Gloucester Private Roads Update

The Gloucester City Council’s held a meeting on May 8, 2023, where they discussed private road repair. Last year, under Mayor Verga’s direction, the city formed the Gloucester Private Road Working Group to address the issue of private road repair in Gloucester. The Council discussed the following Working Group recommendations:

• Add the following language: “temporary repair to private roads that are connecting streets between public roads leading to a public area or place of interest may be prioritized for temporary repairs.”
• Set the following criteria for private roads to be accepted as public ways: connector to public roads, connected to public property or recreation area, has capacity for installation of public utilities, abutters are unanimously in favor of the city accepting the road as a public way, fastest and most effective thoroughfare for public safety Width and physical features of road.

The proposed ordinance changes for private road acceptance will be discussed at the Ordinance and Administration meeting on Monday, May 15, 2023.