Friday, June 01, 2007

Community House opposes Bates parking ramp

The City Commission should reconsider its decision to place the Shain Park underground parking ramp across from the Community House, and heed the advice of four of its advisory boards that said the ramp should be placed on Henrietta St., the president and CEO of the Community House says.

“Up to this point, I have not taken a position with respect to the location of the ramp for the underground parking garage,” said Shelley Roberts in a May 30 letter to the city.

“However, after reviewing the findings of the Planning Board, the Parks and Recreation Board, the Architectural Review Committee and the Historic District Commission, all of which unanimously recommended that the ramp be located on Henrietta Street, I have realized that it is vital for our city to adopt their recommendations. I think that the location of the ramp on Henrietta Street is in the best interest of the city and the users of the park, City Hall, Baldwin Library and The Community House.”

City officials had told the City Commission that Roberts supported the recommendation to place the ramp on Bates. Neither Roberts nor city officials responded to messages left for them on Thursday and Friday. The commission voted 5-2 to place the ramp on Bates. Commissioners Julie Plotnik and Dianne McKeon, both of whom live within a few blocks of the site, voted to place the ramp on Henrietta.

Roberts joined Community House chairwoman Judith Hoeffler in questioning the commission’s decision. Hoeffler last month wrote to the commission asking whether a pedestrian traffic study had been done, and what consideration will be given to installing public restrooms in Shain Park. The preliminary plan presented earlier this spring to city boards did not include restrooms.

Roberts went further than Hoeffler in her outright opposition to placing the ramp on Bates St.

“Hundreds of pedestrians a day will stream from the parking structure across Bates. These pedestrians will be endangered by cars exiting the structure that make right turns and by cars approaching from Maple to enter the structure. In contrast, there is very little pedestrian traffic on Henrietta,” Roberts said.

“The current design has the ramp emptying traffic on to Bates Street, which is the residential side of the park,” Roberts said. “The ramp should empty on to Henrietta, which is the commercial side of the park and will be used less by pedestrians entering and exiting the park.”

“The logistics of pulling out of the parking structure and entering The Community House pick-up queue southbound on Bates are problematic,” she said of the approved design. “It cannot be done without turning left and circling the entire block or by turning right out of the garage and immediately doing an illegal U-turn. In contrast, if the exit is on Henrietta Street, a car can pull out and circle one-half block to pick up guests of both The Community House and the Townsend Hotel ballroom.”