BERLIN – Town officials are exploring ways to increase parking in the downtown area.
Town Administrator Laura Allen said this week that she had approached officials from Buckingham Presbyterian Church to discuss the possibility of leasing the church’s large parking lot on Main Street. In the meantime, local merchants and their employees are being asked to use the town’s less visible parking areas so the spaces closest to the commercial district are available for visitors.
“To a certain extent we’re asking folks to manage parking more than they have in the past,” Allen said.
According to Allen, staff at town hall park not in the adjacent public lot but rather down the street at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. She said that practice had been implemented some time ago to ensure that visitors to town hall could find a space in the nearby parking lot. She said that merchants and their employees could do the same thing by parking on the periphery of the commercial district.
“We’re asking business owners and their employees to show our guests that same courtesy,” she said. “We’re just trying to manage parking differently.”
While some have suggested a parking garage as the solution to Berlin’s lack of available parking, Allen says she does not see that as a valid solution.
“I don’t think the town could bear the expense,” she said. “That would be taking a sledgehammer to a problem that could use a scalpel.”
As the lack of available parking became more pronounced this summer, the town started asking guests to park at Stephen Decatur Park, particularly during special events. Ivy Wells, Berlin’s economic development director, said that proved to be helpful.
“Directing people to Stephen Decatur Park has worked extremely well,” she said.
The town also offers parking and a shuttle service from Berlin Intermediate School during large events. During last Saturday’s Small Town ThrowDown, a well-attended, first-time event, 70 people rode the shuttle, Wells said.
She’s hopeful that the town will be able to secure an agreement to give the public access to additional downtown parking in the coming months.
“We’re still negotiating,” she said, “but we’ve heard the cry and we’re working to remedy it.”
