The City Council voted 18-6 on Monday night to allow the Traffic Council to exempt angled parking spaces from the city’s winter overnight parking ban.

The Traffic Council already has the authority to exempt spots that are perpendicular to the curb, but the only place that has those is a small strip of Chestnut Street in Upper Falls.

Councilor Tarik Lucas–chair of the Public Safety & Transportation Committee recently brought forth an ordinance amendment that would add angled parking spots to that Traffic Council overnight parking exemption power.

There are five locations in the city with angled spots:

• Albemarle Road in Newtonville
• Washington Street in Newtonville
• Beacon Street in Waban
• Auburn Street in Auburndale
• Commonwealth Avenue near Centre Street and Grant Avenue

The discussion and vote was held until this week, to allow councilors to get questions answered and come up with amendments.

And that they did.

Councilor Rena Getz proposed an amendment limiting the Traffic Council’s new angled spot exemption authority to Albemarle, noting that some angled spots are in the high-density Village Center Overlay District areas.

“There was consistency between the working group as well as PS&T that they would not lift the ban in the VCOD,” she said. “Both Beacon Street and Auburn Street, which are two potential sites, are in the VCOD.”

After some debate, that amendment was narrowly rejected.

“Remembering that this just authorizes essentially the traffic council to act if there is reason to do so, and remembering that the city council still retains the right to have an appeal from the traffic council come to the city council, I think we should reject the amendment,” Councilor Joshua Krintzman said. “This is still going very slowly, and it’s a very small change.”

Councilor Randy Block, a member of the Public Safety & Transportation Committee, proposed an amendment excluding spots in the Village Center Overlay District from the Traffic Council’s overnight parking ban exemption.

Block also called for a slow deliberation when testing areas for a parking ban exemption.

“I actually can’t tell you how many meetings we’ve spent on this, and we’re not close to done,” he said. “Proceeding carefully, I think, is sort of one of the things that we’re most conscious of.”

But after Lucas said he’d oppose the amendment because the Law Department hasn’t vetted it yet, Block withdrew his amendment and voted against the general motion to give the Traffic Council angled parking exemption authority.

“I’m very disappointed that this council seems to want to just let the Traffic Council take some lead on this and to give us the task of appealing their decisions,” Block said. “We’re making a lot of work here, for chasing a tail, as far as I’m concerned. 

The Traffic Council could exempt angled spots in time to take effect by Dec. 1.