With a five-story development about to start going up next door to the College-Rolando Library, the promise of more library parking might have prompted cheers from residents who have been pushing for years to preserve access to the neighborhood hub.
But to many library advocates and residents alike, the city’s answer doesn’t solve the parking issue and rings hollow as they ask for solutions to mitigate the impacts of their incoming neighbors.
“We have been struggling with this for so long and gotten absolutely nowhere,” said Jan Hintzman, president of the Friends of the College-Rolando Library. “It’s frustrating.”
Late last month, the city began notifying people who live along an adjacent street of plans to add time limits to about 14 street parking spaces.
Residents had until last week to give feedback, and then the proposed changes will go to the local community planning group for approval.
Construction is set to begin on property adjacent to the library, where the proposed project is set to feature a 125-room hotel and 57 apartments, as soon as building permits are issued.
Back in 2019, the city reached a deal with the developer, Blue Falcon LLC, agreeing to pay $12,000 per year for 20 years to use the access driveway and some of the parking spaces, with the option to extend for up to a decade.
The city had previously bought land from the church next door to build the library, and later agreed to spend $156,000 to build parking on church property, including pavement, lighting and landscaping. The church has since been torn down and the property sold.
Now, the city’s parking agreement with the new owner covers only a fraction of the parking the city originally paid to build. Of those 131 spaces, only 28 are on city property, and another 25 were agreed to be shared.
The developer has always maintained it is committed to honoring that agreement. But library advocates have long been asking the city to shore it up, fearing more homes will bring far more traffic and more competition for parking.
The agreement allows non-exclusive rights to the shared parking spots during the library’s normal operating hours — meaning the library cannot put up signs saying “library parking only,” and available parking is not guaranteed. On busy library days, all the spaces are often filled.
The city says the parking agreement will continue. But in addition, Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera announced in his October newsletter that his office had secured timed street parking spaces for about 14 cars on Reservoir Drive to supplement the library’s existing parking during the library’s operating hours.
“The College-Rolando Library has been a community centerpiece,” he wrote. He said his office has heard neighbors’ concerns about parking and has been “tirelessly” advocating “to find a creative solution to support the library and address the community’s concerns around accessibility.”
Hintzman disagrees, and wishes Elo-Rivera were instead firming up the city’s agreement. “You have not listened to us. You do not understand our problems,” she said.
Adding time limits to 14 existing spaces isn’t enough, Hintzman contends — street parking on Reservoir is already hard to come by, since the street is home to apartment complexes with too little parking of their own. And because the street is used as a traffic thoroughfare, parking along it can be dangerous, she says.
“It’s just not a good solution,” added College Area resident Oliver Peters. He’s an avid library patron but fears that will change once the property next door is built. “We’re going to be the ones who suffer.”
Elo-Rivera’s office says the timed parking will be enforced. Peters and other residents are skeptical, however, saying parking violations in the neighborhood are frequent. “Unless they’re able to step up patrols, the time limits are useless,” said Wendy Smith.
The street parking poses particular access issues for patrons who are elderly or have children, as they must climb the street’s steep grade to enter the library.
Smith says that would be near-impossible for her to navigate with her two young children in tow.
“I would essentially have to push a heavy stroller uphill while also making sure my 4-year-old doesn’t accidentally step off the sidewalk into the busy street,” she said. “That’s a lot of headache to just get in the library safely.”
Dozens of residents cited similar reasons when they voiced opposition to the idea at a community meeting early last year. A handful have also reiterated their concerns in emails to Elo-Rivera’s office since.
But now that the plan is in motion, some worry the issue will be considered resolved, and that no further efforts will be made.
Asked if he would advocate for additional mitigations, Elo-Rivera said he would “support improving transit options to improve access to the library and other resources in the city, reducing demand for parking.”
He said a study had also been requested of the possibility of similar parking measures on Mohawk Street, a flat cul-de-sac directly behind the library.
Principals of Hanken Cono Assad & Co, the property management company that owns at least three of the apartment complexes along Reservoir, blame a decision made many years earlier: bicycle-lane upgrades on Montezuma Road that led to the removal of street parking.
The changes, proposed in the area’s 1989 community plan update, included upgrading the shared-use routes to Class II lanes for exclusive bike travel. It’s unclear how many parking spaces were removed.
The company has sent staff to community meetings over the years to push for more street parking near its properties — some built in the 1960s with limited space to add parking — and worries the new development will further cramp the neighborhood’s parking supply.
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