Dwight neighbors revved up concerns about increased parking and traffic from Yale New Haven Hospitals planned new neuroscience center and renovated Saint Raphael Campus while a hospital spokesperson pointed out that the many new patients, doctors, staff, and visitors for the nearly $1 billion project will have to park somewhere.

Neighborhood historic preservationist Olivia Martson led the charge against the hospitals proposed parking plan Tuesday night during the regular monthly meeting of the Dwight Community Management Team in the Amistad Middle School gymnasium on Edgewood Avenue.

That parking plan is to support the prospective new $838 million neuroscience center and St. Raphael campus renovation that YNHH is looking to build out over the next five years on the blocks bounded by Chapel Street, Sherman Avenue, George Street, and Orchard Street.

In three 4-1 votes, commissioners voted to pass along a favorable report to the Board of Alders for a proposed amendment to the Medical Area Overall Parking Plan (MAOPP), a proposed amendment to the city ordinance text and maps that describe the St. Raphael campuss Planned Development District (PDD), and a proposed license agreement for the construction of a new pedestrian bridge over Orchard Street.

Holding up a 2008 map of New Haven speckled red and yellow with all of the citys existing surface and garage parking sites, Martson urged the roughly 20 neighbors who showed up Tuesday night to go to City Hall on Dec. 10.

Thats when the Board of Alders Legislation Committee will be holding public hearings on the neuroscience center parking plan.

She called on neighbors to testify about how the hospitals planned new parking garage at Chapel Street and Orchard Street and its planned expansion of the nearby Orchard Street Garage will affect Dwight and West River.

YNHH Senior Vice President Vin Petrini shared a design rendering of the proposed new garage with the Independent for this article (pictured above).

While hospital execs did not share this picture at last months City Plan Commission hearing, YNHH Senior Vice President Operations Michael Holmes did estimate that the new research center and medical facilities will increase the campuss current parking demand by roughly 1,000 spaces.

We dont want it to impact the neighborhood so much that no one will live here, added Martson. We have to come up with a plan so that our neighborhood grows in a responsible way. I dont want to see us become just a place where people drive in and drive out.

The hospital currently leases parking spaces at various city-owned surface lots in the area, he said. But several of the larger lots, including the former Coliseum site and the Sherman/Tyler lots, are likely to be scooped up by developers in the not-too-distant future.

He said YNHH already does a lot to encourage staff to use alternative forms of transportation. The hospital subsidizes bus passes and train tickets for its employees and runs a free shuttle service, including to park-and-ride pick-up spots in surrounding suburbs.

Were trying, he said.

But it still needs to provide some kind of parking, especially considering the scope of the project.

There will be no egress or ingress on Orchard Street for the new planned garage, he said, to reduce the car flow on that already congested block.

Martson, Walton, and several other neighbors Tuesday remained unconvinced.

The neighborhood already has large parking garages on Orchard Street and at the southwestern corner of George and Orchard, let alone the planned new 763-space garage for nearby Legion Avenue.

We only have one shot at this, she said, and thats gonna be it.

The hospital should instead consider investing in housing for the area, she said, and not in building new garages. I know that might be a real dream, she added, but its worth adding to the mix.

If the hospital doesnt build these new garages, asked neighbor Richard Crouse, where will these new cars go?

I dont have the answer, Martson admitted, but hopefully there is some alternative to just building more and more garages.

We need the science building, said management team Chair Florita Gillespie (pictured). And we need to live here, in a safe, healthy community. We dont want all this pollution. So what are we gonna do about it?

She didnt have an answer either Tuesday night. She also called on neighbors to go to City Hall on Dec. 10 and to keep working with the alders, the city, and the hospital to come up with the best solution for all parties.

Decades of disinvestment in the areas bus, rail, walking, and biking infrastructure is coming home to roost.

Air quality issues, primarily caused by fossil fuel use, are killing thousands of people in Connecticut, part of the tens of millions of people being killed by air pollution worldwide.

Remember when the Board of Alders declined the money that President Obama gave to New Haven for a new combined streetcar-bus system, that would have created a trunk line to major employers, streamlined connection points, and allowed the regions bus system to take a great leap forward?

That combined with very modest increases to parking costs would have solved this issue. President Obamas streetcar-bus system grant was instead used for a project that will have marginal impact.

Going forward, maybe Yale would be willing to chip in the $50,000,000 that Elicker has requested if it could be earmarked to transportation? Or maybe the state would finally realize that its entire economy is dependent on the success of places like New Haven and Stamford, and be willing to chip in the funding for that instead of continuing to widen highways?

Until those things happen, adding major pedestrian, bus stop and bicycle improvements to the area would cost about $800,000. Even though they would represent about 0.1% the total cost of this new building project, they are somehow not on the table here.

Honestly, I feel that the new neuroscience center should provide new shuttle buses to connect people from every existing garage in the area to the campus of where the new center will be. It may be a good to connect people back YNHHs main campus as well.

I really dont see the need to add a new garage if theres already going to be one thats built on the old route 34 connector right next door to whats eventually going to be a new hotel.

I definitely agree that instead of building more garages there should be more housing. Too much parking opportunities usually bring more cars and more cars only adds more congestion. Which is certainly not good for the air quality. More housing is so much better than having more parking. Especially in an urban setting where you have plenty of options besides driving due to being other modes of transportation.

Only a scant two and a half blocks away from the hospital are the existing Frontage road lots. Take a quick look at a google map of the area. Most of those spaces are empty. Two or three blocks is not a difficult walk. Doesnt the Medical/Health establishment admonish us all to incorporate more exercise into our daily routines? Or is this how the hospital drums up more business? But if you really are that lazy, an electric shuttle bus service would not be very expensive. The CT Bus Co. has already made plans to put clean air electric busses in to service. Less parking spaces mean less cars. More parking spaces mean more cars. If you build it they will come.

Logic tells me that not building it would lead to the worse neighborhood street parking nightmare ever seen. Of course the city could benefit from increased parking fine collections for blocked driveways, fire hydrants, and pedestrian crosswalks.

One option that could be in everyones interest is for YNHH to expand its transportation demand management program. As the article notes, YNHH already subsidizes bus passes and takes other steps to reduce the number of employees driving to work alone. If YNHH sweetened these incentives, presumably more employees would take advantage of them. This could reduce the need for additional parking. Building garage spaces is wicked expensive, and reducing demand for garage spaces could be in YNHHs self interest, as well as being in the interests of the neighborhood.

Read the original:
Where Will 1000 People Park? - New Haven Independent