| Welcome to the Cooperstown Crier |
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
12-20-2007 By JIM AUSTIN Editor Paid parking on Main and Pioneer streets will not begin until 2009 at the earliest. The board also decided to leave open a public hearing on a change to traffic regulations to designate the Chestnut Street lot for paid permit parking. The change would address concerns about downtown employee parking, but would require finding a location for buses and recreational vehicles that currently use the lot. The paid parking in the Doubleday Field lot will be in effect during June, July and August - the peak tourist season in the village. Police committee chairman Paul Kuhn said it was the committee's recommendation that the process of implementing paid parking be slowed somewhat by beginning only in the parking lot next summer. Trustee Milo Stewart, who has been a vocal opponent of paid parking, said he was not comfortable voting on the committee's recommendation until he knew more about plans for the Chestnut Street lot. He and some members of the audience questioned if the lot would be sufficient to cover the needs of the employees and downtown residents. ``Between that and the remote lots, there will be plenty,'' Kuhn said. ``We'd like to see the numbers too,'' said June Christman. ``We've got to be sure they're going to be able to park. You can't pull numbers out of the air.'' Trustee Lynne Mebust said the village does not guarantee a parking space to anyone and that employee parking has been part of the discussion throughout the process. Mayor Carol Waller questioned if the numbers the police committee was using were factual or just their opinion. Police Chief Diana Nicols said the numbers were anecdotal. ``We have three remote lots, how can there not be enough parking?'' Kuhn asked. Trustee Eric Hage said the key is that the Doubleday Field lot is a low-risk proposal. ``No matter what we do, we don't know all the risks,'' he said. Kuhn said he wanted to keep the Chestnut Street lot public hearing open until next month to have time to verify there are enough spaces set aside in Doubleday Field for downtown residents. If not, Kuhn said they may have to make a provision for additional spaces in the Chestnut Street lot. The motion on paid parking for Doubleday Field was approved by a margin of 5 to 2 with Stewart and Waller opposed. The board also approved a motion to prepare bid specifications for two pay and display machines for Doubleday Field. ``You might have a majority of the board, but not a majority of the people,'' Waller commented. ``I believe we have represented the majority of the village,'' Kuhn replied. |
Copyright 2007, Cooperstown Crier, Cooperstown, NY All rights reserved