Swampscott board sets sights on street for beach parking

SWAMPSCOTT – Shepard Avenue residents were not pleased with the Traffic Study Committee?s plan to change only the resident parking on their street to recreation parking for beachgoers.At the second open forum held by the committee to discuss adding Phillips Beach parking, the committee explained to about 30 in attendance that they would be recommending to the Board of Selectmen to vote in favor of adding 38 spots on both sides of Shepard Avenue from May 1 through Oct. 1 because it?s the widest of the streets, with two sidewalks to keep pedestrians out of the street. In their plan, the committee also recommended several stop signs be placed in the neighborhoods to address the safety concerns brought up at the last meeting on July 31. But some Shepard Avenue residents were not happy about the burden. “You should share the parking with the other streets, not let it all fall on Shepard,” said Shepard resident Paul Levinson, whose number one concern was where he would have guests park when they visit him at home.Levinson?s wife, Cheryl, said Shepard would look “like a parking lot.”?How is that equitable, that Shepard Ave. is the only street being changed?” she asked. “Why not spread it around?”Other residents couldn?t understand why Phillips Beach neighbors were so protective of a public way. “We all pay the same taxes you do – we should all be able to park wherever we want to park,” said resident Gene Barden to the Levinsons.Shepard Avenue resident Jo Ann Simons asked why, since Board of Selectmen Chairman Dave Castellarin had routinely noted in previous meetings that parking was only an issue during some weekends in the summer, parking would be allowed May through Oct. 1. Simons said cutting the parking window down to only allow it June through September would offer “a small consolation” to Shepard Avenue neighbors, though she said she didn?t mind if someone parked in front of her house. “I keep hearing ?it?s only three months a year, why do you care??Simons said the residents from the 11 homes on the street should be allowed to park with ease at the train station. “There needs to be a recognition that they are sharing something other people aren?t,” she said.Other ideas came up at the meeting, including having beachgoers park on Atlantic Avenue, freeing the town from all parking restrictions, and having beachgoers park on opposite sides of the street depending if the calendar date was even or odd.The committee wouldn?t make changes to their recommendation, but Castellarin encouraged his audience to show at the selectmen?s meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. to speak if they didn?t agree with the recommendation or had other ideas. Castellarin also added that if the recommendation passed as is, the committee would revisit it after July 4 next summer.Selectman Glenn Kessler, who attended the meeting along with fellow Selectman John Callahan, said for him it was an issue of more enforcement to keep non-residents from parking. Kessler said Town Administrator Thomas Younger is looking into hiring an outside company whose sole purpose is to ticket, similar to meter maids.