Cambridge Council Orders Bicycle Plan Review, Advances Three Parking Ordinances

CAMBRIDGE -- December 2, 2024, Cambridge Council unanimously orders bicycle plan review and advances three parking ordinances. The Cambridge City Council voted 9-0 Monday on every item of its December 2 agenda, directing City Manager Yi-An Huang to launch a public review of the Cambridge Bicycle Plan, last updated in 2020, and to coordinate with neighboring communities including Arlington, Somerville, and Boston on a network of separated bicycle facilities. The council also passed three parking-related zoning ordinances to a second reading: a Flexible Parking Corridor amendment, a Parking and Transportation Demand Management ordinance, and a Commercial Parking Space Permits ordinance, all stemming from an Ordinance Committee report. The longest stretch of the meeting was a wide-ranging oversight discussion of city engagement practices with newly appointed Director of Community Engagement Jackson Price, who described four types of public engagement the city uses and cited Cambridge's participatory budgeting as "a model around the country." Councillor Cathie Zusy drew applause from colleagues for arguing engagement should begin "not with a conceived response or answer," while Vice Mayor Marc McGovern said the city must be clearer when a decision is already made, "this is what we're doing; how can we do it well?"