A newly completed parking lot received top honors this week for Outstanding Contribution to Managed Growth after covering nearly an entire downtown parcel with a tasteful blend of asphalt and painted arrows.
The project was recognized for addressing two urgent goals: reducing impervious surface and providing enough parking that nobody ever has to see another parked car.
“It is a model of balance,” said awards chair Barb D. Wire. “The surface is technically impervious, but the policy reasoning flows freely through it.”
Every space thoughtfully paved
The lot was required after residential uses were removed from nearby buildings, increasing the number of people who must drive downtown to create the foot traffic previously supplied by people who lived there.
Designers incorporated three young trees, a drainage grate and a sign depicting a bicycle. A landscaped strip separates the asphalt from another expanse of asphalt with a different owner.
The development originally included apartments above small storefronts. Reviewers praised the commercial component but worried residents might occupy spaces needed by businesses supported by downtown residents.
At the ribbon cutting, attendees walked from their cars to the center of the lot and discussed the importance of creating a more pedestrian-oriented downtown.
A broad parking solution.
Nearly broad enough to create its own drainage problem.