March 18, 2019
By Mickey Friedman
In the hope that perseverance furthers, again. I live in an apartment in downtown Great Barrington. There’s a zoning bylaw that exempts landlords from having to provide parking for their tenants.
And because we have limited parking and parking tickets, downtown tenants spend time each day trying to find safe spots. If you have a prized space in the morning but have to drive to the doctor’s or to work or shopping, you know you may end up circling a block or two only to end up in a two hour spot. And start all over again.
So several times I’ve proposed a simple parking permit for neighborhood residents that exempts us from tickets. Or the creation of specially designated permit parking.
It’s easy. Here’s what they do in Northampton, Massachusetts: “To qualify for a resident parking permit you must be a homeowner or resident of Kensington Ave … You must bring proof of residency such as your driver’s license, utility bill, rental lease, etc. There is a limit of two permits per household at a cost of $25 per permit per year.” Change Kensington Avenue to Castle Street or Main Street or Railroad Street. Design a simple sticker that says Residential Parking Permit. Problem solved.
Then for everyone who works or visits and shops in Great Barrington, I’ve urged the Town to apply for state monies to underwrite some of the costs of building either a municipal parking garage or parking lot.
Part of the problem is we don’t seem to acknowledge we have a parking problem. Just like we want to pretend that it’s safe for pedestrians to cross our streets.
We’re so convinced everything is fine we allowed the Commonwealth to sacrifice a bunch of prime parking spaces during downtown redevelopment. Gone with a whole bunch of downtown idiosyncrasy, quirkiness, our canopy, and charm
Which brings us to the pot part of the equation. I’ll admit I don’t quite understand why we need five marihuana dispensaries. But I’m guessing we’re about to transform our/my significant parking problem into a full-blown disaster. Why have we granted permits to the pot shops in the very heart of downtown when everybody knows how hard it is to find parking spaces? Especially during tourist time. We already know pot shops will attract enthusiastic customers willing anxious even to drive many miles to the pot promised land.
I may not indulge, but I get Twitter alerts from Theory Wellness to see what’s up. It appears there’s been at least an hour’s wait from hour one. They’re so popular, they repeatedly urge customers to park at Barrington Brewery.
So, can someone tell me where the many patrons of the soon-to-be pot shop nestled by our toy stores are going to park? The Co-op? The bank? The top of Railroad Street? Nope, because the patrons of the other new upper Railroad Street pot shop a block and a half away will already have scored those spots. Maybe even sleeping in their cars overnight for a primo spot on line.
And where exactly will the patrons of our downtown pot shops be waiting their turn? Wandering Main Street, browsing amongst the five, six, seven, and eight year olds anxious to spend their birthday money on toys, Waldorf and otherwise?
Is the line of the Railroad Street special blend afficianados going to snake around and collide with the lines we see each summer for the early bird lunch and dinner enthusiasts waiting outside the new Baba Louie’s?
Sorry, I forgot. There are all those parking spots for The Triplex. What magic spell do merchants use to meet our requirement for parking. You think maybe some spaces have been used by multiple applicants?
For folks who live here 24/7/365 and can’t hail the nonexistent multiple many-colored north/south jitneys and still need a car to make it south to Big Y, Guido’s, the doctors, or north to the shops on the other side of town, where will we/they park. As it is, we compete with the hard-working people who drive here from out-of-town to their jobs. We compete with the weekend opera/theater lovers who drive the streets an hour early, shark-like, desperate for a space. Our lives made worse when the Selectmen allow the Mahaiwe to reserve ten spots for the buses and the roadies.
Now imagine all the out-of-towners who’ve driven a couple of hours to get wasted here in Pot Paradise only to discover there’s no place to park?
Just how many cars can double park on Railroad Street?
Maybe Cumberland Farms will discover they can make more money renting out parking than selling coffee?
My friend Michael wonders how long will it take Big Y and Guidos to hire paint ball snipers to mark parking space pilferers? I worry about our friends at Barrington Bagel dealing with those who park and buy an onion bagel to go, then walk to nirvana.