A New Parking Garage on Deer Street?

A new panel has been established to look into sites for a new parking garage, and already one possible location has emerged.

The City Council voted earlier this year to ask the Economic Development Commission to report back with a suitable location for a downtown parking garage that is not the Worth Lot or Parrot Avenue. The commission is to consider "privately held properties and municipal properties and/or a public-private partnership."

The commission then established a subcommittee consisting of commissioners Everett Eaton, John Pratt, Joshua Cyr, Philip Cohen and City Council representative Stefany Shaheen to take a closer look at the parking dilemma. That subcommittee held its first meeting on Friday, receiving input on past discussions and reviewing the October 2012 report of the Parking Garage Site Selection Committee, according to Nancy Carmer, the city's Economic Development Program Manager.

Also discussed, Carmer said, was a proposal from the owner of the parcel on Deer Street that houses Gary's Beverages regarding a potential public-private partnership on a project that could include public parking. It's an interesting development in what has been a long-standing problem for the city.

The issue of whether to build a new downtown parking garage and where to put it has been an extremely divisive issue in recent years. The previous council on three occasions rejected building some type of parking structure at the Worth Lot behind the Portsmouth Health Food Center. Some residents complained about its appearance and said construction would negatively affect businesses.

A study commissioned by city officials recommended building another garage. The city currently has one garage downtown on Hanover Street that frequently has to close because it hits capacity.