Lynn aims to unify 2 city boards

LYNN – The City Council is expected to entertain a Home Rule petition tonight that, if approved, would merge the Off-Street Parking Commission and the Traffic Commission into a single board with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to motor vehicles, traffic or parking.The proposed consolidation would create a master board, known as the Lynn Parking/Traffic Commission, with the police chief as chairman. Members would include the directors of the Public Works Department and the Parking Department, as well as all Lynn residents currently serving terms on both boards.Some of those residents are appointed by the mayor, others by the City Council. According to city attorney James Lamanna, who drafted the petition, those appointments would remain unchanged as would the appointing authorities.”My understanding is that the board will double in size, with no loss of positions. The City Council and the mayor would still make the same number of board appointments as they currently do,” Lamanna said Monday.If voted by the City Council, the petition would require the mayor’s signature, passage by the Legislature and the governor’s authorization. It would go into effect immediately upon receiving final approval from the governor.The Off-Street Parking Commission, created in 1956, has jurisdiction over municipal parking lots like those on Andrew Street. The Traffic Commission oversees speed limits, school zone limits, the placement of road signs and residential street parking.The Traffic Commission was established in 1999 to take the politics out of neighborhood traffic and parking issues. Previously, residents seeking handicapped-parking spaces in front of their homes, or residential parking designation along their street, sought assistance from city councilors. Councilors unable to deliver often found themselves alienated from their constituents. Such requests have been shifted to the Traffic Commission.”It freed the councilors from political pressure in regards to street parking,” Lamanna said.City Council President Timothy Phelan and Councilor-at-Large Daniel Cahill introduced the Home Rule Petition, asking their colleagues to hold a public hearing. In a Feb. 5 letter to the council, Phelan and Cahill explained their intent to merge the two commissions.”The two commissions have many overlapping responsibilities and jurisdictions and engage in multiple actions that interact and affect each other. Their merger will increase efficiency and oversight among their legal and public responsibilities. It will streamline the governmental process and make it easier for citizens to participate in the public process, while eliminating confusions,” the councilors wrote.Phelan said the present structure leaves residents confused. “People know there’s a Traffic Commission and an Off-Street Parking Commission and a Parking Department, but they’re not always sure which does what,” he said Monday. “We want to make one board that has all the responsibilities and jurisdictions over parking and traffic. It will not only streamline the process and prevent conflicting decisions but help increase oversight.”The combined board would meeting every other week on Tuesday evenings at City Hall.