Starting tomorrow, Market St.Garage will cost $3 at night
By JASON LEFFERTS
Sun Staff
This story appeared in the Lowell Sun May 22, 2002
LOWELL Night parking at the Market Street garage
will cost $3 starting tomorrow, as the city uses the
new fee to defer the expenses associated with
upgraded safety measures.
After hearing consistent complaints about the
garage, and with the summer approaching, when
more people use the garage during weekend
evenings, City Manager John Cox unveiled the fee
and plans for a larger police presence in the
downtown garage in time for the Memorial Day
weekend.
"The reason for this presence is not to set examples
but to change behavior," Cox said at last night's City
Council meeting. "We will not tolerate another
summer like last year. We think this is going to help
the businesses downtown, and preserve the safety
of the people who live downtown and use the
garage."
Cox said four police officers will be stationed in the
garage between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., Thursday
through Sunday, walking through the building and
staying with the gate attendant. Cox said police
officers will be looking for public drinking and
urination, fighting and other issues.
Revenues from the fee Cox said the garage sees as
many as 400 cars in an evening will be used to offset
the cost of increased patrols. Monthly-pass holders, many of whom live
downtown, would not be subjected to the new fee. Currently, the garage
is free in the evening.
The new effort at the Market Street garage is the first in what Cox said
will be a series of moves to improve security at all of the city's garages. In recent months, it has become a priority for the administration and for the
City Council.
The current maintenance and security contracts for the garages expire
next month, and city officials have said new contracts will include better
upkeep and safety in the garages.
Security became a bigger issue two weeks ago, when a Lowell High
School administrator was nearly seriously injured when a metal grate
thrown from an upper level landed on his car and narrowly missed hitting
him. The incident caused councilors to demand better security, and they
hope the new measures at Market Street will be a start.
"I think safety's been a concern for some time, and I'm glad to hear police
are going to get involved," Councilor Bill Martin said. "I've heard
numerous complaints about the weekend."
With the contracts about to expire, Cox said the additional officers at
Market Street are part of what will be a "fundamental change" in how the
city handles the garages. With the contracts expiring next month, the
door will be open for the city to make wholesale adjustments to its
operations.
City officials have been considering creating a parking authority that
would independently run the garages outside the city's purview. With just
six weeks before the contracts run out, however, the city has little time to
put together a board to take over.
Instead, Cox said he anticipates the city will put out a bid request in the
next week for both the maintenance and security contracts, perhaps for
just one-year deals, with the city then putting an authority together.
Cox said the city's future plans are up in the air, but one certainty is that
the Police Department will play a larger role in the garages.
"What we envision is a (contracted) company that is much more involved
with the police on a day-to-day basis," Cox said.
Jason Lefferts' e-mail address is jlefferts@lowellsun.com .
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