City Receives Update on Plan to Fix Three Downtown Parking Lots

Rene Lord Attivor, an engineer from Sabra Wang Associates, presented the engineering firm's 30 percent plan on their redevelopment of three parking lots along the Route 1 corridor to the City Council on Monday night.

The presentation was to allow the Council members to receive an update on the progress of the work. With a number of new businesses along Route 1 the area is in need of more parking.

Parking lots off of Hamilton Street, Farragut Street and Jefferson Street will be repaved and new LED light systems will be installed, according to Attivor.

"The parking lots are underutilized and not looking good," said Attivor, "They're in bad shape.

He said Lot 2, off Hamilton Street, will be repaved with angled parking and have a capacity of 37 spaces. It will include landscaping a shoebox solar-powered lighting.

Lot 3, off Farragut Street, will get a new entrance from Farragut Street and also lights.

The Council will have decide one of four options for the largest lot, Lot 5 off Jefferson Street. The options range from 30 spaces to 60. However, the plan for more spaces will require widening and full-depth reconstruction, a process in which the soil under the lot is dug up two to four feet deep and then refilled with dirt and gravel.

Attivor said they are no track to have the lots redeveloped by June of 2012. Each lot will also receive updated landscaping, according to Attivor.

Community and Economic Development Director Jim Chandler said all three lots would fill up as soon as they open.

"I'm extremely pleased with the May-June timeline and I think we should do whatever we can to hit that," said Council Member Shani Warner, "I'm sure I'm not the only Hyattsville resident that has been frustrated driving around looking for parking near the downtown restaurants."