Skip to main content

Gloucester Private Steets Educational Outreach

Posted on
January 13th at 2:22pm.

There are 573 private streets extending a total of 63.8 miles in Gloucester, which is the 5th highest total of any municipality in Massachusetts. Even when the roads are open for public use and receive public snow plowing services, residents who abut the private roads are responsible for major repairs.

This has caused significant confusion, as many Gloucester residents have submitted complaints to the city about the condition of their streets, only to learn that the city is not responsible for the repairs. In fact, Massachusetts state law prohibits the use of public funding for major road repairs.

Under Mayor Verga’s direction, the city formed the Gloucester Private Road Working Group to address the issue of private road repair in Gloucester. On January 10th, the working group presented their final report and recommendations to address issues surrounding the condition of roads in Gloucester. Please see a summary of the recommendations from the working group below:

  • Educational Outreach
    • Publish a webinar on the City’s Website explaining that the city cannot spend public money to repair roads, and why private road owners are obligated to maintain and repair their roads
    • Create and publish FAQ sheet to the City’s Website
    • Include educational materials with tax bills or water bills
    • Work with North Shore REALTORS® to educate potential homebuyers about the obligation of abutters of private streets to pay for major road repair
    • Provide resources about establishing homeowner associations for the purpose of maintaining and repairing private roads
  • Amend the Code of Ordinances to simplify and clarify the private road repair process, and conversion to public way
    • Clarify that the city cannot make permanent repairs to private roads
    • Require that when the city makes temporary repairs to a private road, they must notify abutters if the overall condition of the road makes it unsafe
    • Provide abutters the opportunity to submit a report to the city outlining a plan to conduct major road repairs. If the report is received, the city will continue to make temporary repairs for a year.
    • Prioritize repair for private roads which are connector streets, lead to a public area or a place of interest
    • 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
  • Explore methods to increase funding for public roads
    • Amend free cash formula
    • Create a plan for prioritizing which private roads could be accepted as a public road
    • Petition the State Legislature to recalculate funds awarded through Chapter 90 and discuss other ways the City can receive additional state funding for permanent repairs to public roads

NSR has scheduled a meeting with the Mayor to discuss the Association’s role with educational outreach. In the meantime, REALTORS® can check to see if a house is on a public or private road by clicking HERE.