Thursday, December 14, 2000 Older Editions

Parking solutions offered: Finegold calls on leaders to move town yard

By Rebecca Piro

While several ideas to improve parking conditions at the downtown Andover train station are being suggested by those who have studied the site, the town has not decided what track it will take.

But State Rep. Barry Finegold is issuing a challenge to the town to move the town yard and use that space for parking and retail space.

Barry Finegold: Fears inaction.

"The easiest thing to do is to do nothing, and I fear we are going to do nothing," says Finegold, who later added "that's not leadership.

"There are solutions out there," he says. "I hope the town takes the long-term view. I think the worst thing we can do is to keep the status quo."

Selectmen will meet with MVRTA representatives on Monday, Dec. 18, when Administrator Joe Costanzo will present the regional authority's suggestions for improvement at the Lawrence and Andover rail stations.

Selectmen will also have in their hands the final reports from three teams of MIT graduate students, who spent the last semester studying what they call the triangle area - land between North Main Street, Essex Street and the Shawsheen River, including the Andover train station.

While the studies approach the Andover train station from different angles, both indicate the biggest problem facing the area is the parking crunch caused by the many commuters flocking to the rail station lot.

MIT students suggest building a three- or four-story garage at the current town yard site, with parking on the upper levels and retail on the bottom two. That change would ease some of the parking crunch and improve the aesthetic condition of Railroad Street, they say.

Costanzo, the MVRTA administrator, disagrees that a four-story parking garage is the best solution to the parking crunch. Not only would a looming building be unattractive, but it is more appropriate for a city than a suburb, he says.

"A (four-story) parking garage there just doesn't fit," says Costanzo. "It would damage the neighborhood there... from an urban design point of view."

Instead, Costanzo's MVRTA proposes a two-level parking deck to be constructed over the current town yard, located off Pearson and Lewis Streets. The town yard could still operate from beneath the parking structure. MVRTA's other suggestion is that a two-level parking deck be constructed on the current commuter-lot site.

The MVRTA's plans also include minor parking additions to the Ballardvale station and the construction of a major parking facility in Lawrence.

But a parking structure over the town yard doesn't appeal to Public Works Director Jack Petkus.

"I'm not saying it can't be done," he says. "(But) right now, we're tight for space, and anything that takes away maneuvering room is going to be a problem for us."

The number of columns that would be needed to support the parking deck, and the height that would be necessary to squeeze the DPW equipment underneath, would make the project a difficult one, Petkus says.

Petkus would rather see the town act on an idea that has been suggested for a long time, and is supported by Finegold -- to move the town yard from its current location to a new one, and take it out of the equation. However, that option has its own challenges.

Recently, the town considered four or five relocation sites for the town yard, including the old dump off Ledge Road, a site off Ballardvale Road and a location off Routes 125 and 28. But in each case the results were the same - none of the residents wanted it in their neighborhood.

"No one wants it in their backyard," Petkus says.

"I think the town should move the town yard to another location, and we should build a full facility there," which would include parking and retail stores, Finegold says.

"Not only would it solve the problem of commuter-rail parking, but it would also solve (the problem of) downtown parking," he adds.

Finegold wants to see the selectmen take firm action on the MVRTA options before them.

"We're never going to have a full consensus on anything we do," he says. "These are quality-of-life issues. We have a lot of people that choose to live in Andover because they can commute into Boston. It's not going to be easy, but we need to come together to find (a) solution."

Resident and architect Bill Holt, who attended the MIT students' presentation, agrees that parking is one of the biggest problems facing Railroad Street.

"I am a commuter, and I gave up and (started taking) the bus," he said.

However, Holt disagrees that structured parking is the solution.

"(Garages) tend to be kind of creepy places after hours," he says. They are also a very urban solution - and the town should preserve its suburban feel, he adds.

Instead, Holt wonders if anyone had ever considered moving the rail station to the opposite side of Essex Street.

While the student groups say they have not entertained the possibility, Costanzo says that MVRTA thought about it and then turned it down.

"I think we looked at (that alternative), but there was something about the site that made us move away from that," such as environmental concerns, says Costanzo. "It didn't jump out at us as an alternative."

If there are to be some improvements anytime soon, the next step is for selectmen to decide what they want to do with the proposals, says Costanzo. He will meet with the board on Monday, Dec. 18 to review the MVRTA's suggestions.

"Really, the selectmen just have to decide if they want to pursue this," says Costanzo.

Planning Director Steve Colyer, who is also a board member for the MVRTA study, wants to wait and see what Lawrence says about MVRTA's plans before he supports any parking solutions in Andover, whether from the MVRTA or the students.

"I want to see how Lawrence reacts to the (plan) before I would move forward on supporting structured parking," Colyer says.

The selectmen will also have the choice of deciding what to do with the students' suggestions, says Town Manager Buzz Stapczynski.

The board will have to decide whether to use the plans just as groundwork, or as a guiding principle in some real changes. There may be an opportunity to combine the MVRTA's suggestions and the students' plans, he adds.