Manager, Residents Dispute New Parking Plan

The phone at city hall yesterday was ringing "off the wall," according to City Councillor Sheila T. Russell.

Local residents on both sides of the political spectrum have been phoning city leaders for the past week to voice their complaints about a new proposal which would dramatically restrict resident and visitor parking rights in the city.

City Manager Robert W. Healy proposed a plan last week which would impose stringent limitations on when and where residents and visitors alike can park their vehicles, in addition to expanding commuter and bicycle mobility in the city.

But both liberal activists and city business leaders blasted the plan saying that it would exacerbate the city's ongoing traffic problems and harm local businesses.

Healy's plan is part of an effort to bring the city into compliance with the strict 1990 amendments to the national Clean Air Act. All cities in the Commonwealth will eventually have to meet these standards by 1996.

Healy said the plan is a needed to meet the air standards. He added that despite locals' concerns about possible adverse effects the city might suffer, the plan will be better than the city's current parking freeze--which allots the number of parking spaces in the city according to the square miles developed.

Healy's plan will be under discussion at an ordinance meeting tonight.

The most controversial part of the plan is a proposal to divide the city into four parking zones. Residents would be assigned different parking stickers according to zones. Drivers would not be permitted to park in another zone during the work week and visitors will be required to obtain passes to park in the city.

If residents want to travel out of their zone on a week day, they would have to park in garages or at parking meters, according to the plan. On weekends, however, the regulations would be suspended and residents could park in any residential zone. Under current city regulations, drivers can park in any residential zone during the entire week.

Some residents and councillors say the restrictions on in-city parking will deter people from patronizing local businesses.

Although Healy said he believed there is no evidence that the plan will injure the local business community, the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce has created a Clean Air Committee to examine the plan.

"Clearly any change like this that is going to have an impact is logically going to have an impact on business... And it's not going to be growth," said the chamber's Executive Director Robert D. Lewis '61.

Lewis said the chamber is worried that Cambridge will be the only city to adopt such stringent regulations to comply with national air standards.

"If Cambridge is alone, then one can anticipate severe consequences," Lewis said.

Healy acknowledged that his plan might put Cambridge at a "competitive disadvantage" because business and industry might be deterred from settling in a city where its employees could face a more difficult commute.

According to Healy, his proposal is preferable to the current parking freeze, which he says is "inefficient" because "parked cars don't cause air pollution--cars being driven does."

Healy's plan also stresses the need to reduce the number of vehicle trips made in the city by encouraging car pools and the use of public transportation.

Specifically, the city will attempt to decrease auto emissions by aiming to reduce the "vehicle miles travelled." The plan includes efforts to discourage cross-town trips on weekdays, increase in-city employment opportunities for residents and expand bicycle mobility by creating bike routes throughout Cambridge.

In addition, the city will lobby for statewide conservation laws including an increase in the gas tax, incentives to encourage the conversion of vehicles to cleaner fuels and possibly providing tax breaks for alternative travel modes.

Healy's report estimates that the plan could decrease the miles traveled daily in the city by between 104,500 to 170,500, a decrease of up to 5 percent. In Cambridge and Boston, there is currently a 3 percent growth in the miles traveled, according to the report.

Cambridge Citizens for Livable Neighborhoods (CCLN) Co-Chair Debra M. McManus said that her group "does not endorse the plan."

While the CCLN does approve of the effort to expand bicycle and commuter mobility, McManus said the plan will "on the whole increase" the amount of traffic in the city. CCLN has submitted its own plan, which differs on several points from the city manager's plan.

Under the city manager's plan, residential parking fees would help fund "commuter services." But the CCLN plans calls for those amenities to be paid for by the commuters themselves. The CCLN plan also outlines the establishment of a "paratransit system" which would supplement the MBTA buses by running a fleet of vans and buses in city neighborhoods.

Healy said he remains strongly supportive of his proposal, despite the criticism of his plan by both activists and business leaders. Improved air quality "is achievable, although it may not be popular," he added.