Common parking plan approved
Published on April 22nd, 1998
A plan for a 90-space municipal parking lot in downtown Stoneham was approved for submittal to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night by the Town Common and Parking Committee's unanimous vote.
Known as phase I of the major development project designed to enhance Stoneham's downtown, the construction of this municipal parking area precludes the creation of a town common that will provide visibility and access to the Town Hall on Central Street from Stoneham's hub, Main Street.
Based on comments from the last meeting, Gene Bollinger, from the architectural firm of Levy, Eldredge & Wagner Associates, Inc., presented to the committee an updated plan for the parking lot with the major change being the moving of amenities (i.e. landscaped areas, trees and shrubs) to the perimeter of the lot in order to accommodate a maximum number of vehicles within it, an increase of approximately 25 spaces from the last design.
The lot will expand the existing parking area, which currently lies between McDonough's Liquor Store and the Fire Station. The additional parking area has been made possible by the town's acquisition of several properties, including the Franklin Street businesses of Roy Costa Auto Body and Flood's Service Center, as well as Patriot Tire on Block Street.
The plan provides for two access ways to the lot, at Central and Franklin Streets, as well as for two-way traffic through it. Bollinger stated that this two-way circulation will assure "no possibility of getting stuck in a dead-end," within the lot.
Another change to the plan was the "dead-ending" of Fuller Street which will make possible l4 parking spaces. The plan denotes access to Fuller Street from Emerson Street only, with the roadway ending before it reaches the side of the Fuller House.
This change to Fuller Street was regarded by traffic consultants to be a clear benefit to the area, since they considered the roadway too narrow to be an appropriate entrance to the parking lot.
Having met with residents of Fuller Street to discuss the parking area development and the change to a dead-end being considered for their street, Committee Chairman Mark Vaughn reported that, in general, the residents felt that their property values would increase with a more private street as this latest plan proposes. Landscaped and fenced screening between the lot and Fuller Street will also be included in the plan.
In addition, Vaughn reported that, following discussion with the Department of Public Works, it was indicated that there should be no problem working with Fuller Street as a dead-end, in terms of plowing snow from it.
A pedestrian walkway is proposed on one side of Fuller Street, from Emerson Street through to Franklin Street.
Another of the plan's features called for a change from one-way to two-way traffic on the portion of Central Street from Emerson Street to the proposed lot. Beyond the lot, toward Stoneham Square, a one-way pattern would be maintained.
This change in pattern, committee members suggested, would have to be denoted with the addition of signage, as well as with a traffic light that would assist emergency vehicles exiting from the fire station.
However, committee member Don Borchelt called this "splitting of a one-way" on Central Street "complicated," and anticipated the "temptation to make that last l00 foot dash to the square" becoming a traffic and safety problem.
"It seems like we're opening a can of worms if we open Central," Bor-chelt stated.
Committee member Stephen McDonough agreed and suggested holding off on a change to Central Street, especially if access to the Central Street area is altered with the addition of the Town Common, in phase 2 of the project.
With a plan of this magnitude, aesthetics have been reviewed closely in order to coordinate with the improvements recently made to the downtown area. With the extensive landscaping proposed, Bollinger stated that the improvements would enjoy lasting benefits from the installation of an irrigation system.
Committee member Grace McManus agrees that she, too, would like to see an irrigation system included.
"It makes no sense in putting thousands of dollars into shrubbery with-out maintaining it," McManus stated.
Decorative lighting, similar to what has been installed in the square, will be considered for the lot. In addition, façade improvements to the side of the existing building, currently home to McDonough Liquors, which runs alongside the lot, concerned committee members. They directed Bollinger to investigate the feasibility of having changes made by either the owner or the town, possibly with an entrance, windows, or a painting.
McManus also suggested increasing the number of handicap spaces from four, as shown in the plan, to at least six and recommended that the additional spaces be placed on the Fuller House side of the lot to enhance its accessibility.
Bollinger suggested widening the buffer between the lot and Franklin Street to provide "more significant screening." The addition would increase the buffer by about nine feet, but would result in the loss of four parking spaces. The committee backed this idea of enhanced screening and felt that, despite losing four spaces, the lot would still be sufficient with a capacity for over 90 vehicles.
Consideration of the adjacent firefighter memorial park was also made with Vaughn stating that a meeting with members of the Fire Department yielded positive response to the incorporation of the park into the parking plan by opening it up on the lot side for pedestrians to access.
"I felt they were all for...bringing visibility to their park," he stated.
The plan was also given "a very positive reception" when described by Vaughn in a meeting with Fuller House staff. There, the landscaped buffer area, between the Fuller House and the parking lot, was thought to be "more appropriate than what is there now," he stated.
The next step for bringing phase one to fruition involves presentation of the plan to the Board of Selectmen for its approval. That date was not set on Tuesday night, but a check with the Selectmen's agenda will be made and abutters will be notified of when that meeting will be held.
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