WESTFIELD – The city’s Gas Light District, an area bounded by Court, Elm, Franklin and Washington Streets, will be undergoing significant water and gas utilities renovations this year, including improvements to on and off-street parking, as well as to sanitary sewer systems.
Pavement and sidewalk reconstruction, traffic signs and pavement markings are also slated, as well as street and pedestrian lighting improvements.city website.
Summer, Spring, Arnold, Church, School, and Central streets are all listed as arteries which will be impacted by the renovations. A new street will be created through the Arnold Street municipal parking lot, as an offset from Summer Street, that will cut through between Church and School streets.
Restaurateurs such as Laurie Varelas of The Good Table Restaurant on School Street are trying to stay optimistic about the changes.
“It’s going to get harder for us. I’ve informed my staff ‘budget accordingly,'” said Varelas. “Parking is a major issue now. It is going to get even harder for our customers. Hopefully our reputation speaks for itself and people will still come down and support The Good Table.”
Wings Over Westfield owner Harold Tramazzo is confident that his new venture will overcome any construction-related headaches.
“I think we’ll be fine,” he said yesterday. “There are enough people here. (The Hangar) is a name, and I think there are enough people who know who we are.”
Tramazzo stated that the renovations and improvements are a step in the right direction.
“By the end of three years, with the garage coming in, there will be tons of parking. It’ll be easy to get in and out,” he said, adding that the city will also be beautifying the parking lot with a proposed pocket park area.
Gianni Calabrese, owner of Emma’s Everyday Gourmet, located on the corner Washington and Arnold Streets, has seen plenty of roadwork done in the neighborhood over the past few years.
“Of course it worries me,” he said. “The roads will be messed up. There will be a lot of dust. But as long as people can access the parking lot… It’s just a matter of doing it right.”
Calabrese said that his father-in-law had a restaurant which fell victim to roadwork and renovations.
“He had a restaurant, Piccolo’s, that went out of business,” he said. “It had no parking lot, and the roadwork really affected it.”
With the work slated to begin soon, Varelas is bracing her business for the double whammy of street renovations and already limited parking.
“I’ve been monitoring everything that goes out the door,” she said. “Portion control, which is what we’ve been doing from the beginning, not wasting product so I can keep my prices down.”
She also wishes that the city would rid the parking lot behind the restaurant of the planters which keep it from reaching it’s full potential.
“If we could take the islands out and have one huge municipal lot for all the surrounding businesses, it would be cheaper for plowing, beneficial for customers coming downtown,” Varelas said. “We are still very limited (in terms of parking).”
