Beginning November 27, the City of Cambridge code enforcement staff will begin a pilot period of neighborhood walks, designed to allow staff the time and attention to focus on a small number of homes each day.
The first month of patrols will happen in the areas of Robbins Street, Glasgow Street, Maces Lane, Academy and Light Street, Maryland Avenue and Rambler Road, Patamoke Way, Pleasant Street and Radiance Drive.
Three days per week, two code enforcement officers will patrol small portions of larger streets, instead of driving the city. The other two days each week will allow time for court appearances and other administrative duties. A third code enforcement official will maintain regular patrols and respond to resident complaints when the other two officers are doing neighborhood foot patrols.
“You see different things on foot, compared to driving by homes in a vehicle,” said assistant city manager and development director Brandon Hesson. “We also hear the concern that we selectively choose which neighborhoods to patrol. While our data doesn’t support that, that perception is something that we need to take very seriously.”
Foot patrols will happen in three different city wards each week, which will ensure a more even distribution of staff resources throughout the city. Every five weeks, code enforcement staff will have worked a portion of each of the city’s five election districts three times.
Each month, Development staff will report to city council which neighborhoods may experience code enforcement foot patrols. You can opt in to receive City Council agendas in the Agenda Center at choosecambridge.com, and receive up to date patrol notifications that appear in agendas.
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