The Public Safety & Transportation Committee approved the following (see the report and watch the meeting video):
- City Council President Laredo’s recommendations to the Police Chief Selection Committee
- Councilor Tarik Lucas; Dr. Lauren Solotar, clinical psychologist and CEO of the May Institute (Approved 6-0-1, Councilor Lucas abstaining).
- The Mayor’s recommendations to the Police Chief Selection Committee
- Karl O’Hara, business executive; Michelle Leung, attorney; Judge Nancy Holtz, retired judge and mediator; Chief Kevin O’Connell, member of the Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association; Derege B. Demissie and Rabbi Keith Stern, citizens of Newton (Approved 7-0).
The committee held the following:
- Discussion and possible ordinance change on the categories and levels of parking fines (Held 7-0).
- Discussion and possible ordinance change on residential parking programs and fee structures (Held 7-0).
Municipalities are allowed to use price as a parking management tool. Newton has not raised parking fines for many years. The Mayor’s Transportation Advisory Group suggested adding a fine for parking in bike lanes and increasing the fine for parking in bus stops, which is low compared to neighboring communities. Newton’a fine is $15 for parking in a bus stop. Boston, Brookline, Waltham and Needham fine $100 for parking in a bus stop. Should parking fees be lower if people use an app instead of coins? Apps are cheaper to administer. Newton has 4 to 7 Parking Enforcement Officers working daily, NS they issue roughly 95% of tickets. Police officers issue tickets for overnight parking bans. Out of “56,173 violation counts, there were 911 appeals heard, 621 were dismissed, and 312 were upheld.” The police receive the most request for “violating a fire hydrant or an accessible parking space.” Does Newton want to fine for parking in a load zone or EV charging spot? The Finance Committee needs to approve changes in fines. The Police Department was asked for suggestions on changes to parking fines.
The top 10 parking fine categories were: meter violations 36,471; overtime parking 9,460; restricted area 6,206; wrong direction 1,136; private road or driveway 608; night parking 482; disabled parking (normal & disabled) 332; within 20 feet of an intersection 331; hydrant 289; sidewalk 250.