New Parking Rules Prompt City Council Discussion

FRAMINGHAM - Members of the Framingham City Council addressed the new parking and traffic rules in the city during their meeting at the Memorial Building on Thursday, September 5.

Thursday marked the first City Council meeting since amendments to the traffic and parking regulations in Framingham went into effect on Sunday, September 1. Those modifications were approved unanimously in April by the City Council.

Notable changes include a ban on parking along city streets for vehicles with a commercial license plate on Sundays as well as during overnight hours—between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Violations result in a $100 fine. Parking within seven feet of any residential driveway has also been banned by the new mandate.

Mayor Charlie Sisitsky told council members that more than 400 parking tickets had been issued as of the time of Thursday’s meeting, with many violating vehicles having commercial plates.

While city officials had issued public notices on the changes, some members of the City Council told Sisitsky that a number of constituents had first heard of the new rules after already being issued a ticket.

District 4 City Councilor Michael Cannon said he wanted to see some flexibility on addressing the matter while looking for guidance from the mayor’s office. Sisitsky said that while he sees a $100 fine as steep, he cannot tell local police officers to not enforce a law that's on the books.

“It’s the City Council that voted unanimously, after having a public hearing, to approve this ordinance,” Sisitsky told Cannon.

“You own it, and it’s up to you—and only you—that can make changes.”

“I think we’re happy to take action,” Cannon replied, “but I don’t think the sentiment of the council is to do this alone; we want your input, it’s the guy running the city, Mr. Mayor.”

At-Large City Council member George King reminded the group that as the legislative body of the municipal government, the City Council is the group approving laws related to parking and traffic, adding that he wouldn’t criticize the enforcement of a law that the City Council approved. He and other members of the council expressed a willingness to look at different aspects of the law again. City Council Chair Phil Ottaviani of District 6 did note that lowering the fine to a certain point could prompt people to continuously pay the fine in order to park, thus not curbing the issue of parking on city streets.

City Councilors like District 5’s Noval Alexander and Vice Chair Tracey Bryant of District 9 called for additional efforts to get the information on new parking rules out, with the former suggesting using large digital boards in certain parts of Framingham to issue reminders. Sisitsky said he and his team would look into implementing those outreach strategies.