Barrington’s shoreline and public Rights of Way are treasures to which every taxpayer in the town should have reasonable and equivalent access.”

Patricia Adams

The town continues its work on a special report that will be focused on parking concerns.

The report is expected to detail which streets in Barrington could (and should) accommodate parking, and which ones cannot. Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha said he ordered the report because he and the police department had receive some parking complaints. 

The town manager has also received inquiries from longtime Barrington resident Ken Block, who said he discovered that many streets leading to public access points are posted as “no parking.” Mr. Block said the parking prohibition on those streets essentially creates private preserves for those whose properties are located within walking distance of the rights of way.

Mr. Cunha said he has asked local police officers, when they have the time available, to measure the width of roads in town. He is using National Fire Protection Association guidelines to then determine if a road is wide enough to offer parking.

During the July 26 council meeting, Mr. Cunha said streets that are 26 feet or wider could allow parking on one side, and those that are 32 feet or wider could have parking on both sides.

“There are a lot of streets (in town) that are ‘no parking,’” Mr. Cunha said. “There are even more that allow parking that shouldn’t.”

The town manager said the council will have the final decision about whether to allow parking on roads that accommodate it, including those near public rights of way. Council members will also decide if they want further restrict parking on local roads. 

The issue of parking prohibitions near rights of way has drawn the public’s interest recently. Barrington resident Patricia Adams sent a letter to the town council that was entered into the public record at the July 26 meeting.

“I … write today to ask you to take action to improve the accessibility to the taxpayers of Barrington of the public Rights of Way (ROW) to Barrington’s shoreline,” she wrote. “As you may or may not be aware, Barrington has banned all parking within any reasonable walking distance of many of the public ROWs. 

“In fact, the public ROWs at the intersection of Watson Ave and Payne Road and the ROW at the end of Clarke Road have no public parking available unless one parks at Nayatt School or over by Legion’s Way or at the town beach lot all of which are roughly a mile away or more from these ROWs…”

Ms. Adams wrote that the no parking areas have made many of the rights of way inaccessible to everyone except those living within walking distance. 

“Additionally, the total ban on parking has made these ROWs completely inaccessible to anyone with a disability that impedes their ability to walk, which is an entirely different and worse impediment to public access,” she wrote.

Ms. Adams asked that the town offer parking near the rights of way.

“Barrington’s shoreline and public Rights of Way are treasures to which every taxpayer in the town should have reasonable and equivalent access,” she wrote.

The parking situation will apparently have a uniform response. 

Mr. Cunha said the town will rely upon the NFPA guidelines. He added that street widths are important for the safe passage and access of fire department vehicles

During the July 26 meeting, Barrington Town Council Member Jacob Brier asked if there had been any instances in town where a fire department vehicle had difficulty reaching the scene of an emergency. 

Mr. Cunha said he knew of a few incidents.

Council president Michael Carroll referenced the fire department’s new ladder truck and its space requirements, and councilor Rob Humm asked about the approach to measuring the streets — for those that are not uniform in width, the narrowest distance from one side of the road to the other will be used, Mr. Cunha said. 

Councilor Annelise Conway also spoke on the topic. She said that with any public health emergency, officials do not really know if they are successful until they are not successful. She also said it was important that the town follow the precautions suggested by the fire chief and the NFPA guidelines. Ms. Conway later asked about the length for each on-street parking space. Mr. Cunha said that distance is generally self-regulated.

The town manager said he was expecting to have the completed street parking report in time for the September council meeting.