Oak Bluffs is looking to create a paid parking lot with more than 30 parking spaces on Uncas Avenue, a short walk away from bustling Circuit Avenue shops.
Finding parking in Oak Bluffs can be an ordeal with the seasonal population booming during the summer months, and the town is looking to relieve some of the downtown congestion.
The location — across the street from the Barn, Bowl & Bistro — is on a roughly half-acre area that straddles Bradley Avenue between 8 and 29 Uncas Ave.; the area has been sitting vacant since 2020, when some small electrical infrastructure was taken down.
Three design options proposed by Boston-based engineering firm Howard Stein Hudson consist of between 36 and 38 parking spaces, costing the town between $385,000 and $410,000 to construct, which Oak Bluffs select board chair Gail Barmakian said came as a “sticker shock.”
No vote was made during the Tuesday evening meeting; board members wanted more details.
Town administrator Deborah Potter said it is not yet certain what kind of paid public parking system the town will implement. One option, she said, was “manual gates,” in case the lot needed to be closed. She said the goal was making the parking lot “self-sustaining” to offset town costs.
Barmakian said the lot would be beneficial to both businesses and residents. She said businesses have been saying their workers cannot find parking, while residents have complained that workers’ cars are parked in their neighborhoods all day.
Barmakian is hopeful the lot could be up and running by next year.
There were concerns about the addition of a sidewalk, but some board members worried it would eliminate up to 10 spaces for street parking.
But board member Emma Green-Beach said a sidewalk would make the area safer for pedestrians, especially during the shoulder season, when it gets dark faster. Board member Dion Alley also pushed for a sidewalk, saying it would be needed to protect people in wheelchairs, and may be needed to be ADA-compliant.
The project will ultimately need to be reviewed by the town’s zoning officials, and may need to go through the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s process.
Dan Doyle, a special projects planner at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission who was working with the engineering firm, said it was deemed the parking lot would not have a negative impact on Uncas Avenue and the surrounding transportation network.
Doyle said the plan was to make it an unpaved gravel parking lot, with an exception for parking spaces compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Improvements to the parking lot would be phased in as the town needed, Doyle said, including the addition of an electric vehicle charging station, which Oak Bluffs town administrator Deborah Potter said is being explored with Eversource.
Tree planting and landscaping would also be done, to comply with commission policies that include taking into consideration the neighborhood’s character.
Why can’t we leave things simple and natural, without gates, pavement and such? Just keep it mowed and park on the grass, free of charge. So simple… less of an eyesore too…
I agree, keep it simple.
Dirt or gravel is not wheelchair friendly.
There are plenty of handicap spaces downtown and I agree with the previous comment just keep it simple. Why is it everything the Towns on Martha’s Vineyard want to do has to be done to the ultimate perfect condition? These are all taxpayer dollars they get frivolously wasted away.
Matter of opinion.
Majority.
When it comes to the election of our leaders.
Add a few more handicap spots closer to town.
And when those are full?
A better use of the space would be permit parking only for Circuit Ave businesses. That would open up plenty of spots on Circuit Ave and the surrounding closer to town parking areas.
How would that policy implemented?
You own a business in the downtown area, you go to town hall and fill out a permit application, and get a permit. Than when the parking officers aren’t standing around in groups when they should be checking for parking violations, they walk up to the Uncas Ave parking lot and anything parked in there that doesn’t have a permit, gets a ticket. It really ain’t that complicated….
Thank you J. Benefit and Bob Murphy for your sensible comments.
I have can’t figure out why there is so much talk about climate change, global warming
and being “green” then proposals to develop, “improve” which usually involves clear cutting, removing trees that shade us from hot sun, and the worst- black top parking lots.
Why does the public need a viewing platform ( or whatever Vineyard wind calls it)
on beach rd., lagoon . I believe there is a bench already there, natural grasses and shrubs . Why do we feel the need to replace what is there, leave Mother Nature alone.
Let’s stop paving paradise.
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