A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 20-42, regarding enforcement of illegal parking in front of LBJ Apartments on Erie Street

MEMORANDUM To: Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager From: Joseph E. Barr, Director Date: November 2, 2020 Subject: Awaiting Report 20-42 – Illegal Parking in Front of LBJ Apartments (150 Erie Street) This memo is in response to Order 2 from the September 14, 2020 City Council Meeting (Awaiting Report 20-42) to report on a plan to increase enforcement of the City’s parking regulations to discourage vehicles from parking illegally in front of the LBJ Apartments located at 150 Erie Street. As requested in the order, staff from Traffic, Parking, + Transportation (TP+T) reached out to the Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) to discuss these parking concerns and collaborate on a solution. The property managers for the LBJ Apartments report that on occasion there are vehicles that temporarily pull into the No Parking area in front of the building, or that park for a short time period. This includes vehicles that pull into that space to drop off or pick up residents and/or escort residents to their apartment, as well as The Ride vehicles operated for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The Ride has been advised that they should use the rear parking lot and not to use the space in front of the building. However, residents prefer to get dropped off in this location and often make that request to their drivers, which The Ride will try to accommodate. Moving trucks and delivery will also attempt to park in this location but they are typically asked to move. Emergency vehicles are on site almost daily at the LBJ Apartments. The Cambridge Police Department (CPD) and Cambridge Fire Department have indicated that an illegally parked vehicle in front of the LBJ apartments would not impact the response time or impede the work of the first responders because they would simply stop their vehicles in the middle of the street if the

loading zone was occupied (as happens on smaller streets throughout the city on a daily basis). If a call is made to the non-emergency public safety telephone line for a vehicle parked in the file lane, CPD will respond by sending out the closest officer who will tag and tow a vehicle if warranted. TP+T’s enforcement of 150 Erie Street is covered by a Parking Control Supervisor who is in a vehicle. If the Supervisor observes an illegally parked vehicle and is unable to get that vehicle to move, they would notify CPD if there is a need for further action (including towing the vehicle). It is important to note that the area in front of the LBJ Apartments is currently signed as a Loading Zone, which allows loading for up to 30 minutes for commercial vehicles and up to 15 minutes for private vehicles. As a result, the current passenger pick-up and drop-off activities that occur in this area are legal, as long as those time limits are not exceeded. A vehicle can only be towed from this location if it stayed beyond that time limit, was issued a ticket, and then was towed under the authorization of the Cambridge Police Department (CPD), since vehicles cannot be towed from a public way without that authorization. Given the concerns that have been expressed, we will continue to work collaboratively with CPD and CHA to monitor the loading zone in front of the LBJ Apartments to discourage vehicles from obstructing access to the building or staying beyond the time allowed in the Loading Zone.