Beverly Mayor Candidates Debate Bridges, Roads, Parking, Housing

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly mayoral candidates Mike Cahill and Jamie Zarella shared their visions for improving parking, creating affordable housing, replacing the city's two deficient drawbridges, fixing its roads and other issues facing the business community at a Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce forum on Thursday.

While the candidates did not address each other directly, they did share contrasting visions on some aspects of how to move the city forward.

One came on the closed Hall-Whitaker Bridge where Zarella called the extended timeline — estimated at up to a decade — to replace the bridge "a disgrace" and called for a permanent replacement for the bridge to be built immediately instead of a temporary bridge followed by a permanent bridge, as are the most recent plans.

"The isolation of a major portion of our city from the downtown is simply not acceptable," Zarella said. "You can't get there from here is not an answer we should accept and certainly not one that should be imposed on Ryal Side."

Cahill countered that the temporary bridge is necessary to both replace the Hall-Whitaker Bridge and the deficient Kernwood Bridge at the same time. He said he met Friday with officials from state agencies involved with permitting, along with Lt. Gov. and former Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, and received assurances that the agencies involved will meet every other week to "do everything they can to cut the timeline."

"It is frustrating as can be because we all want it built yesterday," he said. "The thought that all of these agencies never talk to each other shouldn't be. It's not that hard to say that they're all going to be at one table to figure it out."

Cahill said "we are doing everything we can" when it comes to fixing the roads and touted $93 million in road improvement spending over his 10 years in office, including $20 million already ticketed for next year. He said the city has worked to perform the repairs at times when they are least impactful on residents and businesses.

Zarella countered that "we do not seem to be keeping pace with our neighbors in keeping our roads passable and in good repair." He said, as mayor, he would create an inventory of every road in the city and force the utility companies to tailor their work schedules around the city's priorities.

Both candidates advocated for some type of shuttle service connecting the waterfront, downtown and parking opportunities.

On parking, Cahill allowed that it gets packed on weekend nights downtown but said it is less an inventory issue than it is finding ways to better let people know where the spots are that are available — even if they require a bit of a walk to their destinations. He said the city will continue to work with local businesses to allow parking in private lots at times when those businesses are closed and do not need the spots.

Zarella said the city does "not have a downtown parking problem, we have several downtown parking problems, each of which may require a different solution." He said those solutions should not be the city buying up parking spots or seizing them via eminent domain but through business partnerships to use lots and to have employees shuttled in from satellite lots where possible.

On housing and development, Cahill cited the recent height ordinance changes aimed at curbing high-rise development, but added that the city will continue to seek to add housing to fill the "stark housing shortage in the region."

Zarella said he may look to have the height restriction "revisited" if elected, and advocated the creation of more "two- and three-family living situations" to address the housing shortage.

"I know the challenges out in front of me going forward," Zarella said in his closing statement. "I'd like the opportunity to make changes and be the mayor for the people."

Cahill said in his closing statement that "Beverly is thriving, coming alive and the community is strong" and that he wants to "continue to do everything in my power to be the best listener, collaborator, thinker and worker I can be."

The citywide general election is on Nov. 7.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)