A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 22-60, regarding streamlining the City’s block party and Play Streets permit requirements

C I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E Community Development Department IRAM FAROOQ Assistant City Manager for Community Development SANDRA CLARKE Deputy Director Chief of Administration KHALIL MOGASSABI Deputy Director Chief Planner 344 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02139 Voice: [phone removed] Fax: [phone removed] TTY: [phone removed] www.cambridgema.gov To: Yi-An Huang, City Manager From: Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Brooke McKenna, Acting Chief of Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Date: February 21, 2023 Re: Awaiting Report 22-60 regarding streamlining the City’s block party and Play Streets permit requirements In response to the above referenced Awaiting Report, we submit the following: Block parties and Play Streets are events that temporarily close streets to car traffic to provide safe spaces for neighbors of all ages and abilities to meet, connect, and have fun. Play Streets, a new initiative of the Cambridge Public Space Lab, builds off of the successful framework of block parties to offer City support in transforming streets into places for play and learning. City staff coordinate with neighborhood hosts to provide pop-up play materials to facilitate successful Play Street events. Pop-up play materials may include yard games, athletic equipment, or other activities that encourage community building. To make it easier for neighbors to host block parties and Play Street events, the City is proposing the following changes to its Block Party Permit: • The Block Party permit will be renamed the Block Party/Play Street permit, to ensure all applicants can easily identify the permit they need. • Permits will be free, no longer requiring a $25 fee. • Signatures will be needed from 25% of households or organizations on the impacted blocks (reduced from 75%), significantly reducing the amount of work required to apply for a permit. • Applicants will be able to request a single Block Party/Play Street Permit for either one date or for a series of dates (such as “the first Sunday of June, July, and August in 2023 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM”). • Permit applications will be due 14 days in advance of the block party or Play Street event date (reduced from 30 days). • The City will provide clearer information and guidance about how to seek a Block Party/Play Street Permit to help make the process easier to understand for people considering hosting a block party or Play Street event for the first time. This information will affirm that signatures are only required from along the block being closed to through traffic and not from adjacent blocks.

Page 2 of 2 • As in the past, streets must remain accessible to all abutters and emergency vehicles during any block party or play street event. Staff are also researching what tools might be available for neighbors to collect signatures digitally, to enable this task to occur more asynchronously. For instance, a block party organizer could distribute flyers with a link to a webpage where neighbors could provide a digital signature. Block party and Play Street organizers will still be required to distribute event flyers to abutters before the event. This spring, staff will publicize information about the new Block Party/Play Street Permit process. We are hopeful that the revised process will significantly increase access for neighbors to enjoy the many varied social and recreational uses of our streets, which together form the largest category of public space in Cambridge. These efforts will build community, strengthen social connections among neighbors and increase community resiliency.