View Larger Map
WESTFIELD – The Off-street Parking Commission has requested the Law and Engineering departments to conduct research on Main Street property that may be city-owned land which could be used for a municipal parking lot.
The commission is investigating the possibility that a strip of land in the Walgreens lot may in fact be city property which would enable the commission to establish municipal off-street parking. The commercial building now occupied by Walgreens drug store was formerly a Rocky’s hardware store and is owned by the Falcone group. The building was originally the First National supermarket.
Parking Coordinator Denise Carey said the city began to look for options when merchants in the storefronts across Main Street began asking for solutions to their limited on-street parking.
“The motion by the Off-street (Parking) Commission was to ask the Law Department to review the (deed and tittle) documents to see if we designate it as off-street parking,” Carey said.
The area appears to be able to accommodate between seven and 10 spaces, Carey said, and the Engineering Department has been asked to also research the title and determine the number of spaces that could be established.
“The additional space would alleviate the shortage of on-street parking and provide longer-term parking for the patrons of those shops,” Carey said. “The shop owners all have different (parking duration) needs and there are only four on-street spaces. The bakery wants short term on-street parking, while the pet grooming and beauty shop owners want longer term on-street parking.”
Community Development Director Peter J. Miller Jr., said that because of the recently completed Main Street reconstruction project there is “fresh” right-of-way documentation.
“When we did the Main Street reconstruction we had the right of way and submit documents,” Miller said. “We’ve asked (City Engineer) Mark (Cressotti) to research the MassDOT (Massachusetts Department of Transportation) surveys because that deed research is so fresh.”
Miller said the city’s GIS system show that a section of the parking lot “appears to be on city property” and that the Law Department was requested to “research (the deed) history to see if there is a possibility of creating municipal off-street parking.”
Miller said that the off-street municipal parking would be a partial solution to meet the needs of the six businesses.
“The on-street parking is so limited,” Miller said. “And getting a consensus is difficult because of the different business models.”
Ward 2 City Councilor Brian S. Winters could not be reached for comment.
