Possible parking garage sites in Downtown Kingston all on private property, mayor says

There are three locations in Downtown Kingston where parking garages could be built, but all are on private properties, Mayor Steve Noble says.

Noble brought up the properties during the third public forum regarding parking in the city, held Wednesday evening at the Hudson River Maritime Museum along the Rondout Creek waterfront. He said a previous city study looked at where parking could be created in the Downtown area and identified three privately owned site, including the property on Garraghan Drive across from the Kingston police headquarters.

In addition to the properties being privately owned, it would cost the city between $20,000 and $30,000 per space to build a covered garage structure, Noble said. He said, though, that the market could cause demand for a private investor to build a multiuse facility on one of those properties knowing they would get revenue from parking.

About two dozen people attended Wednesday’s forum, the final such event scheduled by the city. Following an introduction by Noble, attendees broke into three different groups to discuss such parking issues as revenue, enforcement and availability.

Noble said the information gained from the forums, as well as a parking survey that will be offered by the city, will be used by his parking work group. That group will create a draft plan to manage parking for the city.

The draft plan will be considered by the Common Council when it creates Kingston’s 2018 budget, the mayor said.

During the group discussions, Robert Burhans, president of the Maritime Museum’s Board of Trustees, noted that during his organization’s Hudson River Day on June 24, the parking spaces in the area were filled. He said even though there were shuttles being offered, some older people didn’t want to use them, instead choosing to drive by when they could not find parking.

“It was disappointing,” Burhans said.

Other attendees brought up concerns regarding the proposed Irish Cultural Center that might be constructed on Abeel Street. They questioned where parking would be provided for the new center and said that if it is just on the street, it could dramatically affect the neighborhood businesses and residents.

The developers of the Irish Cultural Center have asked for a waiver from the city Planning Board for 47 of the on-site parking spaces required for a building of its size and scope. The proposal stil isl pending before the board.

Noble noted there has been discussions about allowing parking as the primary use of vacant properties in the city. That proposal still is being considered, he said.

In another group, Jeff Hurst raised concerns about people who own boats and pay dock rental fees also having to pay for parking. He said he already pays $3,000 to rent a slip for his boat at the city-owned docks.

Hurst said he knows of five or six other boat owners who would move to a different marina if they had to pay for parking on top of slip rentals.

Jim Rodden, chairman of the city Zoning Board of Appeals and a candidate for the Common Council, said if people are going to pay to rent dock space, they should be given some free parking.

It was similar to a discussion held at the city’s second parking forum.