Parking lots shut? No problem

Friday, June 24, 2005

By TOM MEAGHER

Patrolman Arsenio Sanchez directs traffic away from the closed parking lot at Ward and Hamilton streets Thursday.

There was no gridlock, no screaming commuters and no parking catastrophes when the city closed hundreds of parking spaces Thursday in the heart of the city's government and business offices.

Thursday marked the first of three days during which officials will test the parking plans that will be used when the downtown Center City construction project finally commences on two city-owned parking lots.

Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres arrived early to monitor the flow of cars past the closed Ward Street parking lots. Steve Valiotis, who brought the financial backing to the Center City Partners developers, stood with Torres about 8:30 a.m. to watch Paterson police officers direct cars toward the garage at Ward Street and Memorial Drive.

"No traffic, nothing," Valiotis said. "I'm surprised."

The mayor concurred, "We're doing good."

As one of the last steps before construction can begin, the Center City Partners must test and refine the parking plan that must also accommodate county, state and federal workers and those with business at the County Courthouse a block away on Hamilton Street.

Thursday night, the project went before the Passaic County Planning Board for review.

In a city with a dearth of downtown parking, many observers expected the closure of the Ward Street lots to stress the traffic grid beyond capacity. There were incidents of drivers honking in frustration and backups a block long outside the Ward Street garage, but the officials were mostly relieved by the test. Tony Perez, the parking authority's executive director, also surveyed the lines waiting to enter the garage.

"We'll see what tomorrow brings," Perez said Thursday afternoon. "We're very pleased overall."

Nitin Shukla works for the county and parks every day in the Ward Street garage. The line to enter did not bother him much.

"Today is a little hectic," said Shukla. "For me, I have a permit. My parking is secure."

Back near the entrance to the parking lots, workers erected a sign that read "Now Leasing" and featured a diagram of the layout of the Center City building. Nick Tsapatsaris, managing partner for the Center City Partners, monitored the traffic along Ward Street.

As he stood in front of the lot, Denise Gonzalez, whose Mountain Development Corp. manages the Hudson United Bank office building next to the lots, walked up to inquire about the parking plans and the valets who parked many of the cars in the nearby garage.

Although the city had notified her company, which in turn notified the businesses in the building, she said several tenants were still angry about the parking changes.

"They don't like the idea of valet parking. This building has a lot of visitors," Gonzalez said.

Tsapatsaris said that several kinks in the parking plan needed to be worked out by improving signs to alternate garages and adding more crossing guards to direct pedestrians and parkers.

The developer will meet on Tuesday with the city, the parking authority and county officials to assess the three-day test. Once everyone agrees that the new parking scheme will be adequate, the developer can begin to put up Jersey barriers and fencing around the lot.

"Those barriers will go up very quick. The fence will go up very quick," Tsapatsaris said. "Then we dig."

Reach Tom Meagher |(973) 569-7152 or meagher@northjersey.com.

Reproduced with permission of North Jersey Media Group