What are we building all this parking for?

For many, the impression of downtown Lewiston is the infamous "dirty Lew." The days of more bars, head shops and adult bookstores than you could shake a stick at, along with blighted buildings, decaying mills and a rotten river, made for an unpleasant introduction.

With the grittiness, hard work and pride that put Lewiston on the map over a century ago, local leaders put together plans to turn the page on Lewiston's decline and make it a viable urban center for the 21st century.

That brings us to today, and the need for Lewiston to begin making smart and cost-effective urban planning decisions. How decisions were made over the last five to ten years is no longer relevant.

Before Lewiston's planning board and city council is a proposal to construct a 600-space car parking garage spanning the Lincoln Street frontage from Main Street to one of the cross canals. This makes it time to consider two issues: the short-term of whether one a valuable piece of downtown real estate should be relegated to a steel holding facility for cars, and the long-term of what is downtown Lewiston's transportation plan.

The city of Lewiston, in its agreement to sell the Bates Mill, agreed to provide parking for the building based on a formula of a certain number spaces based on the square footage that was redeveloped. There was no study of the true demand for parking based on the projected uses and no flexibility in the contract to revisit the demand at a later date; this becomes an important factor as we consider long-term implications of the agreement with the Bates Mill developers.

A new parking garage on Lincoln Street was set into motion nearly a year ago, during a November 18, 2008, city council meeting. Councilors voted unanimously to contract for the design of the new garage on the city-owned lot that also fronts on Mill Street and abuts Bates Mill No. 5.

The discussion advanced the concept of including storefronts for the parking garage, with councilors recognizing Lincoln Street was a key commercial corridor, and losing this valuable streetscape for parking could impact the image of this gateway to downtown. As the garage concepts are to be presented, it appears that while storefronts are possible, the city may try to justify that the increased expense is just no longer reasonable.

It would seem penny-wise and pound foolish, at this time, to sharpen the pencils on a multi-million project without recognizing the context of that investment. After all, at that same 2008 meeting, they approved spending $400,000 to buy and demolish other Lincoln Street properties to advance the future of that corridor.

To think that during the Balloon and Liberty Festivals the primary downtown gateway view for pedestrians would be a steel behemoth doesn't paint a positive image for Lewiston's future. While storefronts in front of a garage isn't ideal, losing all of that prime real estate to non-commercial uses shouldn't be acceptable.

Regardless of the outcome for that garage, a big issue remains; Lewiston is overbuilding its downtown with unneeded parking. With the new garage in place, Lewiston will have nearly 3,000 public parking spaces downtown with only about 1,900 of those committed, based on the sale of parking permits.

And while the simple calculation would have one wondering why, with over 1,000 available spaces, the city would be seeking to spend millions to build more parking, the issue runs deeper.

Take the Chestnut Street garage as an example. There are 610 spaces in that garage and 607 spaces committed. Yet, visit that garage as I have during the business day and you will see more often than not the entire top level unused. Try the Southern Gateway garage with 360 spaces available and over 330 committed, the top level is almost always completely empty there as well.

Obviously, there is a disconnect between how much parking certain uses like retail, office and residential "need" to the actual demand on the ground. When Lewiston started its "gateway" redevelopment plans and created the Bates Mill exit agreement, it needed to be aggressive to lure private investment, that included a willingness to build abundant parking to start the process rolling.

But with that ball rolling quickly now, and the Bates Mill being hailed as the pinnacle of smart growth and adaptive reuse, it's time for the city to adapt its parking and downtown transportation plans.

The city, in a sign of fiscal restraint and a desire to build a sustainable downtown on a pedestrian scale, should call for a renegotiation of the parking agreement with the Bates Mill developers.

And those developers, as a sign that their project could yet again be hailed for ushering in a new era in smart growth for Lewiston, should volunteer to accept more flexibility in not only the number of parking spaces but their location in downtown.

The future of this city can accept nothing less.

Jonathan LaBonte, of New Auburn, is a columnist for the Sun Journal and an Androscoggin County Commissioner. E-mail: jlabonte08@gmail.com.