Commission expected to present proposal at Borough Council meeting (Jan. 26)
By: Marisa Maldonado
ALLENTOWN As Corky Danch walked through an empty lot behind South Main Street recently, he wondered aloud why no one had turned part of the 3 unused acres there into a parking lot.
A proposal from the borough’s Economic Development Commission would do just that put a 45-space gravel parking lot on part of that land in an effort to draw more shoppers to downtown Allentown.
The commission is expected to present its idea for the lot which would lie between Lakeview Road and Waker Avenue behind several South Main Street businesses to the Borough Council at its Feb. 7 meeting.
The land where the parking lot would be situated is privately owned by several parties, according to Councilman Dan Zorovich, who has been working with the commission on the project.
Mr. Danch, a member of the commission, said additional parking would help shops in Allentown compete with bigger stores in the area that have many available parking spaces.
"These places are so convenient, they sort of drain all the customers out of (Allentown)," Mr. Danch said. "Unless we compete to a certain extent, the town’s economy will shrivel up and die."
Some business owners say more parking in the town could attract more customers to Allentown. Mark Metcalfe, who owns Allentown Village Hardware on South Main Street, said he often hears from people who tried to stop by his store but could not find available parking.
Besides being convenient, he said, the lot also could make available more parking spaces on Main Street by giving delivery trucks a place to park while dropping off goods. It would also make the road safer by encouraging motorists to access the lot through a back road off Waker Avenue.
"Anyone coming from the east or north of us wouldn’t be on Main Street," he said. "They could come in the back way."
But Mr. Metcalfe and other businesses might have to wait no timetable has been set for the project. Mr. Zorovich emphasized that the proposal was preliminary.
"We have to talk to the borough clerk and mayor before anything is done," he said.
The commission is, however, considering financing options. Metered parking could be an option for generating revenue, but Mr. Danch and Ms. Yacullo said they hope use of the lot will be free.
Commission member Barbara Yacullo said they will apply for grants Heritage Park was funded primarily through grant money and solicit residents to donate services such as landscaping toward the lot’s construction. Additional landscape work is needed to provide a buffer between the parking lot and homes on Lakeview Drive, Mr. Danch said.
"Perhaps we can get some of that work donated, so it’s many people working toward a common goal (rather) than taxing the borough as an additional expense," Ms. Yacullo said.
Anyone who wishes to donate services toward construction of the lot can call Ms. Yacullo at (609) 259-6363.
The lot most likely will be made of gravel, which would prevent some of the problems that a blacktop lot would present, Mr. Danch said.
"You don’t need retention basins; you don’t get runoff (with a gravel lot)," Mr. Danch said. "It’s more difficult to plow with a snowplow, but not impossible."