Lynn officials eye best parking strategies

LYNN – Two city parking lots will be repaved this weekend, but solving the long-term problem of where to park downtown will require more than heavy equipment and asphalt, city officials and business owners warned.?We need to look at the big picture downtown. There are a lot of players who need to come to the table to do this right,” said Police Chief Kevin Coppinger.Coppinger attended Wednesday?s Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce government affairs committee meeting, where chamber Executive Board Director Taso Nikolakopoulos said a consultant is studying how cities like Brockton, Salem and Cambridge provide parking that serves local businesses and is easy for visitors to find.Nikolakopoulos said downtown residents, business owners and city officials must consider an important question as they study how best to use the city?s four downtown lots and metered parking along city streets.?Do you want a parking system that makes money or a parking system that is an ambassador to the downtown?” he asked.There is no easy answer to the question.Insurance company owner Rick Wood and Nikolakopoulos said money dropped into parking meters can help pay to make downtown cleaner and safer, especially if meter money is set aside to be spent only on downtown improvements.The Off Street Parking Commission for more than a year has spent money on downtown lot improvements to provide convenient parking for diners and Veterans Memorial Auditorium concert-goers.Additional improvements planned for this weekend include paving and sealing cracks in the Andrew and Buffum Street parking lots on Oct. 13. Assistant Parking Director Robert Stilian said work crews will smooth out bumps in the two lots and fill in holes today in preparation for the paving. Parking will be allowed in both lots through the weekend.?The lots will be closed on Monday,” Stilian said.Coppinger said difficulties faced by the city Traffic Commission earlier this year to address downtown residents? parking concerns underscores the complexity of merging parking improvements into plans to draw new businesses and more visitors to downtown.He said Ward 5 City Councilor Dianna Chakoutis is studying downtown parking concerns, but he said a comprehensive study could cost $30,000 to $50,000.Nikolakopoulos said the city-by-city parking comparison will be finished by Nov. 18 with findings presented to commission members – including Nikolakopoulos. The commission oversees the Andrew and Buffum Street lots and Johnson and Ellis Street lots. All four will be paved with new striping lines and automated payments systems within a year, Nikolakopoulos said.