Commission orders no-parking zones near Garnett, Irving

Traffic Commission · Meeting of October 28, 2026

WATERTOWN — The Watertown Traffic Commission voted to restrict parking on the west side of Irving Street and the north side of Garnett Street after residents described emergency vehicles unable to get through and near-miss collisions. Resident Virginia Hecker said 12 neighbors signed a letter describing worsening safety problems, including cars parked within 20 feet of a stop sign "virtually every day." Sergeant Sampson of the Watertown Police Department said Public Works had already replaced a worn stop sign and planned to relocate another obscured by a tree. The commission also made permanent a handicap parking space at 21 George Street, approved a one-year handicap space at 37 Adams Street for resident George Paris, and voted unanimously to deny a request to relax two-hour parking limits near Grant Avenue and Pierce Road, citing a June precedent and regulations dating to 1975.

A fuller neighborhood study is expected once a new city engineer starts November 12.

In the full story:

• Call to order and routine items
• Handicap parking space, 21 George Street
• Handicap parking space, 37 Adams Street
• Garnett, Irving and Phillips streets petition
• Grant Avenue and Pierce Road parking restrictions
• New business and adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,059 words

Source: the Traffic Commission meeting of October 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.