Free parking a focus of Lewes committee

The challenge of parking in downtown Lewes isn’t limited to the metered areas.

For several months, the downtown business district parking committee has been brainstorming ways to encourage use of free parking areas just a bit farther from the business district.

Ideas include reconfiguring and beautifying the stoned parking lot at the corner of Schley Avenue and Franklin Avenue. The lot is along the Lewes-to-Georgetown Trail about a quarter-mile from Second Street. From the lot, it’s a straight walk to Kings Highway and Zwaanendael Park. From there, Second Street is a block away.

There have been several issues raised about why the parking lot is underutilized. Besides the desire to park in front of the shop or restaurant a visitor wants to patronize, committee members have determined the lot’s appearance is problematic. For years, the lot has been used as a staging area for various construction projects, and it’s often filled with heavy equipment.

The committee is considering a recommendation to reorient the parking lot, and to segregate the construction equipment away from the most visible area. By adding landscaping and a bicycle corral with direct access to the trail, the committee hopes the lot will see more use.

Committee member Matt DiSabatino said those improvements alone will not be enough, and the city needs a strong marketing campaign to educate the public about the lot. Improved signage to direct people to the lot is also important, Mayor Ted Becker added.

The committee is also considering improvements to the fairly unknown free public parking lot between the Daily Market and the Beacon Motel on Savannah Road. The lot is also just over a quarter-mile from Second Street. City engineer Charlie O’Donnell presented a plan that would mark 20 parking spaces in the unimproved lot and still allow adequate space for emergency vehicles to access the Daily Market building.

Also under discussion is possible use of the Little League parking lot near Canalfront Park and Beebe Healthcare’s ground-level parking lots during off-peak hours. Each lot is also about a quarter-mile from the downtown district.

Besides parking lots, the committee formally recommended the city mark legal parking spaces – 55 in total – along West Third Street, from Shipcarpenter Street to Queen Anne Avenue, and along Park Avenue, from West Third Street to West Fourth Street.

O’Donnell originally proposed parking on both sides of each street, but revised his plan to include spaces on only one side after determining the roadways were too narrow for the double-sided plan to be safe for motorists. Those streets are heavily used for events at the Lewes Historical Society, but nearly empty at other times. The committee also views those streets as places for visitors to park for free in exchange for a short walk to downtown.

The search for parking alternatives comes as the streets in downtown Lewes have become more congested in recent years. One way to incentivize walking is to raise parking meter fees, which have been set at $1 per hour since 2014.

“People get upset when we raise the fees, but we should remind them there is free parking at x lot or y lot,” said Councilman Andrew Williams. “With the work of this committee, we are looking to generate more free spots than we are pay spots. As a town and as a committee, we’re more committed for free parking. But I think we need to direct people to that by increasing where we do charge.”

The committee discussed implementing a rate structure similar to Rehoboth Beach, where visitors are charged $3 per hour for parking on Rehoboth, Baltimore and Wilmington avenues, but only $2 on other streets.

Even if Lewes increased parking meters to $1.50 per hour, Williams said, they’d still be significantly under what Rehoboth is charging.

The idea of expanding parking meters to year-round was also discussed at the committee’s Jan. 8 meeting. City Manager Ann Marie Townshend said the city has a big issue downtown every year when the meters are turned off for the winter.

“People park wherever they want for as long as they want and disregard the three-hour parking limit,” she said. 

The city’s parking enforcement officers are seasonal, she said, and the police department does not have the staff to regularly monitor parking.

Father Jeff Ross of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, a committee member, argued against year-round meters. Under non-COVID conditions, he said, St. Peter’s facilities are used daily by nonprofit groups, and if the city started charging year-round, they may choose to meet somewhere else. Then those people will not go into downtown for dinner or to shop before or after their meeting, he said.

M&T parking lot moving forward

After more than a year of work, Becker presented to city council on Jan. 11 a plan for public parking in the M&T Bank lot at the corner of Market and Third streets. The lot would be shared by the city, bank and Hotel Rodney.

The city would have 10 spaces and an ADA space available at all times. According to a proposed lease agreement that is still being negotiated, M&T Bank would have 17 spaces plus one ADA space, and those spots would be available for public use during non-banking hours. Hotel Rodney would have four spaces, according to the plan.

Becker said the city intends to meter the spaces with a parking kiosk. Signage at the bank spaces would indicate when they are available for public use.

Under the proposed two-year lease, M&T Bank would receive 20 percent of the parking income from the lot beginning in the second year. The bank will not agree to a longer lease, Becker said.

The cost of the project is estimated at about $13,000 with an additional $8,500 for a new parking kiosk. Most of the project involves seal coating and restriping the lot. The cost will be shared with the bank and hotel, Becker said.

The intention is to have the parking lot available for the 2021 parking season, which begins May 1.