Officials push clean lots to entice visitors to city

LYNN – Ongoing cleanup work in city parking lots is a step in the right direction, said city officials who want to see the lots become another reason for people to come to Lynn and spend money.Taso Nikolakopoulos, chairman of the city Off Street Parking Commission, said more work needs to be done: Other Massachusetts cities operate parking lots outfitted with lighting, automated payment equipment and video surveillance systems.?We need to catch up – we?re asking visitors to come to our city,” he said.Teenagers working summer jobs under Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development Authority supervision are pulling weeds and sweeping trash out of lots on Buffum, Ellis, Johnson and Andrew streets.At Ward 5 City Councilor Dianna Chakoutis? urging, the work crews expanded their weed pulling and trash pickup efforts onto streets in the city center, including Franklin and Washington.?We?re hoping to get up to Pine Hill and onto Chase Street,” she said.Chakoutis said drivers passing through Lynn on the city?s main roads need a reminder of why they should return to the city.Cooperation between city officials and communication with downtown residents has led to parking lot improvements, Chakoutis said, with plans for lighting and automated payment systems underway.Still, she joined Nikolakopoulos in calling for a plan to provide year-round lot maintenance.With a total of more than 500 parking spaces, the lots cost a dollar a day to park in with a $45 monthly parking rate. Nikolakopoulos, a local restaurateur active in the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, said lots need surveillance security and city officials need to coordinate on-street and off-street parking plans, including ways to provide money to pay for improvements.?You have to address the basics,” he said.City Assistant Parking Director Robert Stilian said automated payment systems are planned or in place for the Buffum, Ellis and Andrew lots with lighting improvements slated the Ellis and Buffum lots.?We?re getting them up to snuff, but everything revolves around money,” Stilian said.He said repairs have been made to the Johnson Street lot fence and paving working is planned in the Johnson and Andrew lots. Nikolakopoulos said recent Johnson Street repairs were quickly followed by vandalism in the lot.?That?s why we need cameras,” he added.He said the lots need a weekly cleanup with either city employees or a contractor doing the work. Chakoutis said it is difficult to keep lots clean – a thorough cleanup followed by a rain storm or high winds can leave lots trash-covered and mud-streaked.