Many Cambridge drivers don’t realize they are allowed to use loading zones, and city officials see that as a problem.
The perk in a city of congested roads, where parking spaces are giving way in some places to bike lanes, was noted by city councillor Paul Toner during council discussions in March of parking enforcement strategies. “I always thought you have to be a UPS driver or some drop-off shipping delivery person,” Toner said, “but you can park in loading zones for 15 or 20 minutes. If that was more well known to people, that might help.”
Transportation commissioner Brooke McKenna confirmed March 31 that “the vast majority” of city loading zones were open to everyone for 15 minutes, with a few marked specifically as commercial.
Toner came back with a suggestion for city staff: “I don’t want you to have to change every sign in the city, but the more we can let people know about that, [it] alleviates some of the issues that we’re having.” Mayor E. Denise Simmons agreed messaging should be clearer, and that a fix should be easy – and made it clear that she expected staff to look into the issue and come back with a plan.
“Change that so people will know,” Simmons said, “because people don’t.”
The conversation took place as councillors voted 9-0 to move forward with a home rule petition to the state Legislature seeking to let Cambridge implement automated parking enforcement technology.
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