Give me Liberty or give me a parking lot

More on plans to replace a 19th century building with a 21st century surface parking lot at 9 Liberty Street in Middletown, an 1853 Greek Revival structure which was formerly the Methodist Misson Chapel.

The current plans call for moving the building at 9 Liberty Street to a lot on the other side of Main Street in the North End, and rehabbing it for residential use. All well and good, except, as I understand the current plans:

1. In it's place, the developer plans to pour asphalt, to accomodate 10 parking spaces, for surface parking which will be adjacent to a sidewalk.

2. The city has or will purchase 9 Liberty, and deed the lot to the developer. BTW, the city was willing to sell the home for a buck, to anyone who was willing to move it, or dismantle it and cart it away (even to a location outside the city). It's an indication of how much our city fathers value Middletown's historic past. Also, the city, with the cooperation of the current owner will be taking 9 Liberty using eminent domain.

3. The developer plans to build a commercial/retail building on the site of the abandoned gas station on the corner of Liberty and Main. A main potential tenant is It's Only Natural grocery store. The city has so far asked for no concessions from the developer. The developer's plan, as presented originally, remains essentially the same, with the exception of some plantings to mask the parking lot. The city could ask the developer to extend the planned new building along Main Street so there will be no parking lot adjacent to the sidewalk on Main Street. The city could ask for exit/entrance drives for the property to be located on Liberty Street which is less heavily traveled by pedestrians. So far, the city boards seem to be accepting of a curb cut for entrance and exit on Main Street, creating a dangerous pedestrian hazard.

4. The lot at 9 Liberty actually wraps around the house at 13 Liberty which was purchased by The Connection, and is now being renovated. This morning they were preparing for asbestos tile removal at 13 Liberty. When the city was asked why it was not "taking" this property, they mumbled something vague about Federal money being tied up in it. It too is on the National Register of Historic Places in the Main St. Historic district. The right of way (driveway) for 13 Liberty is part of the 9 Liberty parcel, according to city property maps.

I would prefer that the house at 9 Liberty be renovated and preserved at it's current location.

I am not completely against moving it for use on another lot in the North End.

I am not against commercial and retail development on the North end of Main Street. In fact I support it.

I am however, against moving the house, if the city cannot, and will not ask concessions from the developer to prevent a parking lot placement on Main Street with a dangerous curb cut.

The city needs to understand that the developer wants to build on that spot as much as we want him to build there, and that concessions can and should be negotiated. The city is in a position to ask the developer to make some of these important changes which are good for the future of Main Street as a pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare. I'm sure the developer understands the value of the property and would be open to negotiations.

A final note. Minutes of all the public meetings on this topic, along with plans, drawings and schematics for development should be available on line soon after the meetings at which the discussions occur. It's a shame, in this day and age, that this information is not available immediately. A cynic might say that the delay is intentional.

There is still an opportunity for the city to have this important commercial/retail development go forward, and preserve the safety and integrity of Main Street.

Next important meeting: reported Common Council workshop on this developement June 26. Not on the Common Council online calendar yet. Please confirm.

Tarred with the same brush

Back in the early 1980's I wrote a satirical essay about tourism in Connecticut that was published in the New York Times. I suggested then, that since we didn't have a National Park in Connecticut, one should be established. I suggested one called MacAdam State Park which would link all the blacktop highways and parking lots in the state into one seamless, easily traveled family playground.

As my hometown, Middletown, CT, muddles through a study of how to solve its parking problem, my fear of the shroud of blacktop only intensifies. It's a complicated problem. At important times in our core city, there simply are not enough parking spaces to encourage drivers to visit our Main Street retailers, restaurants and businesses.

The immediate impetus for these thoughts is a development which is currently moving through approvals in town. On the corner of Main and Liberty Streets a developer has proposed a retail and business development. The problem is that it while it has the benefit of bringing appealing retail and a handsomely designed building to an abandoned corner, it has the negative effect of displacing an historically significant building (9 Liberty St, which is fully inventoried building on the National Register of Historic Structures, and was the former Methodist Chapel), replacing it with blacktop surface parking, and placing a surface parking lot on Main Street where a building should be. In addition, the entrance to the lot creates a car vs. pedestrian hazard.

The are several factors which complicate our city's problems:

- a highway (Rte. 9) which runs alongside the Connecticut River, and which is the only such divided highway complete with two traffic lights, just West of downtown. This highway carries the bulk of auto traffic from the North, to our city and to the river and shoreline towns. It also separates the city from the river
- a state DOT determined to eliminate the highway traffic lights, and build an interchange which will likely have a huge negative impact on neighborhoods bordering downtown
- a state DOT, which has ruinously and recklessly widened a main city thoroughfare, Washington St. (Rte. 66), encouraging more cars to pass through our burdened Main Street
- a lack of efficient mass transit
- a foolhardy embrace of surface parking lots by planners, retailers, business owners and, yes, every citizen who loves his or her car (which is nearly every citizen)
- a citizenry which would rather amputate its legs than walk the 100 yards from a centralized parking lot
- a municipal, state and federal government that doesn't really have the resources to solve the problem the right way, so is satisfied to solve it the expedient way
- a neighboring university which seems to have a passion for asphalt and surface parking which matches its passion for education

I am no innocent. I drive on highways, and park in a surface lot in Hartford every day. So, this is where the "we" comes in. We all need to work together to find solutions. My friend, architect and city planner, Catherine Johnson is always whispering revolutionary design ideas in my ears. Others, I've stumbled on in my research of the issue.

Here are some thoughts:

- Less surface lots. Especially less surface lots facing main pedestrian walkways. They are visually unexciting, virtually useless for pedestrians and dangerous if entrances cross pedestrian sidewalks. Lots facing sidewalks should be reserved for retail and residential.
- Alternative to surface lots, like smartly designed garages, on-street parking, alley systems
- Pocket parking lots hidden in the center of city blocks behind buildings
- More streets - this one seems counter-intuitive but a greater number of narrower, streets with sidewalks help traffic flow, provide space for on-street parking (both sides), encourages foot traffic, and calms (slows down) existing traffic and it encourages bike traffic
- Alternative transportation - a lot has been said about this, but not enough done. From bikes to light rail, there are some many better ways to travel than by car.

Thanks to Catherine Johnson and Jennifer Saines for their efforts to prevent development which has an immediate positive impact, but creates bigger long-term problems.