Portsmouth has changed a lot since the 1990s, but one thing hasn’t changed: a city-wide debate over where to construct a second parking garage.
Various studies, committees, and councils have been working on the issue for some 25 years. In 2012, a plan to build a new parking garage in the Worth Lot ultimately failed, and support for a second garage became a significant issue in the 2013 city council race.
It may be an issue in the 2015 council race, as well. On Monday, May 4, the council will hold a public hearing on bonding $23.1 million for a new 600-space, six-story parking garage at 165 Deer St., the current home of Gary’s Beverages. After the hearing, councilors will vote on bonding for the project. At least six of the nine councilors have to approve the project, and with only days to go, it’s unclear whether the project will pass.
Jason Boucher, who runs the Portsmouth Parking Problems blog and Facebook group has been drumming up support with pro-garage stickers and a social media campaign. He’s also compiling a survey he plans to take to the council on May 4.
“Of all the people who’ve filled it out, 12 people said (they don’t support the garage) and the rest of the 200 said they support the garage,” Boucher said. “It’s been really positive.”
Meanwhile, Portsmouth Now, a nonprofit group “dedicated to protecting the character of Portsmouth amid a growth explosion,” has come out against the Deer Street garage.
Payment plan
Since February, councilors have been looking at a plan presented by city manager John Bohenko for a 600-space, six-story parking garage. Deer Street Associates owns the land, and the garage would be part of a public/private partnership with the city. Plans call for liner buildings that could include office and retail space and micro-apartments.
As part of the plan, rates for the existing High Hanover garage would increase from $1 to $1.25 per hour. The Deer Street garage would cost $1 per hour. Parking rates for city spaces would increase from $1.50 to $2 an hour for high-occupancy spaces and from $1 to $1.50 for other spaces. Monthly pass rates for the High Hanover garage would also increase — from $110 to $150 for 12-hour monthly passes and from $135 to $175 for 24-hour monthly passes. Passes for the Deer Street garage would be $100 for a 12-hour monthly pass and $125 for a 24-hour monthly pass.
The High Hanover Parking Garage was built in 1985.
According to Bohenko, revenue from the new garage and increased rates will not only cover the cost of the garage but will also send about $300,000 back to the city’s general fund in 2017, with that amount increasing to almost $560,000 in 2021.
Another option?
Earlier this month, councilors Esther Kennedy, Zelita Morgan, and Jack Thorsen proposed an alternate garage plan — cutting the number of spaces in the Deer Street garage by half, using the cost savings to purchase the former Frank Jones Center (which currently is not for sale) on Route 1 for use as a parking area, and using a shuttle service to transport riders into downtown.
Councilor Jack Thorsen said he’s in favor of the Deer Street garage, but, “at the moment, I’m very concerned that residents are overpaying. … I had a little bit of sticker shock when I saw the numbers.”
The alternate plan takes the $23 million that would go to the Deer Street garage and “expands it to really solve all of our problems, or at least the majority of them, versus only one problem,” Kennedy said. The current plan “doesn’t cover employee parking — people who are making minimum wage or above and need to park in our city. All these additional employees in all these additional buildings can’t afford to park in the city,” Kennedy said.
But Mayor Robert Lister said the plan for the 600-space Deer Street garage is the “only plan on the table.” The alternate plan “is not a viable alternate and it’s not something we’re pursuing,” he said. According to Lister, he’s received some 180 emails about the garage, and only a “handful” are opposed to the Deer Street plan. “If there aren’t enough votes, I think it’ll be a sad day for parking in Portsmouth,” he said.
Getting the votes
Councilor Jim Splaine said he’s not sure how Monday’s vote will go. “I think it’s very important for people to call their city councilors, write their city councilors, and attend the public hearing,” he said. “I’m hopeful we’ll find six votes willing to say yes to this. If we don’t, what I fear … is the pressure will be greater than ever to develop the Worth Lot.”
It’s unclear if those votes are there. Six councilors — Lister, Splaine, Eric Spear, Stefany Shaheen, Christine Dwyer, and Brad Lown — have publicly stated support for the Deer Street garage plan. However, Lown may recuse himself from the vote due to a potential conflict of interest. Lown, an attorney, did probate work for Kim Rogers, a trustee of Deer Street Associates, which is selling the land for the garage to the city.
“I think we need more parking. But the question is how do we get (it without) making it cost residents an arm and a leg.”
— city councilor Jack Thorsen
Although the vote is on the bonding and not a final design, “this is the big vote,” according to Spear. “There are a lot of decisions to be made in terms of details, and those will be done in a collaborative fashion, but this is the vote that really matters.”
Spear is in favor of the new garage — in the short term, it will reduce traffic congestion and alleviate parking problems downtown, and in the long term, it will lead to other benefits, he said. “When you have public investments like that, if you do it right, private investment follows and you have improvements across the board,” Spear said.
Though the project’s hefty price tag is a concern, other factors are at play. “There are people who think we don’t have a parking problem, and I can’t say anything to that, and I’m not in that camp,” Thorsen said. “I think we need more parking. But the question is how do we get (it without) making it cost residents an arm and a leg.”
According to Spear, another parking garage indicates the city’s character is changing, and some people are resistant to that change.
“(There is) a legitimate argument, though I disagree with it, that people don’t want Portsmouth to change or grow, and one way (to do that) is to limit the amount of parking you provide. I think that’s shortsighted,” he said.
Top of page: The current home of Gary’s Beverages on Deer Street could soon be the site of a new parking garage.