Pittsfield to Review Alternate Side Parking Ordinance
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Ordinance and Rules subcommittee will review a new ordinance that will implement alternate side parking in the city.
Although there was some discussion among the City Councilors on Tuesday, they ultimately voted to send the proposed ordinance first to be reviewed.
"I am not against putting more eyes on a change of this stature but I don't think I want to put it before another subcommittee when there is not a plan in place yet," Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon said.
Alternate side parking came before the City Council earlier this year through a petition. It was sent to the Traffic Commission, which referred to the public services commissioner for further review in March.
Alternate side parking is a traffic law that dictates which side of a street cars can be parked on a given day. Its proponents say it allows for more efficient seasonal cleanup and can improve better traffic flow.
Ward Councilors Kevin Morandi, Christopher Connell, and Anthony Maffuccio were the three votes against sending the proposed ordinance to subcommittee and Connell and Morandi led the charge to first send the draft ordinance to Public Works.
"That is where you get into the nuts and bolts of this whole thing to see if it is going to be doable or if it will be more efficient," Connell of Ward 4 said. "...To just blow it through O and R is wrong."
Ward 2's Morandi wanted the concept to also go to Public Safety.
"Different councilors sit on different committees and I think this needs to be vetted through as many committees as we can," Morandi said. "I want public involvement in this because it will affect a lot of people."
The proposed ordinance would make changes to Chapter 13, Motor Vehicles & Traffic, in Article V of the city charter.
Zoning districts R-M, B-G, and B-D would use alternate side parking. This means all vehicles would be parked only on the even-numbered side of the street on even-numbered calendar days, and
only on the odd side of the street on odd-numbered calendar days; unless otherwise posted or exempted in this ordinance.
This would apply from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. from Dec. 1 to March 31
Ward 3 Councilor Nicholas Caccamo, who was one of the councilors to bring forth the concept, said he thought dishing out the ordinance to multiple subcommittees was redundant.
He noted that it already went to the Traffic Commission and there has been a lot of back and forth on the ordinance between the commissioner and himself. He also is chairman of O and R.
"What we are really looking at is an ordinance change," he said. "While it impacts public services it has to go there first. O and R has to start this at the end of the day."
Council President Peter Marchetti agreed and said he felt having multiple subcommittees discuss something that isn't truly written down yet would not be fruitful.
Councilor at Large Peter White added that there will be a good discussion at the subcommittee and noted it still will have to go back to the full council to be ordained. He added that if they see a recommended ordinance in August they will still have plenty of time to make changes before the ordinance would go into effect.
Marchetti, after the 8-3 vote to send the item to O and R, also honored earlier motions to send the item to Public Works and Public Safety.
The vote to send the item to Public Works failed 3-8 and the motion to send it to Public Safety failed 2-9.
Tags: parking,
