WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Watertown City Council members discussed changing flower boxes that sit outside the Key Bank building downtown back to parking, and a majority of council wants to see it happen.
That discussion happened at Monday night’s meeting.
The unfinished flowers boxes were put in as part of the city’s Streetscape Project, an effort to make downtown safer and more pedestrian friendly.
However, when these boxes were put in, it took away parking in front of the building, a concern for building owners Jake Johnson and Bobby Ferris. They brought those concerns to Watertown City Council and asked for an alternative solution.
The city’s planning department came up with two options:
- To add an ADA-accessible parallel parking spot next to the clock tower in front of the building. It would cost an extra $1,000 and the planter boxes would stay. Or,
- Remove the concrete already poured and put in a new curb line to allow for two angled ADA-accessible parking spots. That option would cost almost $40,000.
Council Members Lisa Ruggiero, Sarah Compo Pierce and Mayor Jeff Smith are in favor of the second, more costly, option, but first want to see if Ferris and Johnson with pay the associated costs.
“It is going to be more of an expense, but I think it is important to have as much parking as possible out front, we know that Key Bank is closing their other branch on Washington Street, it’s going to drive more traffic here,” said Compo Pierce.
“You know, we keep talking about investing in downtown, we want people to come downtown and we want to support the businesses and yet we are reducing parking,” said Ruggiero.
Council Members Cliff Olney and Patrick Hickey are in favor of keeping the flower boxes in the $1,000 option.
We did reach out to both Bobby Ferris and Jake Johnson to hear their thoughts, but we did not hear back. A final decision may come forward when this meeting picks up again on Thursday.
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