Friday, June 29, 2007

Residents question underground Shain parking

By John McTaggart

It may be time to rethink the underground parking concept for Shain Park, if the opinions of about a dozen Birmingham residents in the park one recent afternoon are any indication.

Design work for the project has been delayed while the city holds two more unanticipated hearings on it; original hearings before the Planning Board and Historic District Commission were improperly noticed.

The city is using the time to look into conducting a pedestrian study of the area, and to explore additional funding sources for the project, which is currently nearly $1 million over budget.

The Buzz used the time to interview some residents about the project.

Most of those interviewed thought a revamped park would be a valuable asset to Birmingham, and most, when shown preliminary drawings by designers Albert Kahn Associates, liked the concept and thought a $3 million price tag was reasonable.

But agreement with city leaders broke down when it came to the $10 million-plus parking structure. The structure was ordered after City Commissioners decided that an enlarged park that consumed the surface parking lot across from the Community House could not result in any significant loss of parking spaces.

Voters last year approved a $9.8 million bond issue after promoters told them the garage was necessary to an improved park, and that the cost would be covered by the parking system, not a tax increase.

The city is now considering an increase in parking fees to cover not only the cost of the bond issue, but current operating costs.

I would just like to know what they’re thinking,” Davison Brantley, a 35-year Birmingham resident, said. “This garage is a waste of money and time, I think. Get with the program.”

Sandy Patrick, 34, brings her children to the park nearly every day during the spring and summer, and said she would like to see the $10 million put to better use.

“I just don’t see the point in that kind of expenditure, especially with times like they are. If there is any other way for them to spend that money, I say put it on the park surface. Make the park a $5 million park if you want to spend it so badly. That garage doesn’t do me, and the rest of Birmingham, any good.” Patrick said.

“I believe it’s a case of the eyes being bigger than the stomach,” said Jon Rinke. “From what I can tell, they’re just in too deep right now to make any changes. That’s too bad, because they were elected to avoid situations like this.”

“The park design looks beautiful, and that’s all I care about – the park itself,” said Don Meisner. “Redo the park, leave the parking like it is, maybe spruce it up some, but let people use the garages we already have. They’re empty all the time anyhow. This is supposed to be a walkable city, yet you want to build a millions-of-dollars garage directly under the park. Where’s the common-sense factor?”

Several city parking structures, notably the ones on Pierce and Peabody, are in fact heavily used. But the Chester St. garage behind the library, which is within the district of Shain Park, is largely empty, and the city has acknowledged that there is no need for extra parking within that district. The roughly 150 spaces that currently exist across from Shain Park would be replaced by more than 200 spaces in the two-level underground garage.

“I feel it’s unnecessary,” Meisner said. “It’s unnecessary and over-the-top, even for this town.”

“When you spend other people’s money it’s easy to spend it foolishly,” Uptichi Crafosi said. “When I spend any amount of money, I try to get great value. I don’t think the city officials follow that philosophy at all. Perhaps it’s more about this commission leaving a legacy. I don’t know.”

“There’s an old boxing saying that a good manager knows when to throw in the towel,” Robert Mendez Sr. said. “It’s time to throw the towel in on this underground monster and get a better idea. It’s just too much for what we get out of it.”