This issue was recategorized from Road Issues Other Than Potholes to Police Department (Non-Emergency).

Rose - DPW Admin u xilsaaray arrinkan John M. - Police Department

Thank you all. I saw the tickets this morning and noted the respective cars were moved off the sidewalk - thank you!

This, however, just leads to the other problem, that the road isn’t wide enough for both two way traffic and on-street parking. I this might be a city council issue rather than a police issue. It IS a public safety issue, considering the cars parked on Mt Pleasant, when not blocking the sidewalk, take up *more than half* of the traveling lane...not a big deal in the middle of the night, but definitely a concern during the day when it’s busy. Particularly on Mt Pleasant at the corner of Highland.

Good Morning Anonymous~The residents of this area would be happy to meet with you to discuss how we can address it. Please note that two of those cars have been parking there as their driveway is unavailable due to the construction work to their home, as you can plainly see. Parking on their side of the street would cause major disruption in the flow of traffic, so they parked on the opposite side (98% of the cars park on that side) to prevent congestion of the flow. A kind note on our windshields with your concerns would have eliminated the need for police attention.

Thanks Mary Ann, and "Anonymous"... After a quick review with Bob Ryan, Chair of our Gloucester Traffic Commission, I can say that we have two options, which the neighbors should consider.

The first is to continue ticketing the vehicles that park on the sidewalk, which is illegal and blocks pedestrians, forcing them into the street, or secondly, we can propose a new order prohibiting parking on Mt. Pleasant Avenue for that section where the problem exists.

As Ward Councilor, I can help facilitate a discussion with residents involved as to the displacement of vehicles on the street, to make Mt. Pleasant a safer street for both cars and pedestrians to travel. After the neighborhood's input, I can propose a NO PARKING ordinance, if appropriate, and both the O & A Committee and the Traffic Commission will either recommend or not recommend the order to the full Council.
Scott - smemhard@gloucester-ma.gov or 978-283-1955

The best way to address this is for people to stop parking illegally, not for cars to get a pass because of construction projects. Especially construction projects on their own properties. Their illegal parking is not neighborly. Complaining to autorities IS neighborly. I have been told a policeman that trying to deal with such issues privately can be dangerous. One can never know if neighbors may get angry or even become violent when you ask them something "nicely". They said they have seen a lot of property damage revenge over parking issues.

(I forgot to say thanks to Ward Councilor Scott Memhard for his thoughtful and thorough post.)

A couple of things. 1.), the cars are not parked on the sidewalk “all the way from Highland,” because my house is on the corner of Highland, and neither me nor my daughters have ever parked on the sidewalk in the 17 years we have lived here. Mrs C’s son (next door) may have creeped onto the sidewalk a handful of times over the years when there has been a lot of snow, but that’s it. The Z’s live next door to the Cs and they have a driveway. So the problem has been exaggerated. 2.) some people don’t have driveways (like me.). If you’re going to prohibit parking, how about giving us Mt Pleasant residents a year or two to sell our homes? Some of us are older people and we don’t have elsewhere to park. (Which would make my house unsellable, actually.) 3.). Without the slowdown near Highland, Mt Pleasant is a freeway. As a long-time E. G. Resident, I was concerned about moving to Mt Pleasant for that reason- but the narrowness of the street in that area acts as a traffic-calming device. Take that away and it’ll be a total speedway and very dangerous. (And I’d like to endorse Maryanne’s comment that a note on a windshield is a more neighborly way to deal with this, rather than a complaint to the police.)

Thank you for reporting this issue to us.