TRUSTEES TAKE 2 STEPS BACK
ON EXPANDING PAID PARKING
COOPERSTOWN – The trustees tonight unanimously took the first step backwards – two steps back, in fact – after years of what seemed to be the inexorable forward march of paid parking in the Village of Cooperstown.
On a motion by Streets Committee chair Cindy Falk, seconded by Deputy Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch, the Village Board removed Church Street, and River Street between Main and the Bassett Clinic, from the paid-parking expansion list. The board did vote to expand paid parking onto two streets: Fair and Chestnut, between Main and Lake streets.
The trustees removed Church Street after receiving data-driven and rhetoric-punctuated opposition from Christ Episcopal and Cooperstown Presbyterian church members, who pointed out that charging for parking would have an impact on churchgoers but, worse, on the 600-some people who use the Cooperstown Food Bank monthly and can least afford the cost.
“These people are not the people we want to get money from,” said Rick Jagels, a food bank volunteer.
“We don’t want anything to get in the way of them continuing to get services that they need,” said Sharon Oberriter, food bank president.
The Rev. Mark Michael, Christ Church rector, said paid parking on Church Street would be “an onerous burden on the life of the community.”
On River Street, a different argument emerged from neighbors who included county Judge John Lambert: That expanding paid parking will just push drivers seeking all-day parking deeper into the residential sections of the village.
“Your duty is to recognize that the residential character of the village comes first,” said Lambert, adding, “I know who you are targeting, we all do” – presumably, tourists – “what it ends up hurting is us.”
“Each street you turn into paid parking moves people into streets where there is no paid parking,” added Linden Summers, an Elk Street neighbor.
Also tonight, the trustee re-approved a tourist-accommodation law in the face of objections from Atty. Doug Zamelis, representing 2 Pine LLC. “Sunsetting is just a pretty word for taking away property rights,” the lawyer said.