Committee Report CR-3
The Transportation, Traffic and Parking Committee conducted a public meeting on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 beginning a 1:07 P.M. in the Ballroom of the Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Avenue. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss bus shelters and benches, snow removal plans, policies and procedures and the maintenance of public handicapped parking spaces.
Present at the meeting were Councillor Henrietta Davis, Chair of the committee and Margaret Drury, City Clerk. City administrative staff present included Lisa Peterson, Commissioner of Public Works (DPW), John Nardone, Assistant Commissioner of Operations, DPW, William Dwyer, Superintendent of Streets and Sidewalks, DPW, Greg Garber, Superintendent of Parks and Urban Forestry, DPW, Susan Clippinger, Director of the Traffic Parking and Transportation Department, Susann Rasmussen, Director of Transportation and Environmental Planning, Community Development Department (CDD), Katherine Watkins, transportation and environmental planner, CDD, Cara Seiderman, pedestrian and bicycle program, CDD, Rosalie Anders, transportation and environmental planner, CDD, Richard Scali, Executive Secretary, License Commission, Sergeant Kathleen Murphy, community relations and bicycle patrol, Cambridge Police Department, Michael Muehe, Director of the Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Human Services (DHS), Eileen Ginnety, Director of the Council on Aging, DHS, Emma Watkins, Director of the Senior Center DHS, Laura Haberman, Senior Center.
The following citizens also attended the meeting: Carol N. Weiss, 13 A Ware Street, Florinda Pla, 50 Churchill Avenue, Kathy Podgers, 148 Pearl Street, Arvilla Sarazen, 15 Lambert Street, Bill Ellis, 237 Franklin Street, Steve Miller, 92 Henry Street, Sandra Foster, 20 Clare Street, Gladys Evans, One Grant Street, Ruby Chung, 863 Massachusetts Avenue, Bernarda Vargas, 110 Peterborough Street, Boston, Leora Littleton, 130 Antrim Street, John Gintell, West Street, George Erhrenfried, Aberdeen Avenue, Sylvia Bridgeman, Cambridge, James Shannon, Cambridge, Ellie Solyera, Cambridge, William Cobham, Fayerweather Street, Leroy Craigwell, Cambridge.
Councillor Davis convened the meeting and explained the purpose. She stated that the meeting would begin with a discussion of bus stops and benches and invited Katherine Watkins to make a presentation. Ms. Watkins began with a description of the City’s overall focus on bus routes and buses. She first noted that there are limitations on what the City can accomplish because the buses are owned and operated by the MBTA, not the City. However, the City has undertaken several initiatives related to buses and bus routes. The City has developed new signage for the bus stops with route information. On Huron Avenue the City is trying out new signs with more information about fares and schedules.
Ms. Watkins said that Cambridge does have some new bus shelters and benches at bus stops. CDD has mapped the location of existing benches and shelters at bus stops. The City is focusing first on providing benches and shelters for bus stops where more than 100 people get on buses per day. She distributed a handout with photographs of types of bus shelters and benches that the City has installed recently, along with photographs of areas where the City is planning for new installations, and areas where the sidewalk is not wide enough for a bench. Out of thirteen high volume locations, there is enough room for installation of benches in seven or eight, and CDD is planning on installing a total of 15 benches in these areas.
Bus shelters are generally constructed as part of major projects. The City is looking at installing bus shelters as part of the upcoming project in Porter Square. CDD also works with developers to encourage them to install and maintain bus shelters adjacent to their projects. The MBTA is currently advertising for a contractor to install and maintain bus shelters in exchange for being allowed to have advertising space on the shelter structures.
At this time Councillor Davis invited public comment on bus shelters and benches, and the following comments and suggestions were made.
Disabled people sitting in the disabled area on MBTA buses cannot access the message system to notify the driver of their upcoming stop. Ms. Rasmussen said that CDD would relay this issue to the MBTA.
The License Commission hopes that new benches will not be located in front of package stores or teenage hangouts. Councillor Davis urged CDD to coordinate with the License Commission and police to ensure that new benches do not become future nuisances.
It was suggested that the City establish a goal of having a bus shelter or bench at every bus stop, as Costa Rica has. Establish the goal, create an achievable timeline and measure progress in achieving the overall goal.
Councillor Davis then moved the discussion to snow clearance issues. Commissioner Peterson briefly outlined pedestrian snow clearing efforts. She explained that when snow clearance starts depends on the intensity and length of the storm. In recent years, DPW has been starting much earlier in the storm. The City of Cambridge clears over 18 miles of sidewalk area as well as crosswalks and ramps, 35 crosswalk guard locations and 190 high volume bus stops on Cambridge Street, Massachusetts Avenue, Concord Avenue and Mt. Auburn Street. Both the DPW and the Traffic Department are involved in enforcement, primarily the Traffic Department.
Commissioner Peterson then went on to outline efforts that the DPW is making to strengthen the pedestrian snow clearance program. Several months ago she was asked to look at the pedestrian snow clearance that takes place in Brookline and Newton. She did so and found that while Newton clears over 40 miles of sidewalk, Brookline and Newton only clear sidewalks around schools and in major business areas. Their sidewalks are much wider than Cambridge sidewalks, so they can use Bombardier sidewalk plows, which cannot be used on most Cambridge sidewalks.
The DPW did a great deal of analysis of sidewalk widths and of tickets given out for violations last year. The violation data was overlaid on maps showing school and senior housing locations. Members of the DPW staff have met with the Pedestrian Committee and are meeting with Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department staff on how to focus enforcement routes and efforts. Members of the Traffic Department staff are putting together prioritized enforcement routes based on the data analysis.
Commissioner Peterson stated that in October she would be sending a letter to each property owner who received a citation last year. About 300 property owners will receive this letter. Staff members are also trying to identify problem locations and nearby property owners who do a good job of snow clearance and perhaps help out.
Councillor Davis stated that she was very pleased to hear of the new efforts that are being made to improve the pedestrian snow clearance program. She asked whether there would be an attempt to prioritize clearance of certain areas, for example, the crosswalk in front of City Hall. Commissioner Peterson said that DPW has been giving a lot of thought to how to clear sidewalks more effectively. However, there is no way to avoid plowing in sidewalk ramps during snow clearance. What is needed is concerted and consistent action to go back and re-clear the ramp.
The importance to people with disabilities of clearing the sidewalk ramps was emphasized. Ms. Peterson stressed that clearing these ramps is the responsibility of the abutting property owner, mostly private property owners.
The owners of the property on Churchill Street that Burns Apartment seniors must walk by to get to Massachusetts Avenue do not do a good job of clearing their sidewalks. DPW Assistant Commissioner John Nardone said that the more of these problem areas citizens report, the better the DPW can do with its targeted enforcement.
Sidewalks in front of city buildings should be cleared as soon as possible to send the right message to private property owners.
Make store owners in Central Square take responsibility for clearing their sidewalks and do not allow them to just clear a tiny path.
There was a discussion of the exemption list of disabled property owners for whom DPW assumes the task of clearing their sidewalks. Commissioner Peterson said that DPW attempts to meet the ordinance timeframe for snow clearance, and for most of last year, DPW did a better job of keeping up, but it is challenging in terms of work power. She wants to find ways of strengthening this part of the program without weakening the public area clearance. In response to a question from Kathy Podgers about Councillor Toomey’s order requesting that the City look into using vouchers for this program, Ms. Peterson said that her staff has been looking into this idea but she does not have a program that she is ready to recommend to the City Manager yet.
In response to a comment that local snow shovellers charge more than many seniors can afford, Ms. Ginnety state that the Council on Aging does keep lists of students who will shovel walks for affordable prices. The Council of Aging sends out letters to all of the youth who have participated in the Mayor’s summer jobs program. Those who respond are placed on the list. Youth who want to be on the list should call Susan Pacheco at (617) 349-6220.
There was a discussion about raising the fine for not clearing the sidewalk. Councillor Davis made the following motion:
In response to a question from Mr. Muehe, Ms. Clippinger stated that property owners would receive fines for clearing a path that is less than 32 inches wide and for not clearing the snow from sidewalk ramps adjacent to their property.
Councillor Davis then moved to the topic of snow clearance from handicapped parking spaces. Ms. Clippinger reported that the Traffic Department is responsible for this activity and has failed to clear these spaces in the past. The department is changing its procedures to make sure that handicapped spaces are cleared in the future. In parking lots owned by the City, the Traffic Department will use regular spaces as spots for pushing snow into and will keep handicapped spaces open.
Several seniors noted that bus drivers must use the sidewalk in order to drop the wheelchair ramp. Thus it is essential for access for disabled persons to keep the sidewalks at bus stops clear.
Councillor Davis thanked all of those present for their attendance and contributions. She stated that the committee would have another meeting on this topic after it snows. The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 P.M.