Riverhead Town is closing parking lots in the downtown parking district at certain times through most of the next eight days for construction, renovation and repaving.
The parking district renovation project will begin with the parking lot on the Peconic Riverfront. which the town will be milling, paving and striping July 7-11 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. The town asks that nobody park in the lot or on Heidi Behr Way after midnight on Wednesday, July 7.
The town will be milling, paving and striping the municipal parking lot near Tuthill-Mangano Funeral Home from Thursday, July 8 to Sunday, July 11 between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily. The town asks that nobody park in the lot after midnight on July 8.
The town will be removing traffic islands, milling, paving and striping in the First Street parking lot July 8-9 and July 12-14 between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily. The parking lot will be open on Saturday and Sunday, July 10-11. The town asks that nobody park in the lot after midnight on both July 8 and July 12.
The removal of traffic islands and the trees on them at the First Street Parking lot has gotten pushback by residents and the woman who helped plant the trees more than 20 years ago. See prior story. Councilman Tim Hubbard, the liaison to the town’s parking district, said during the town board work session last week that the decision to remove the trees was “probably still open” and that he was going to meet with the parking district about the issue.
During a call with RiverheadLOCAL today, Hubbard said upon review, officials determined in order to add more parking spaces the islands and trees in the lot must be removed. However, the town is offering to plant 36 trees in various town properties and parks to make up for the lost trees, Hubbard said.
The town will be milling, paving and striping the parking lot between Roanoke and Griffing avenues on Friday, July 9 and from Monday, July 12 through Wednesday, July 14 between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily. The parking lot will be open on the weekend of July 10-11. The town asks that nobody park in the lot after midnight on both July 9 and July 12.
The town will be milling, paving and striping the municipal park lot on the west side of Griffing Avenue on Friday, July 9 and from Tuesday, July 13 to Wednesday, July 14 between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily. The lot will be open Saturday, July 10 through Monday, July 12. The town asks that nobody park in the lot after midnight on both July 9 and July 13.
Any vehicles parked during the time of construction may be towed, the town said in a notice posted on the town website.
The town board is expected to approve a $100,000 budget increase for the parking district project at its meeting tomorrow, bringing the total project budget to $854,167. The increase is necessary to cover additional drainage work expenses and contingencies, according to a resolution on tomorrow’s town board agenda. The funds will be transferred from the parking district fund balance, the resolution states. Any unused funds will be returned to the parking district fund balance. Riverhead Town authorized a $725,917 bond in April to cover most of the cost to repair the lots. The debt service will be paid out of parking district funds, derived from taxes levied against properties within the district. Plans to renovate the parking lots have been discussed since 2013.
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