BOS:311

I am a resident at 1463R Dorchester Ave, Boston, MA 02122, and I am requesting a formal review of the current street parking restrictions and signage in my neighborhood. Parking has become extremely difficult for residents because there are multiple overlapping parking restrictions that appear to leave very little legal street parking available. On the side of the street near the school, there are signs indicating that parking is prohibited/tow-away during approximately 7:00 AM–3:00 PM on school days. I understand that school zones may require restrictions for student safety and traffic flow; however, the school also has its own parking lot, and the current restriction appears to eliminate a substantial amount of potential residential parking during the daytime. There are also additional no-parking/tow-zone restrictions around both corners of the street, as well as 5-minute/no-idling restrictions. With these restrictions combined, residents are essentially left with only one side of the street where parking is generally available. The remaining side is already heavily occupied by residents of the houses and apartment buildings along the street. This makes it extremely difficult for residents to find a legal parking space, particularly when returning home later in the day. The situation becomes even more difficult on street-cleaning days. Street cleaning occurs on Wednesdays, and when the side normally available for parking is restricted for cleaning, residents are unable to simply use the opposite side because that side is also subject to the school-day tow-zone restriction. As a result, there are periods when residents have virtually nowhere nearby to legally park. I am not asking the City to remove restrictions that are genuinely necessary for school safety, emergency access, or traffic flow. I am asking that the City review the overall parking configuration and determine whether any of the existing restrictions can be modified, shortened, relocated, or otherwise adjusted to provide more reasonable residential parking availability without creating a safety issue. Specifically, I would appreciate a review of: • The school-day 7:00 AM–3:00 PM parking restriction and whether the entire restricted area is necessary for school operations. • The no-parking/tow-zone restrictions near the corners and whether the restricted areas could be reduced while still maintaining safe intersections and emergency access. • The 5-minute/no-idling restrictions and whether their current placement and duration are necessary. • The interaction between the school parking restrictions and the Wednesday street-cleaning schedule. • Whether additional legal residential parking could be made available on either side of the street during portions of the day. • Whether a resident parking solution, modified parking schedule, or other curb-management option could be considered for this area. I would greatly appreciate having someone from the appropriate Boston Transportation Department/traffic engineering team review the street in person and evaluate whether the current signage and restrictions are still appropriate given the amount of residential development and limited parking available. I am also happy to provide photographs of the signs and the street showing the parking restrictions and the lack of available parking. Thank you for taking the time to review this concern. I would appreciate a response explaining what options, if any, are available to improve residential parking availability in this area while maintaining necessary safety restrictions.

four mattresses on side of road