Friday, November 9, 2018
Vol. 95, No.8
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Mamma Mia! PAGE 38 n Cathedral campout PAGE 56
Chamber disapproves of paid parking suggestion
LONGEST WINNING STREAK
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
Garden City High School's Varsity Football team broke the Nassau County record for consecutive winning streak when it won its 33rd consecutive game on November 2nd. The Trojans beat Valley Stream Central 35-14.
LIRR Third Track construction project will not use Village park space BY RIKKI N. MASSAND At the Village Board’s November 1 meeting Mayor Brian Daughney announced that there would not be a second presentation regarding a controversial request to use Village of Garden City parkland as part of the preliminary phases of the LIRR Third Track project. When it was proposed by
Third Track Constructors (3TC) at the October 4 Board meeting it faced strong opposition. At least a dozen residents who live nearby or on Kildare Road, Wickham Road, Main Avenue attended the October 4 Board meeting and made public comments to the Board opposing the use of Tullamore Park. Others questioned the proposal to use the Cow (of Merillon Avenue,
with its strip of green between Nassau Boulevard to Herricks Road backing up to the LIRR’s right-of-way) as a staging area for heavy construction equipment and deliveries of materials. Some Garden City parents feared for their children’s play and recreation areas. A month later 3TC cancelled its presentation that was part of See page 47
The Garden City Board of Trustees heard a long-anticipated presentation about parking in Garden City’s commercial district during its November 1st meeting. Lauren Rennée of consulting firm BFJ Planning, a transportation and parking planner, led the presentation at Village Hall and surprised several attendees with comments on the pros of adding paid parking in downtown village lots. Just over a year ago, at its meeting on October 19, 2017, the Board of Trustees awarded a $38,130 contract to BFJ for its parking study of downtown Garden City business districts including 7th Street and its Franklin Avenue T-zone, including the 7th Street/Hilton Avenue intersection as well as the village’s New Hyde Park Road commercial strip. The original request for this study came from the village’s Planning Commission in 2017, and BFJ Planning presented their draft report to the Commission this September. Many of the suggestions by BFJ Planning left some elected officials baffled and unable to agree with them. BFJ concluded that there should be paid parking in effect in the village’s downtown, and that could be done with “new technologies that are user-friendly.” “Parking payment systems should allow users to pay by phone via parking apps as
well as by cash or credit cards. Enforcement should include license plate readers that can automatically verify duration and payment. Wayfinding and signage should clearly communicate when and where users can park,” the BFJ report states. Trustee Louis Minuto, who grew up in Garden City, said the possibility of adding paid parking, parking meters or promoting the use of a parking smartphone or tablet mobile app to pay for parking in business districts “may be a fundamental shift, a cultural change that I am not sure this village is ready to make.” Trustee Robert Bolebruch said there is a great system in the Jersey Shore town he vacations in, Cape May, and the parking app is a convenient way to see how much time is left and to add payments for additional time, using a credit card linked to the app. BFJ Planning drew some ire from attendees and Board members at the November 1 meeting with the suggestion that Lot 7S could best be remedied by adding paid parking and a system of gated entries, and the license plate readers for parking enforcement. Currently the GCPD squad cars have the use of license plate readers for speed or crime enforcement monitoring activities, but the police’s parking enforcement division does not have them. Mayor Brian Daughney told See page 47
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armistice PAGE 34 Swimming & Diving team wins County Championship PAGES 64-65