Be forewarned! Ruth Ryals rryals@comcast.net 617-834-4007(c) Sent from my iPhone! Begin forwarded message:

From: "Tomeu, Ini" <itomeu@cambridgema.gov> Date: August 3, 2015 at 10:55:59 AM EDT To: "Tomeu, Ini" <itomeu@cambridgema.gov> Subject: Evening Parking Improvements between Harvard and Porter Squares

Hello, please see attached news release, also pasted in as text below.

Ini Tomeu, Public Information Officer City of Cambridge 795 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA 02139 617-349-4339/ itomeu@cambridgema.gov Like Us on Facebook

For Immediate Release: Evening Parking Improvements between Harvard and Porter Squares Cambridge extends metered parking until 8 p.m. in select areas

Cambridge, MA—August 3, 2015 — The City of Cambridge has increased the hours of metered parking to 8 p.m. for select meters between Harvard Square and Porter Square. The new hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. are currently being enforced. This change, which affects meters on Massachusetts Avenue between the Cambridge Common and Russell Street, Oxford Street between Kirkland Street and Garfield Street, Wendell Street between Massachusetts Avenue and Oxford Street, and Kirkland Street between Oxford Street and Divinity Street, follows similar alterations to metered parking hours in Harvard Square and Kendall Square.

"This section of Massachusetts Avenue has a great mix of restaurants, stores, and services that create a vibrant and interesting experience for residents and visitors, and we want to help support this neighborhood with how we manage our streets,” says Joseph Barr, Director of Traffic, Parking & Transportation. “Extending the hours on the meters will help create more parking opportunities for patrons visiting local businesses, contributing to the ongoing success of this unique part of Cambridge."

Previously, metered parking spaces in this area were free and unrestricted from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. the following morning, which had led to some use of the spaces as overnight parking. The new hours will help to limit this practice and ensure that the spaces are used as they were intended – to increase parking options for visitors and residents.

Following a similar extension of metered parking hours last year in Kendall Square, data collected from meters in the area indicated increased turnover, and therefore greater parking availability, in the evenings. The extreme weather conditions of the past winter make it difficult, however, to quantify these changes exactly.

The rate for parking at a meter, which is $1/hour, remains the same. Signage has been updated to reflect the change, and all affected meters have been marked with a decal notifying the user of the new hours.

For additional information contact Brad Gerratt, Assistant Director of Parking Management, at bgerratt@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-4722.

This map highlights the affected areas along Mass Ave and Oxford Street

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