$1.3 million goes to make visitor parking more green
By
Nick DiMarco
Nick@MarylandReporter.com
The city of Annapolis is spending an estimated
$1.3 million in mostly federal stimulus funds to make eco-friendly
improvements to its Gotts Court Garage and surface parking lot, though
the improvements will actually eliminate one space in parking-strapped
downtown.
Additions to
the garage include replacing asphalt with a more porous surface,
implementing rain gardens and planting vegetation on the roof of the
structure. The changes are designed to curtail storm water runoff into
the nearby Chesapeake Bay.
More than
$700,000 in federal stimulus cash will go toward the project, while the
city is spending $200,000 left over from another project on Hanover
Street.
“The
big picture in Maryland is to reduce our nitrogen pollution,” said Dawn
Stoltzfus, spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Thirty-four spots have been
temporarily eliminated from the structure at a time when parking is at a
premium during the General Assembly session. All but one surface
parking space will return when the project is done, but they will be
converted from all-day to short-term parking.
The 15 to 30 minute metered spaces are intended
to draw more traffic to the nearby visitor's center, officials say.
“We’re looking at a
long-term solution,” said Connie Del Signore, president of the Annapolis
Conference and Visitors Bureau. “It was either do it now, or do it
during the peak tourism seasons. It was the better of two evils.”
Many local business operators
along West Street say they have not felt any affect from the project,
though they complain about an unrelated increase in parking rates. But
Del. Ron George, R-Anne Arundel County, says “constant” construction in
Annapolis is affecting businesses.
“It’s just endless down here,” said George, who owns Ron
George Jewelers on Main Street. He says eliminating spaces at Gotts
doesn’t necessarily impact his business, despite fielding complaints from
customers unable to find parking in Annapolis. The city says it did its best
to reach out to the business community and held public events about the
process.
George
says businesses should be more involved in the process of deciding on
construction projects in the city.
“These projects needed to be better thought out. But the
powers that be were too anxious to meet a deadline,” he said of the ARRA
funding. “Part of this problem is that it needs to be acted on right
away.”
The surface
areas of the Gotts Court Garage are closed until April 15 with only the
Calvert Street entrance remaining accessible.