Local parking enforcement about to kick up
Published on August 8th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - After years of Stoneham residents, business owners and business customers being able to parking in the Stoneham Square with limited to no worries that a parking ticket might be headed for their windshield, the Stoneham Police Department is putting out notice to all potential parking scofflaws that parking tickets will be coming to Stoneham Square with much greater frequency starting Aug. 20.
The police department released a press notice detailing a tighter enforcement of restricted parking on Main Street and limited parking in the Stoneham Square municipal lots, and sent out the advisory after officers stepped up enforcement last week without formal notice to residents and business owners.
"The Police Department is advising residents and business owners that effective Monday, August 20, 2007, there will be increased enforcement of parking restrictions throughout the town," read the release. "Business owners should advise their employees and customers to look for alternative parking if they have been parking contrary to posted signs."
These areas include the two-hour municipal lot next to McDonough's Liquors as well as the one-hour parking areas on Main Street and the areas on Main Street and Montvale Ave. that are clearly marked 'No Parking' from 7-9 a.m. in the morning and 4-6 p.m. in the late afternoon.
"These signs were posted in these areas to ease the traffic flow during the rush hours in Stoneham and they'll certainly be enforced," said acting Stoneham Police Chief Rick McCarthy. "If people are doing the right thing and abiding by what the parking signs say, then there shouldn't be any problems. We're also working to address any areas where we have bleached out signs or where there's any question as to what parking restrictions any particular area has."
Police manpower and confusing parking signs in some areas of town have contributed to Stoneham Police going lightly on traffic offenders in the past, but any old, worn down or simply confusing signs will be dispatched and replaced. For residents and local business owners, there was a time when motorists were able to park in the downtown of Stoneham and not worry about getting ticketed with the veracity of the other local towns and cities, but that time is over.
The reaction was somewhat mixed in the business community, as nobody likes the idea of parking tickets escalating in any given area -- but it's something that will also open up parking spots for customers shopping in the downtown and bring additional revenue to a cash-strapped town.
"It's kind of almost a situation where you're not going to make anybody really happy, but it's something that was necessary and really had to happen," said Stoneham Chamber of Commerce Director Sharon Iovanni. "You had people parking in some of those spaces for the entire day and you'd have other people looking to frequent the shops in Stoneham Square - but they couldn't because they couldn't find ample parking.
"It's one of those situations where heavier enforcement is going to open up spaces for people, and at some point people might have to be willing to walk a little bit to get into Stoneham Square," added Iovanni. "We want Stoneham Square to become a walkable destination for people with the restaurants, the theatre and the other local businesses right in the middle of downtown Stoneham. If you're willing to walk five blocks in Boston to get to a destination, we hope eventually people will do the same in Stoneham.
The idea has been floated to create both resident and business parking stickers for employees and Stoneham Square residents, so that they may be able to pay a flat annual fee for parking rather than worry about constantly moving cars to a new space - but that particular plan is still in its infancy stage.
"I'm very encouraged by the fact that Town Administrator Dave Ragucci is looking to get the Business Roundtable going again, and that will certainly open the channels of communication for issues like parking in the downtown," said Iovanni. "It may take some time for people to adjust to heavier enforcement of parking laws around Stoneham, but I think it will eventually happen. Giving some notice of the change to the people and the business owners is definitely a good first step."
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