a stop sign at Charger Street and Grover Street to public hearing after the traffic working group recommended the change following local speed data and resident petition; the working group also recommended placing a flashing speed sign there first. - Sending recommendations for Procter Avenue — including installation of a speed hump west of Smith Street and a stop sign at B Street — to public hearing after data showed the 85th‑percentile speed exceeded the posted limit near senior housing and a daycare.

The commission tabled a proposal to add two handicapped parking locations (35 Fernwood Ave and 11 Wave Ave) until formal handicap application paperwork is received.

The traffic working group told commissioners it will place speed‑count boards next week on the downhill section of Campbell Avenue between 79 and 8 Campbell Ave after a resident petition secured the required signatures; staff will return with the data when available.

Quotes and speakers: direct quotes in this article come from meeting participants recorded in the transcript. Named speakers cited include Zachary Bobo, director of parking; Ward 2 Councilor Iren Ovacelski; Julie DeMorrow, Department of Planning and Community Development transportation coordinator; Christina Robertson, a Charger Street resident who testified in favor of traffic calming; and Ward 2 Councilor Ira Novosalski, who sponsored a petition for Campbell Avenue traffic review.

What to watch next: the commission set or discussed scheduling a mid‑June meeting (participants discussed June 12 and June 19 dates) to accommodate grant timing and neighborhood outreach; several items will return after public hearings or after the traffic working group completes additional field data collection.

Ending: No new parking meters will be installed, and no speed limit signs will be changed, until required neighborhood outreach and external approvals (MassDOT or grant procurement) have been completed and the items return to the commission for final action.