By Andrew Coen
The project, which will add around 60 parking spaces, create a centralized parking system and improve traffic flow, got under way on Monday, June 27, two weeks after the Lawrence Board of Trustees approved it. Lawrence Village officials had initially planned to start the project in early July and want to do the work in the summer months, when the lots aren't as heavily utilized, because the surrounding Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR) Middle School, the Brandies School and Rambam Mesivta High School for Boys are not in session.
The parking field between Frost Lane and Rockaway Turnpike will be redesigned, and 24 parking spaces will be added to the current 155 spots by changing the angles of the spaces from diagonal to perpendicular. The project will allow cars to exit and enter on both ends of the lot, which currently has an entrance on the western end and an exit on the eastern end.
Two parking spaces will also be added to the lot across Central Avenue, behind Super Sol Supermarket.
The first phase of the construction project will begin at the west end of south municipal parking lot between Frost Lane and Rockaway Turnpike, with work then scheduled to be done at the other end of the lot, according to the new Lawrence deputy village administrator, Dan Herron, who has previously served as building inspector, a job he will continue to do in addition to his new job. Re-surfacing work will then proceed on the eastern side of the lot, next to Frost Lane, before the meter system is installed.
Those who work in the village will be able to park their cars on the eastern side while the current re-surfacing is done and on the western side while the east side is repaired, according to Herron. "We're trying to keep as much room for cars to park as possible," said Herron.
The initial work on the south parking lot will include the widening of the entrance on Rockaway Turnpike to allow cars to be able to also exit from there, Herron said. After drainage work is completed, the conduit for the new parking surface will be laid out, resurfaced and milled before re-striping takes place to accommodate the extra spaces. Once the resurfacing is completed, the old meters will be taken out and the centralized parking system will be installed with three machines at the south lot.
The centralized system will be similar to the ones used in the villages of Rockville Centre, Hempstead and Mineola, with drivers entering their parking-space number on a computerized meter system located at the exit of the parking lot. Drivers will not have to walk back to their cars and place a ticket on the dashboard like they do under the New York City centralized parking system, according to village officials.
Refurbishing will also take place this summer at the parking lot behind Super Sol with the installation of two parking machines for the new system. Village officials are currently exploring ways to improve traffic access to the Super Sol lot by making part of the adjoining one-way William Street, two-way to allow cars to exit onto Central Avenue. But for the moment the road will stay one-way. Currently, drivers must turn left onto William Street and make a right onto Mulry Lane to take them to Washington Avenue in order to exit.
The meter system will give motorists the option to pay either by quarter, dollar bills or with a village debit card that can be obtained at Lawrence Village Hall and re-filled at the five machines that will be installed.
Village officials are planning to use the meters removed from the lots and install them on Frost Lane and on Central Avenue, adding around 27 more on-street parking spaces. Some of the new spots would be on Central Avenue in front of the former Number One School, where drivers used to be able to park until that privilege was taken away about a decade ago to allow for safer school bus drop-off, according to Lawrence Mayor Dr. Jack Levenbrown. An additional 15-20 metered parking spots may also be added next to the alleyway just off Rockaway Turnpike and Central Avenue, village officials said.
The construction work is being done by the Amityville Firm A.I.I. Allan Industries, which was recommended by the village's engineering firm Cameron Engineering and whose $394,000 bid for the project was the lowest. Nearly the entire project will be covered by grant money, with $350,000 coming from the state through the efforts of Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre). Nassau County Legislator Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside) is hoping to provide an additional $25,000 of county money for the project, according to Levenbrown. Taking into account engineering costs and extra features that will be added to the new centralized meter system, village officials estimate the total costs to be around $440,000.
In addition to re-striping the lots, officials plan to beautify the business district between Washington Avenue and Rockaway Turnpike by putting in new benches, plants and garbage pails. Levenbrown said he is hopeful that merchants will soon comply with village code and have more visible signs in front of their stores to let shoppers better familiarize themselves with the businesses the village has to offer as another way of improving the business district.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
