Winter overnight parking ban advisory committee rep

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Michael Halle

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Apr 14, 2026, 5:35:55 PMApr 14
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Hi everyone,

City Council is looking for a person from TAG to be part of an advisory committee regarding modifications to the overnight winter parking ban. I clarified that the advisory committee will have no official power.

In lieu of anyone else expressing overwhelmingly strong interest in serving in this role, I am interested in serving and will bring information and discussion back to the group.

Thoughts?

Thanks.
--Mike



Nedeljkovic, Srdjan S.,MD

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Apr 14, 2026, 6:23:24 PMApr 14
to Michael Halle, TAG
Hi Mike,

Sounds great! 

Here's a few initial thoughts:

An initial step could be to consider which neighborhoods might be part of a pilot program and trial run for suspension or some type of modification of the ban. Last election, the parking ban survived by a vote of 11,113 to 11,032 (a margin of 0.4%). That means that if 41 voters had switched their votes, which is 0.2% of the voting population, we would no longer have a parking ban.

 - Highest "ban" votes were in Ward 1, Precinct 4: 422 vs 291 (Nonantum)
 - Highest "repeal" votes were in Ward 5, Precinct 2: 460 to 282 (Highlands, Waban, Upper Falls)

Perhaps allowing parking only on the even side of the street?
Perhaps shortening the ban by 2-4 weeks on each end?

How about giving it a trial run in Ward 5-2 next season and see what happens? There are 32 precincts in Newton which were represented by around 24,000 voters last year. Ward 5-2 includes about 750 voters, or about 3%. It would be a great place to have a trial run, leaving the ban intact for the other 97% of Newton's constituents at least until we know how it goes.

One thing I would NOT like to see is a permit-type system that imposes administrative burdens on both residents and city staff.

Srdj
From: newt...@googlegroups.com <newt...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael Halle <m...@halle.us>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2026 5:35 PM
To: TAG <newt...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Winter overnight parking ban advisory committee rep
 
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Michael Halle

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Apr 14, 2026, 6:46:55 PMApr 14
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Here's what the unofficial vote total looked like. I think the votes are sufficiently close in most locations.

--Mike


newton_ballot_question_2025 (1).png

Nedeljkovic, Srdjan S.,MD

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Apr 14, 2026, 7:39:05 PMApr 14
to Michael Halle, TAG
Mike,

Thank you!

Yet in Ward 1-4, 40% voted to overturn the ban compared to Ward 5-2 in which 62% voted to overturn the ban. That's a 22% difference compared to the overall vote count difference of just 0.4%. 

If a pilot trial was to be conducted in modifying the ban, the residents of Ward 5-2 may be more open to it than some other areas of the city.

Also, Ward 5-2 is well served by three Area Councils (Upper Falls, Newton Highlands, and Waban), which could facilitate the communication and implementation of a potential experimental pilot.

Srdj
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2026 6:46 PM
To: TAG <newt...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Winter overnight parking ban advisory committee rep
 
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Here's what the unofficial vote total looked like. I think the votes are sufficiently close in most locations.

--Mike


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John Pelletier

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Apr 14, 2026, 8:21:24 PMApr 14
to Nedeljkovic, Srdjan S.,MD, Michael Halle, TAG
I think its key that whatever process or modification goes forward, that main roads, Lincoln, Woodward, Centre etc. (Highlands focused in this case) be looked at a bit differently.  Noting that for 4 months out of the year parking was banned on Walnut st made it easier to put in bike lanes, at least for the north section, that and there were limited pedestrian crossings so it made it much less safe for both side parking... Its also important to note that there might be a strong chance space savers and the issues that come with them would appear...especially for storms were a full parking ban might not be called...

There is a separate item that I don't think side roads should be fully cleared curb to curb until main roads, sidewalks, and curb cuts are in good shape...but thats unrelated.

Nedeljkovic, Srdjan S.,MD

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Apr 14, 2026, 8:25:33 PMApr 14
to John Pelletier, Michael Halle, TAG
John,

I agree with the sentiment about major roads! 

Srdj
From: newt...@googlegroups.com <newt...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of John Pelletier <john.f.p...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2026 8:21 PM
To: Nedeljkovic, Srdjan S.,MD <snedel...@mgb.org>
Cc: Michael Halle <m...@halle.us>; TAG <newt...@googlegroups.com>

Michael Halle

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Apr 14, 2026, 8:48:18 PMApr 14
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I have always been concerned that getting rid of the overnight winter parking ban might jeopardize our ability to get specific bike lanes installed.

However, that's an enormous challenge anyway. It's just one of the factors in the whole mix.


--Mike


> On Apr 14, 2026, at 8:21 PM, John Pelletier <john.f.p...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I think its key that whatever process or modification goes forward, that main roads, Lincoln, Woodward, Centre etc. (Highlands focused in this case) be looked at a bit differently. Noting that for 4 months out of the year parking was banned on Walnut st made it easier to put in bike lanes, at least for the north section, that and there were limited pedestrian crossings so it made it much less safe for both side parking... Its also important to note that there might be a strong chance space savers and the issues that come with them would appear...especially for storms were a full parking ban might not be called...
>
> There is a separate item that I don't think side roads should be fully cleared curb to curb until main roads, sidewalks, and curb cuts are in good shape...but thats unrelated.
>
> On Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 7:39 PM 'Nedeljkovic, Srdjan S.,MD' via TAG <Newt...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
> Mike,
>
> Thank you!
>
> Yet in Ward 1-4, 40% voted to overturn the ban compared to Ward 5-2 in which 62% voted to overturn the ban. That's a 22% difference compared to the overall vote count difference of just 0.4%.
>
> If a pilot trial was to be conducted in modifying the ban, the residents of Ward 5-2 may be more open to it than some other areas of the city.
>
> Also, Ward 5-2 is well served by three Area Councils (Upper Falls, Newton Highlands, and Waban), which could facilitate the communication and implementation of a potential experimental pilot.
>
> Srdj
> From: newt...@googlegroups.com <newt...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael Halle <m...@halle.us>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2026 6:46 PM
> To: TAG <newt...@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: Re: Winter overnight parking ban advisory committee rep External Email - Use Caution
>
> Here's what the unofficial vote total looked like. I think the votes are sufficiently close in most locations.
>
> --Mike
>
>
> --
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