OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Somerville Traffic & Parking Committee Meeting – June 23, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, June 23, 2026
BodySomerville, Massachusetts
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, June 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:00:53

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Hello everyone.

0:06

My name is Naima Saeed.

0:07

She her pronouns, World Five Counselor, and your traffic and parking chair.

0:12

I would like to call to order today's traffic and parking meeting of the Summer of the City Council.

0:17

First, they will read the legal notice that allows us to have this meeting on Zoom.

0:22

Pursuant to chapter two of the Acts of 2023, this meeting of the City Council Committee will be conducted via remote participation.

0:29

We will post an audio video recording, transcript or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Summer website and local cable access government channels.

0:43

Clerk, could you please call the role to establish a quorum?

0:47

Yes, I can.

0:48

Counselor Wheeler.

0:52

Sorry, I'm muted.

0:53

Here no worries, gotcha.

0:56

Counselor Ba.

0:57

Present, please.

0:59

Great.

0:59

Chair Sae.

1:01

Here.

1:02

All right, with that, everyone is here, so we do have a quorum.

1:06

Okay, great.

1:08

We will start um by approving the minutes from the previous meeting on the minutes.

1:15

Any discussion?

1:19

See none.

1:20

Claire, could you please call the roll for approval of the minutes?

1:24

Yes.

1:25

And to confirm, would you like to take these both up together?

1:28

Yes, both minutes, please.

1:30

One and two.

1:32

Great.

1:32

So this is approval of the minutes.

1:34

Items number ID 26-0854 and ID number 26-0939.

1:42

Counselor Wheeler.

1:47

Here, uh, yes.

1:50

Counselor and Bob.

1:51

Yes.

1:53

Cheers.

1:54

Yes.

1:55

All right, with that does all votes in favor of approving the minutes.

2:00

Okay, great.

2:01

Uh so just make sure.

2:05

Uh okay.

2:07

So we have uh director Rossin in attendance, but as uh right now showing under attendees.

2:15

Can we uh promote him?

2:21

Okay, perfect.

2:22

Thank you.

2:23

Okay, we will um take up item number five first, and then follow the order of the agenda if there's no objection from uh the committee members.

2:37

Um and uh item five clerk, could you please read item five for us?

2:45

Item five, idea number 26 slash one for two of some for discussion by council.

3:00

And especially in the morning when students and families are walking to school.

3:06

Thank you, Clerk.

3:08

Uh, we're taking up this item out of order uh because we uh need both um, yeah, we need a speedy to speak to this.

3:17

Um, I think just a speedy, yeah.

3:26

All right.

3:27

So we have here Sergeant McCarey to speak to the item.

3:33

Uh thank you, Chair.

3:35

Um, so what we've done with this is we've added it to our uh standing locations that the traffic unit will patrol throughout their day, uh, especially focusing on the morning that uh was requested.

3:53

Also, the officers that normally patrol the area uh are uh aware of the request uh and they'll cycle through there as well.

4:06

Uh usually we do this for a minimum of four weeks, about a month.

4:10

Um, collecting the data uh to see uh uh if continuation is warranted and to see if the numbers of any infractions that we're seeing are uh being reduced.

4:28

Uh okay, thank you.

4:30

Um yeah, before opening it up to question uh director Rossin, do you have anything to add to this?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████67%
Procedural███████████16%
Public Safety█████████13%
Public Engagement█2%
Budget Equity Analysis█1%
Environmental Protection█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Somerville Traffic & Parking Committee Meeting – June 23, 2026

Note: The meeting was held on Monday, June 22, 2026, at 6:05 PM via Zoom, but the provided date for this summary is June 23, 2026, per instruction.

The Traffic and Parking Committee, chaired by Councilor Naima Sait, convened virtually to review ten items, including enforcement requests, traffic calming evaluations, and infrastructure improvements. Director of Transportation Brad Rawson, Director of Traffic Suzanne Rinfret, and Sergeant Michael McCarey of the Somerville Police Traffic Unit presented updates. All resolutions were unanimously recommended to be marked work completed.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes of the April 27, 2026, and May 18, 2026, committee meetings (ID #26-0854, #26-0939) unanimously.

Discussion Items

  • Whitfield Road One-Way Enforcement (ID #26-1021): Director Rinfret confirmed existing signage but noted one additional one-way sign will be added at the Packard Street intersection to improve clarity. No enforcement changes were deemed necessary.
  • Teele Square Enforcement (ID #26-1012): Sergeant McCarey reported the location has been added to the Traffic Unit’s patrol schedule for a four-week targeted enforcement period, focusing on morning hours. Data will be compared before and after to assess continuation.
  • Perkins Street Neighborway Art (ID #26-0837): Director Rawson explained that Perkins Street is part of the city’s official bicycle network plan as a Neighborway, with work planned by 2030. Estimated cost: ~$250,000 per mile (all-in) or ~$180,000 per mile (materials/installation). No start date set.
  • Prospect Street Colored Lane Markings (ID #26-0124): Director Rawson stated the project is underway with community outreach completed; pavement marking work could begin in early August. The project also includes traffic signal upgrades to improve bus reliability.
  • Durham & Hanson Street Daylighting (ID #26-0614): Staff added the location to the evaluation list. Director Rawson noted that Highland Avenue remains the priority corridor for this year’s clear corners work.
  • Vernon Street Speed Bump (ID #26-0806): Data has been collected, but a comprehensive evaluation is pending. Chair Sait requested further study in conjunction with a planned crosswalk on Lowell Street.
  • Elmwood Street Speed Bumps & Rush Hour Closure (ID #26-0822): Data collected; staff will review in July and aim to provide a public update on traffic calming priorities in late summer. Councilor Mbah expressed a need for concrete next steps and requested not to resubmit.
  • Columbus Ave/Prospect Hill/Stone Ave Raised Intersection (ID #26-0840): Staff acknowledged the complex intersection and will conduct a holistic review over the summer, including signage evaluation.

Key Outcomes

  • All seven resolutions were unanimously recommended to be marked work completed, with staff commitments to follow up on evaluations and implementation timelines.
  • The committee adjourned at 7:05 PM.

Date note: The meeting minutes and transcript state June 22, 2026, despite the summary date assigned as June 23, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Hello everyone. My name is Naima Saeed. She her pronouns, World Five Counselor, and your traffic and parking chair. I would like to call to order today's traffic and parking meeting of the Summer of the City Council. First, they will read the legal notice that allows us to have this meeting on Zoom. Pursuant to chapter two of the Acts of 2023, this meeting of the City Council Committee will be conducted via remote participation. We will post an audio video recording, transcript or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Summer website and local cable access government channels. Clerk, could you please call the role to establish a quorum? Yes, I can. Counselor Wheeler. Sorry, I'm muted. Here no worries, gotcha. Counselor Ba. Present, please. Great. Chair Sae. Here. All right, with that, everyone is here, so we do have a quorum. Okay, great. We will start um by approving the minutes from the previous meeting on the minutes. Any discussion? See none. Claire, could you please call the roll for approval of the minutes? Yes. And to confirm, would you like to take these both up together? Yes, both minutes, please. One and two. Great. So this is approval of the minutes. Items number ID 26-0854 and ID number 26-0939. Counselor Wheeler. Here, uh, yes. Counselor and Bob. Yes. Cheers. Yes. All right, with that does all votes in favor of approving the minutes. Okay, great. Uh so just make sure. Uh okay. So we have uh director Rossin in attendance, but as uh right now showing under attendees. Can we uh promote him? Okay, perfect. Thank you. Okay, we will um take up item number five first, and then follow the order of the agenda if there's no objection from uh the committee members. Um and uh item five clerk, could you please read item five for us? Item five, idea number 26 slash one for two of some for discussion by council. And especially in the morning when students and families are walking to school. Thank you, Clerk. Uh, we're taking up this item out of order uh because we uh need both um, yeah, we need a speedy to speak to this.

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