City Approves Parking Changes

by Nicole Reome | July 16, 2008 7:43 am

FULTON, NY – The city of Fulton has officially authorized changes to the parking times allowed in the downtown lot 5 parking lot.

Situated next to the Tavern on the Lock restaurant, the parking lot has permitted all day parking for more than a decade in all 56 available spaces. Tuesday evening, the council hosted a public hearing on the proposed changes to place two-hour parking restrictions on the 32 spaces along the perimeter of the lot.

“Since urban renewal, parking has been an issue,” Mayor Ronald Woodward said.

Woodward said that as the businesses in the downtown area have transitioned to more service related than retail, the city has had difficulties maintaining available spots for retail traffic and for the employee base.

“When we look at retail, we try to keep some for retail,” Woodward said. “But we still have to put (employees) somewhere. … Unfortunately, people want convenience.”

Scott Clark, one of the owners of the former Brickhouse tavern, commended the city for its efforts to maintain the two-hour parking rules for downtown. He pointed out, however, that there are 15 employees in his building that need to be able to have places to park, too.

“If we have to make accommodations, I am all for it,” Clark said. “But there also has to be accommodations for the employees. (They have) a reasonable expectation to be able to park their cars all day.”

Clark asked how many spaces are available in the downtown parking lot that is seated across Oneida Street. The council answered 22. With the number of employees at businesses like Eastern Shore Associates, the HSBC bank, the restaurant and the businesses in his building, Clark said there could be problems using that lot, as well.

“I don’t know what the magic number is,” Clark added. “I’m not sure that the current retail demand needs 25 more spaces down there.”

Woodward pointed out that the city is working to fill in extra space in the lot across Oneida Street for additional employee parking. He said the new space will likely be paved next year.

In addition to those efforts, Woodward noted that the city had lines for an additional cross walk added to the intersection at Oneida and South First streets Tuesday and had extra time added to the light to give people more time to cross the road.

An HSBC bank official pointed out that for some, parking across Oneida Street is not a comfortable situation for security reasons. She noted that employees are occasionally at the bank until into the evening.

“Walking over to an unsecure lot with no lighting is a problem,” she said.

Woodward noted that the city can make changes for lighting and is taking steps to clear out the area to enhance safety.

“Before the summer is over, there will be no place to hide,” he said.

Don Ryan, owner of the Tavern on the Lock, said his employees are already directed to use the lot across Oneida Street. A lack of spaces, he said, has had a significant negative affect on lunch traffic at his restaurant.

“I would still be helpful for all of those people who park in the center to walk across,” Ryan said.

Ryan pointed out that once new business opens at the former Wayne’s Drugs, parking could become an issue with the additional demand for spaces. He also encouraged the city to maintain enforcement of the time changes.

“We are all for enforcement of the lot,” Ryan said. He noted that if his employees were ticketed for parking in lot 5, it could even cost them their job.

“That’s how strong we feel about this,” he said.

Several residents approached the council to point out their own observations of the parking lot activities. In addition Third Ward Alderman Robert Weston noted that he and aldermen Tom Kenyon and Dana Smith spent a morning watching the lot this past week. By 10 a.m., Weston pointed out that there are limited parking spaces available.

Weston said some question why the lot is a problem now when it hadn’t been when the restaurant was under different ownership. He said the answer lies in the changes in the dynamic of the downtown business community.

“The dynamic has changed,” Weston said. “We have businesses that we didn’t have then. What we are trying to do is balance downtown between the customers and the employees. … We just noticed that parking lot fills up in a hurry.”

Smith pointed out that there is a permit parking lot near the Salvation Army that is supposed to be used by downtown employees. While the traffic department has issued several permits for the lot, Smith said it is widely underused.

“Maybe that is another suggestion,” Smith said.

“We’ve been dealing with this for years,” Woodward said of the parking problems. “It is never going to go away. It is not going to go away tonight. … We try to accommodate everyone as best we can.”

The council voted to approve the changes, placing a two-hour restriction on the 32 spaces on the exterior of lot 5. That rule will be enforced from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day. The interior 24 spaces will remain all-day parking.

The changes also included making lot 3 — the city parking lot across Oneida Street — an employee parking lot for the same time frame.

Weston and Smith both noted that the city will continue to monitor the situation. If a need for change arises, they said the matter could be revisited.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/fulton/city-approves-parking-changes/

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