Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Acting Traffic and Parking (T&P) Director Matthew Dias announced  that the City of Somerville has unveiled a three-day Visitor Permit to supplement the standard, two-day Visitor Permit. On the heels of this announcement, T&P has also expanded its services to include online permitting for resident parking permits at Parksomerville.com.

“In Somerville, we are committed to providing accurate, courteous, and easy customer service – our ACE initiative – and over the past several years, T&P has made several strides in this area,” said Mayor Curtatone.  “In addition to streamlining the permitting process, other ACE initiatives at T&P include additional customer service windows at the office, a new website, street sweeping and snow emergency notifications systems, and parking meters that accept credit cards.  I hope these improvements will continue to make residents’ and visitor interactions with our parking services easier and more efficient.”

“Using resident feedback, we’ve been targeting these two improvements for some time now,” said Dias, who stated that the T&P Department is always looking for ways to be more efficient and less intrusive despite a difficult mission. “We do our best to meet the needs of our diverse community, taking into account everyone’s concerns and creating a balance wherever possible.  We hope these measures will demonstrate a good-faith effort on our part that we’ve listened to the call for expanded access and online services, and that they will help to make parking in Somerville easier and more efficient for residents and visitors alike.”

The 3-day visitor will be offered at $40 per year, only about $3 a month.  “We feel it’s an option that some residents will want, and we believe we can afford to provide it without straining the available parking supply,” said Dias.

“Extended visitor permits have been a topic of discussion for a long time among the Boart of Aldermen, and while I’ve had some concerns about streets overloaded with additional visitor parking, I think Matt Dias and his T&P team were smart to price the permits at $40 per year – or about $3.00 per month,” said Ward 7 Alderman Bob Trane. “It’s really the best of both worlds; those who really need the extra time can purchase the new 3-day visitor, while most people will just continue to utilize their two day permits.  Along with the online permitting system, these are smart investments by the Mayor and his administration, and I know my constituents in Ward 7 will enjoy the convenience.”

“As the newest member of the BOA and a member of the Mayor’s TRIP (Transportation Research Innovation Policy) Team, I’m learning firsthand the complex nature of managing a public parking system,” said Ward 4 Alderman Tony Lafuente.  “Just in Ward 4, I receive almost daily calls from residents wanting less stringent parking enforcement, at the very same time other residents call seeking more enforcement to free up parking on residential streets.  I commend the Mayor and T&P for seeking more user-friendly and efficient parking systems to balance the needs of all residents.”

For more information, visit parksomerville.com, or call 311.