David McLean, the chain's
operations manager and Somerville location manager Mike Dunleavy told
the Board of Aldermen's Public Safety Committee that following the Oct.
11 assault and robbery of a woman in the store's parking lot,
surveillance cameras had been installed.

Ward 2 Alderman
Maryann Heuston had earlier criticized the store for letting chaos
reign in the perpetually full parking lot even as the store maintains
dozens of cameras inside.

Dunleavy explained that since the incident, high-resolution cameras had been installed to monitor the parking lot.

"I can look into Ceaser's [across the street] and see someone eating a slice of pizza," Dunleavy added.

Heuston
also pressed the representatives on the overcrowded lot and often
blocked fire lanes, which she said pose a safety hazard to anyone in
need of medical assistance – an assessment supported by a letter from
Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher at the Monday meeting.

"I'm hoping
there's a way we can come to an agreement here on making that parking
lot a more reasonable place," Heuston told the representatives.

McLean
said more lights would be installed in the lot and that they would
undergo a parking study to determine whether more spaces could be
added. The lot has an estimated 218 spaces, Dunleavy said.

"We've
got a $25 million road opening in the spring," Heuston said,
referencing the Somerville Avenue revitalization project. "Wouldn't it
be nice to have something more than a parking lot with carts and some
lighting in the middle?"

In the meantime, Alderman-at-Large Jack Connolly offered some shopping advice.

"We go early," he said. "I park on Church Street because I won't even attempt to go near the lot."

Committee
Chair Bill White asked the store to begin enforcing fire lane towing
and requesting a police detail to monitor the lot in addition to the
detail posted inside the store several days each week.