By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — The town-wide overnight parking ban will soon be a thing of the past, as the Board of Selectmen last night voted 5-1 to eliminate the ban after this winter despite the strong objections of DPW Director Richard Stinson.
While technically a year-round ban, it has traditionally been enforced only from Dec. 1 to April 1 as a means to facilitate snow removal efforts. The ban is not a bylaw but rather a regulation promulgated by the Board of Selectmen, as Town Counsel Thomas Mullen confirmed, so it was also within the board’s power to eliminate it.
The overnight parking ban will be history as of April 2, the day after the current winter ban ends. In the future, residents will be alerted via reverse 911, the news media and social media when cars must be off the street due to a winter storm.
Selectmen Phyllis Hull, Paul DiNocco, Patrick Glynn, Tiziano Doto and Ann Santos voted to permanently lift the ban. The sole “no” vote was cast by Betsy Sheeran.
In a lengthy discussion, Police Chief Rick Smith and Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio argued for eliminating the ban, while Stinson strongly disagreed.
Maio noted that the ban was put in place to keep cars off the road during snow emergencies. But he maintained that this winter the town had shown that by using a combination of social media and reverse 911 “that we can get cars off the road when we need to.”
Stinson noted that many of the town’s roads are narrow and emergency vehicles would not be able to get down those streets during the winter with cars parked on the street. (He cited a recent example that occurred in Lynn.) It is especially hard to get vehicles moved in a hurry during the wee hours of the morning, he pointed out.
Stinson argued that not everyone is connected to reverse 911 or uses social media. He predicted that calling for a parking ban on a storm by storm basis would mean issuing reverse 911 calls at 2 a.m. because storms cannot be forecast with absolute precision. On the other hand, if a parking ban is declared and a storm fizzles, people will be irritated, he said.
Earlier in the meeting, during the presentation of the DPW budget, board members had heaped praise on Stinson and his staff for a superior job of snow removal this past winter, especially compared to surrounding communities.
Stinson insisted that the winter parking ban was a key component of his department’s ability to perform at such a high level.
“One of the reasons we’ve been better than surrounding communities is because of the parking ban,” Stinson said. He noted that street-widening operations in the days and nights after major storms would be hindered by parked cars.
“There is a safety concern,” Stinson said, arguing that eliminating the ban “will impair out ability to clear the roads to the standard we have now.”
Police Chief Rick Smith called the permanent overnight parking ban “inherently unfair.” He said that it takes people weeks to get up to speed when the ban goes into effect Dec. 1.
Smith said that he didn’t see a safety issue. “We use media well,” Smith said, noting that radio and TV are used to get the word out in addition to reverse 911 and social media.
Smith said he didn’t see a problem with notifying residents of a parking ban on a per-storm basis. “If we give proper and timely notice we can get cars off the streets and let the DPW do their job,” the Chief said.
Selectman Patrick Glynn said that he understood where Stinson was coming from. But he pointed out that weather is now forecast a week ahead, providing ample time for the town to get the message out. He noted that when the parking ban first came into being each household likely has just one car. Now, he said many households have as many as three cars.
Glynn further pointed out that the parking ban was created before the advent of the personal computers and cell phones that have made communication much easier and more efficient.
“With today’s technology, we’re nimble enough to handle these things,” Glynn maintained.
But Stinson pointed out that under the current system everyone knows they can’t park on the street overnight during the winter. “The other way, not everyone will know,” Stinson insisted.
Smith said that the permanent ban was “a huge inconvenience that breeds ill will.” He maintained that the town had good success notifying residents this winter.
Selectman Betsy Sheeran said that she was convinced by Stinson’s arguments that eliminating the ban was a bad idea. She cautioned board members that if they ignored the DPW’s advice and eliminated the permanent parking ban, they wouldn’t have much credibility when complaining about snow removal in the future.
