The “no parking” signs that sprouted on a section of Washington Street last week are a mistake and parking rules remain unchanged there, Police Chief James Cormier told Patch Monday.

The signs went up one side of Washington Street, between Woburn and Prescott Streets, in conjunction with a Safe Routes to School project – in this case, Parker Middle School -- and include a sidewalk and curbing on the west side of that stretch of Washington Street, Cormier said.

The state did the project, under a grant, Cormier said, and “They misunderstood the (parking) regulations.”

Parking restrictions do apply on both sides of the street. No parking is allowed on the east side of the street, the side nearer the train station, between 6 and 10:30 a.m., Cormier said. Parking on the west side, toward Summer Avenue, which has a sidewalk now, is restricted to “residents only” from 6 to 10:30 a.m.

Parking regulations are set by the Board of Selectmen, Cormier explained. The police can’t enforce signs that are not listed in the book of regulations, he said.

The “no parking” signs should come down soon, Cormier said. The town’s Department of Public Works will remove them. 

The school route project included sidewalk and curbing on Sunnyside Avenue and Temple Street, Cormier noted.

Neon yellow “Share the Road” signs on Prescott Street near Washington Street are probably connected to the Safe Routes project, according to Cormier, to allow students to ride bikes to school safely.

The new “no parking” signs confused one couple on the street. The former – and correct -- signs which limit parking times on the east side of the street remain up along with the new – incorrect -- ones that prohibit it entirely, George and Nancy Larson pointed out.  

The “old” signs were put up about a year and a half ago, George Larson said, when parking on both sides of the street narrowed the travel lane. Residents approached the Board of Selectmen, Larson said, and the selectmen approved the time-limited parking on both sides of the street.

Resident Holly Turner said she and her daughter were surprised Wednesday to see the new signs.

Patch spoke randomly with them yesterday morning about the signs.

Both the Larsons and Turner said they like having a sidewalk on one side of the street. Turner said she sees children on their ride-on toys on the sidewalk on her side of the street and wishes that her daughter could have done the same thing when she was younger. People also use the sidewalk, Larson said, just to stroll and to get to Washington Park.