EG Town Council approves contract for parking study

East Greenwich’s Town Council recently approved the hiring of Standiol Architects of Providence for an amount not to exceed $16,850 for the design of the expansion of the Swift Community Center (see accompanying story).

The town recently received more than $660,000 from the state as part of its Learn65 Community Center

grant program to expand the center, which was originally a gym for residents’ recreation before a 1912 conversion from a gym into the current space.

The council also approved a contract for $99,542 to Pare Corp, of Lincoln for the long anticipated downtown parking study.

For a number of years residents and merchants have said there is just not enough parking in the downtown business district.

The lack of parking has forced restaurants to hire valet companies, and enter into contracts with landowners who have enough property to park customers’ vehicles.

And residents claim that this practice doesn’t leave them places to park when they want to go downtown to shop or meetings at town hall. They complain about having to park in the hill area of town leaving them to hike a distance to shop, and merchants complain about their customers and potential customers having to walk up and down the hill or driving around the town looking for a space.

In response, the council hired Pare to study parking during the summer and fall tourist season and report back in late fall or early winter.

Merchants have already suggested building a several story parking garage or installing parking meters, which would limit the amount of time folks could park downtown.

The council also agreed to a legal services contract with Savage Law Partners to help draft requests for proposals for the school district construction project and to help formulate contracts for the work.

Town voters approved a bond not to exceed $180 million for improvements to the district’s substandard schools, which are overcrowded and no longer meet state and local building codes.

In other business, the council approved a $16,000 contract with Global Industrial of Port Washington, NY for lockers at fire stations 1 and 2.

They also approved a $24,800 contract with BL Companies of Meriden, Ct., for basketball courts at Eldredge Park.