Somerville Traffic Commission Votes to Make Central Hill Staff Parking Pilot Permanent

Other Committee · Meeting of June 2, 2026

Somerville Traffic Commission made permanent a five-year parking pilot reserving morning curbside spaces for Somerville High School and City Hall staff. Transportation Planner Greg Hannafin of the Mobility Division presented six rounds of parking inventory data showing staff-designated spaces on Highland Avenue, Walnut Street, and School Street reaching 87 to 94 percent utilization during the pre-school 8:30 to 9 a.m. window, with overnight resident parking peaking at 82 percent on surrounding streets. The commission voted 4-0 to convert roughly 124 spaces from an annually renewed pilot, first approved in November 2021, into a permanent regulation.

The commission also unanimously approved a new fire lane on Central Street at Somerville Avenue following a field test showing fire vehicles could not complete the turn after a raised crosswalk was installed, and approved Clear Corners curb changes at three Highland Avenue addresses, including a new 40-foot loading zone at 147-149 Highland Avenue replacing a metered space that was blocking delivery trucks. Member Lena Webb called the Mobility Division's multi-year data effort "herculean" and said she looked forward to never renewing the pilot again.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,637 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of June 2, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.