WORKSHOP TONIGHT: SHOULD CITY TRANSFER PARKING GARAGE FUNDS TO MELILLI LOT?

Notice provided by Catherine Johnson

Tonight in city hall at 7 pm there will be a workshop to aid the common council in considering transfering funds to design/plan a parking garage from the College/Court St block to Washington/Court. A federal fund of approx $8 million plus the required 20% city match of $1.6 million will pay for the garage construction once designed. A 2007-08 parking study led by a committee headed by Gerry Daley concluded with the decision to use the funds to rebuild the city-owned Arcade over other choices.

Recently hired parking director Tom Hartley has suggested the change of location would be a better use of funds, as the Washington/Court (“Melilli”) block has significantly more retail and commercial space along Main Street than the College/Court (“Arcade”) block. Hartley believes the Arcade is best used as is (can be repaired, paid for by parking fees), and left to a future developer to reconfigure the parking as a future project would deem necessary.

Hartley’s primary interest is to increase parking capacity on the Melilli block, not to advocate a particular location or garage design within that block. His hope is that if funds are transferred, then the ideal design can be figured out. He has made one suggestion of where the garage might be located, so as to not disturb more than a section of the current $900,000+ repaving and regarding of the Melilli lot. The suggestion is to build a 270’ long parking garage along Washington Street, one of the 2007 plans. Some property and business owners have been led to believe this is the purpose of the workshop tonight: that is incorrect. The workshop is only to discuss the benefit or disadvantage of shifting the money to the Melilli block from the Arcade block.

COMMENTARY: How to Kill a Street

By Catherine Johnson

Why building a parking garage along Washington Street is a Bad Idea

I fully support the idea of investing in a garage on the Mellili block instead of rebuilding the Arcade. I believe Tom Hartley’s logic is sound regarding the Arcade: repair it but otherwise leave it as is and reserve it for a deserving future project. It will not help a developer or the city encumbering the site with a recently built but possibly inappropriately designed parking garage on this site. However, the location of where it goes on that block and how it relates to existing surroundings must be done with great care.

In my opinion, it would be a bad idea to use it to build a 4- or 5-story garage along Washington Street.

Washington Street is one of the most important streets in the city and some of its most valuable real estate. A parking garage is a piece of infrastructure, a utility, a storage area. You do not front your most important street with a storage space. If you’re wise, you never front any street with a garage or a lot because parking along a sidewalk is detrimental to retail- and commercial-viability. No one wants to walk next to a garage or a parking lot. No one wants to look at a parking garage. No one wants to live or work next to a parking garage. Even if you put retail on the first floor, no one is going to be fooled into forgetting the 4 upper stories looming above. If you face the front of the building with a façade that looks like a commercial building, people will still know it’s a garage. People can perceive the building as lifeless: it’s level upon level of car. No seemingly clever design can replace the power and energy of human presence. People make a 4- or 5- story building an active place day and night, and in turn create an inviting street where people stop, stay and enjoy the experience.

Many of you may not remember what Court, Broad and College Streets looked like before the office building (now Middle Oak) and parking garage were constructed in the late 1980’s. There was a whole range of buildings 2-4 stories tall, some ornate, others plain, with a mix of styles, uses and occupants. Parking was behind buildings in the center of the block. I would look for any excuse to take a little walk around that block when I went downtown or to the library. These 3 streets had an appealing urban character. I especially liked Court Street with its pair of brownstone buildings: the First Church of Christ and the building across from it, a Victorian with storefronts at street level and an athletic club on the third floor. While different, one secular and dolled up, the other sedate and stolid, they felt like kindred spirits. Together the two buildings framed a great street.

Later, when I studied architecture and urban design, I learned that the qualities that made that street so inviting were the same qualities which make all great streets: human presence, many different buildings, many different activities at all times of day, detailed facades, the play of light, definition, boundaries, variety. But most importantly, the car and its storage do not dominate.

Today College and Court Streets feel very different. All the buildings that gave the street its charm and character were demolished. Beautiful First Church lost its mate across the street. The 11-story office building and 6-level parking garage lurk over the street, creating a permanently oppressive quality. Now across from the church’s Gothic-arched doors and stained glass window is the gaping hole of the parking garage entrance and loading dock. It’s the dumpiest 100 feet downtown. I no longer look forward to walking down this portion of the street, and attempt all other variations of route to avoid the banality. They killed my street.

If you have never thought about this relationship of building and parking before, you may not realize how making a poor choice affects perception and ultimately, real estate values and wealth. Pretty counts. Ugly costs, and often more than just money lost from buildings and businesses. Lifeless, unoccupied buildings ultimately steal people from the street, significantly reducing its safety, its attractiveness and its value. When adjacent streets are affected, aggregate lifelessness can deaden a community.

When the time comes to plan the parking, whatever the location, let’s not make another blunder and kill the street by putting a garage or parking lot next to a sidewalk. Let’s plan for new buildings along the sidewalk and set the parking back about 80 feet. The Washington/Court block is a huge block, about 700 x 720’, so large it can accommodate 750-900 parking spaces and about 350,000 sq ft of development (40 rowhouses, 5 commercial buildings, and can double city hall). There are plenty of options for locating a garage or garages, and for planning in phases.

So I encourage us to use planning this parking garage as the first opportunity to mend and improve the quality of the streets downtown in order to restore and rebuild the place we call home. People aren’t attracted to come downtown because there’s a parking spot waiting for them. They come here because downtown Middletown is a place, a real place with a genuine history and a complexity that comes from generations of building and honoring civic character.

Kayak Launch Supported and Parking Director Gets Shot at Melilli

The Economic Development Committee lent its support to a land transfer in exchange for kayak launching, a parking garage on Melilli Plaza instead of the arcade, a tax abatement, WiFi on Main Street, and renewal of a contract for lobbying in Washington.

Kayak and Canoe Launching

The EDC unanimously supported the transfer of city-owned land to Paul Szewzyck, in exchange for access to the river through the back of Szewzyck's land at 161 Johnson Street, and construction of an 8 vehicle parking lot on city-owned land. Under the deal Szewzyck would receive title to 172 Johnson Street, an 80' X 136' lot adjacent to the rail line which crosses Johnson Street in front of the City's recycling station. Szewzyck would provide a conservation easement on a portion of his land, that is adjacent to (and in some seasons even within) the river.

Richard Kearney, Economic Development Specialist in the City Planning Office, told the EDC that the city-owned property is worth about $30,000 and that after Szewzyck built a vehicle maintenance building on the lot, he would be paying between $2500 and $3500 in taxes to the

city.

In exchange for this city-owned lot, Szewzyck would also pave an 8 car parking lot adjacent to the Johnson Street Pumping station (the small brick building which houses a sewer pump), and he would create a 370 feet path from this parking lot to the river, for the purpose of launching canoes and kayaks into the Coginchaug.

John Hall, Director of the Jonah Center and long-time proponent of improving Middletown's connection with the rivers which course through our city, expressed his strong support for the land swap. "There are only two places [in the city] on the Coginchaug where you can access the river without excavation." He said that the city had rejected the other option, on the North End Peninsula.

Tax Abatement For LEED Certified Building on Industrial Park Road.

Tall Properties, LLC, was granted a tax abatement for their Centerpoint Office Condominium project which will be built to LEED silver standards of environmentally responsible construction. Leonard Leibenhaut, Manager of Tall Properties, applied for a tax abatement and a waiver of the building permit fees, under a city program to promote development. Attorney Ralph Wilson represented Tall Properties at the meeting.

A member of the EDC asked how much the building permit would cost, and Kearney was unable to provide that figure. Despite this, Tall Properties was granted the permit fee waiver. In addition, they were given a substantial tax abatement, which is based on the dollar value of the improvements to the lot. Over the first 4 years, Tall Properties will pay just $78k in taxes, instead of the projected taxes of $267k. Following those first 4 years, Tall Properties will pay the full rate.

Hartley to Present Melilli Plaza Parking Garage Idea to council.

The EDC voted to move a resolution to the full Common Council which would direct the City to design a Parking Garage on Melilli Plaza instead of on the currently planned arcade behind the police station.

Parking Director Tom Hartley told the Committee that parking demand and supply made Melilli a more logical choice for a multi-level parking structure, and that it would be easier to construct such a parking garage if the arcade remained functional during construction. Moreover, he said that if the arcade was not rebuilt with federal dollars, it would not be required to be public, making it available for private development.

Hartley as well as the councilmen agreed that the arcade needed maintenance to make it safe for the next 5 years, in addition to whatever was done on Melilli.

Other actions

The EDC lent their support to the renewal of the contract of Panuzio and Giordano Public Affairs, for lobbying in Washington on behalf of Middletown. Their fee of $24,000 per year will come out of the economic development fund.

Kearney told the councilmen that it would cost about $100,000 to demolish three blighted houses, 2 on Wadsworth Street and 1 on Portland Street. The EDC voted to have them boarded up and asked the Planning Office to get detailed quotes on the demolition.

Marie Kalita-Leary, Director of the Downtown Business District, told the Commission that the Downtown Business District would pay about $7,000 to restore WiFi coverage to the part of Main Street which is currently covered. The EDC voted to spend about $14,000 to expand the coverage nearly "church to church," with 14 new transmitters north of Washington Street. The money will come from the economic development fund. Roughly the same amount of money, previously set aside for cable access on Industrial Park Road, will not be spent.

Kearney said that Harbor Park Restaurant was still under the same management as before, that the closing for sale of the lease was not yet complete. He speculated on the reason why there might be a delay, "This is the season to make money." Daley suggested that the sale of a lease for Harbor Park is a "complicated thing."

Save the Trees, Protect the River

The list of City meetings on the Middletowneye does not include the meeting of the Public Works Commission on Wed. Dec. 9, at 5:30 p.m. in the Public Works Department. On the agenda is the Melilli Parking Lot Plan, which calls for major regrading and the removal of trees. For more information on this issue, read the previous post and reader comments on this topic.

Park the Car

The Parking Study has come to an end. It makes me sort of misty-eyed, after 17 months of meeting with my fellow downtown and transit geeks. And it's a bit of a challenge to my usual cynicism about political progress, but I really like the recommendations that we finally adopted. I hope they happen!

So why did Middletown have to do a Parking Study? Because we received Federal earmarks for $21.1 Million in parking and transit improvements to downtown (though Middletown has to come up with 20% of that from other sources, such as a referendum or state grants.) Also, the Study was an opportunity to look at how downtown fits into a wider transit network, and how to support the growing number of bicycle commuters and enthusiasts. I sat on the committee as a representative of the downtown merchant community.


At the Monday night council meeting, the committee members gave the report, including short, mid and long-range recommendations. (Vinnie Amato is pictured here giving us all a history lesson on parking management.)

As I can't resist some commentary, I'll post my opinions in Italics so that you can skip those parts if you prefer!

Short-range Recommendations: Work to improve the way we manage the parking spaces that we already have, and add to the supply of parking spaces in the coming year.

1. Form a new city department on Parking, with a professional manager and a citizen advisory board. Create a special revenue account so that parking fees, fines and income would only be used for parking needs.

Why do we need professional parking management? Broken meters, old technology, unclear signage, parking rates that aren't always linked to the demand for those spaces, choosing where to put long-term/employee parking, customer service....lots of reasons. Parking is currently run by the Police Department (which has better things to do with its time.)

2. Expand the Melilli Plaza lot (behind Main Street Market) by connecting to the "employee only" lot of 87 spaces next to City Hall, so that all of these spaces could be used on evenings and weekends.

One interesting statistic is that Melilli is the most heavily used lot in town, and is at 97% occupancy on weekend evenings, when the city hall employee lot,just a few feet away, is at 1%. Linking these lots (using remaining road bond funds from 2003) would immediately add supply where it is wanted most.

Mid-range Recommendation: Replace the Riverview Arcade parking deck and cover part of the police department parking with a deck. This project would take 3 to 5 years, and would replace the 350-space in the current Arcade with up to 560 spaces. Funding would come from $9 million of the Federal funds, and the remaining $4 million from local and state sources.

This is probably the most contentious piece of the study. Everyone knows that no one wants to park in parking garages. But it is the best way to create a walkable downtown -- otherwise we will be covered in asphalt. So the goal is to get all the long-term parkers with monthly permits into a garage, leaving more of the surface lots and metered spaces free for visitors. Some people prefered building a garage on the Melilli lot, some closer to the hospital and hotel in the South End. Ultimately, this plan won approval because otherwise the city would be spending money to repair and replace the arcade at some point in the coming years. The next step in building this garage is a design phase that would tell us exactly what it would look like. My personal hope is that the future design gives more attention to the pedestrian experience walking down Dingwall Drive/College Street -- right now it's a concrete and dumpster canyon. I'd rather lose some parking spaces if we could have businesses along the sidewalk. Catherine Johnson, our favorite New Urbanist, has long been a champion of putting "liner buildings" along the street, and burying parking in the interior of the block.

Long-range Recommendations: Support other methods of transportation within the downtown, such as bicycles and better public transit.

1. Study the possibility of a Streetcar on Main Street. The 3/4 mile length of Main Street once had a trolley that ran on tracks. The proposal is to study whether a new track system could be laid, running either with overhead electrical power, or running on an alternative fuel. A first glance estimates that this system would cost between $7 and $10 Million, which could be paid for with the Federal earmark funds (again, with a 20% match of local funds). The operations could be paid with a combination of state reimbursement, parking income, and fares.

I'm just OVER THE MOON about this idea. If you've travelled to other cities recently, you probably encountered a streetcar or tram system. The data shows that streetcars bring development, because of the permanence of the tracks vs. a bus system, and the fact that it attracts a higher demographic in ridership. I think it would help draw new investment to the North End, and would encourage visitors to shop at more than one Main Street business (if they didn't feel they had to move their car.) It would help downtown employees patronize Main Street -- currently there are 450 monthly parkers scattered around downtown who could park centrally in the new garage and take the streetcar to work, and that doesn't even count the 100+ employees that are being shuttled from the Court Street garage to the Hospital by private bus. It would be a tourism draw -- streetcars are fun. And if we ever develop the riverfront properly, it's a first step in linking Main Street with the new development. I think it's a great way to use the Federal funds to really boost the Middletown economy -- the first step is a feasibility study to see if it can be done. The downside is the timeline -- which is projected at 5 to 10 years.

2. Make downtown more bike-friendly. There are two parts to this plan - first, to connect five different regions of Middletown to downtown with either dedicated, off-road bike paths, or with bike lanes on the sides of roads. Next, within the downtown, improve bike amenities such as bike signage and lanes, and bike racks.

The city has already prepared maps of possible bike paths to the downtown. I think the most important of these is to create a bike path linking the new High School to downtown, and to extend the Westfield Bike Path which has already been constructed --- the question is funding, since using the Federal funds for these projects would take forever. The Planning Department was successful in getting grants for the Westfield path, and hopefully will try to find more. The second proposal, of improving downtown conditions for cyclists, is also important but not eligible for the Federal Funds. Really these items shouldn't be long-range goals -- we should ask city hall to form a task force to find funding to put these plans in effect soon.

And that's it for the Parking Study. I'll let everyone know when it comes back to the Council (via Economic Development) for a vote.