The city-owned parking lot on Water Avenue between the Ellsworth and Lyon Street bridges, as seen from the Ellsworth Bridge on Thursday evening.
The Albany Planning Division has invited public comment on what seems to be the first work proposed as part of the city’s Waterfront Project — making changes on Water Avenue between the two highway bridges including the city-owned parking lot there.
The city is asking the planners to review “street improvements on Water Avenue that are located within the floodplain.” The application is said to be for 60 cubic yards of fill, grading or paving in what’s called a special flood hazard area, according to the “notice of filing” put out on Aug. 25.
The application was accompanied by a map showing part of the city-owned parking lot south of Water Avenue between the bridges to be restriped. The drawing shows a layout that would yield 75 spaces, replacing the 50 there now. Here’s the drawing:
This parking lot, or reconfiguring part of it, was not mentioned in the final design of the riverfront improvements that the consulting firm Walker Macy presented to the public last spring. Presumably it was made necessary by improvements planned along the street, including a sidewalk and the planting of trees shown on the map.
If you want to look up the notice of filing, which does not include the map above, you can do so on the city’s website here.
The CARA advisory board has not met all summer. It does plan to meet in September. Maybe the board will ask for an an update on where things stand on the overall riverfront revival plan, and this improved parking lot too. (hh)
Yea let’s waste more money on useless items and let’s put the money to use somewhere else. Like bringing back senior center. I have noticed Albany is more about spending money on things not needing them. Let’s resurface some of the streets like Jackson st between queen Ave. And 34th Ave. , intersection of queen and Geary, another place where work is needed is the tracks on queen st. Could literally through out suspension I’d you drive above 10mph over these
Is this lot going to be for public parking for shopping OR employee parking for the stores downtown?
I am continually amused but not amazed at CARA’s buffoonery when it comes to public spending.
CARA’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) scheme requires spending on projects that have a positive tax increment. In other words, projects that will greatly increase the assessed value of PRIVATE property in the CARA area. The bottom line – more tax revenue for city coffers.
The assessed value of this CITY-OWNED parking lot is zero. And it will be zero a year from now after a truckload of cash has been borrowed and spent on improvements. The bottom line – zero tax revenue for city coffers, but a nice parking lot to point at during election time.
CARA and its TIF scheme was created to enrich local developers and downtown property owners while putting the taxpayer into a deep debt hole. A less than exemplary outcome.
With this type of project, CARA devolves into nothing more than a big pork trough for city politicians. An even worse outcome.
Is this being designed with climate change in mind? More pavement? No trees? Unless we put pressure on the city and on their contractors nothing will happen. The city is becoming one giant heat sink.
It’s an existing heat sink, and street trees are being added.