Shuttles and satellite lots being considered for new arts center’s major draws
The Town of Webb Board agreed to invite New York State Department of Transportation officials to assess the overflow parking onto Route 28 that occurs during some of View’s larger events.
The measure was approved at the board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, July 12.
The intent is to ensure that proper signage is in place and rules are stipulated clearly to ensure motor vehicle and pedestrian safety.
The stretch of road in question extends north of the arts center building to about the Northeastern Logger building, according to Town of Webb Supervisor Robert Moore.
Overflow visitors to the center have traditionally parked their vehicles to the south of the center along Route 28, heading toward Grove Trail.
That situation will not be affected by this DOT measure, according to Moore.
Code Enforcement Officer Andy Getty added that overflow parking issues are limited to View’s larger events and do not factor in View’s day-to-day operations.
And the occasional shortage of parking spaces at View, the new arts center in Old Forge, is not due to poor planning, but rather an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirement issue.
According to Kerry Rogers, a member of the Arts Guild Board of Directors and Chairman of the Building Committee, the EPA requires that a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPP) needs to be approved in order to obtain a permit for stormwater discharge on the premises.
“When the Arts Center acquired the property, they got roughly two-thirds of the property that’s developable. The other one-third is APA-designated wetlands, and that was the beginning of the problem,” Rogers said.
According to Rogers, the building has 27,900 square feet of space, but a portion of that footage is on the second floor. The building itself sits on a 19,000 square foot footprint. Additionally, a fair am
ount of the property has been paved with asphalt.
“The building itself, the building materials and the asphalt are deemed impermeable surface (having the inability to retain and gradually release rain water) and the EPA requires that we produce a Stormwater Protection Plan,” Rogers said.
Essentially, he said, they must demonstrate that they can retain storm water on the premises.
“The little ponds that you see on the property are part of this plan and are actually water retention basins. When we have heavy rains like we had all this spring, the intent is to collect the storm water in the basins and hold it until it can dissipate or evaporate,” Rogers said.
According to Rogers, under the conditions of the SWPP permit, only so many square feet of impermeable surface (building and asphalt for parking and driveway) can be created.
There are currently 75 parking spaces, four of which are for the handicapped and 20 additional parking spaces on the southwest side of the property which are seasonal parking and grass surface parking when there are big events.
“We cannot create any more parking on the premises due to the EPA requirements and the SWPP requirements,” he said.
View Executive Director Jennifer Potter Hayes said she has made arrangements with bordering property owners to accommodate for anticipated overflow parking for larger View events.
“It’s been an exciting project to be a part of and the transformation of the property has been a handful,” Rogers said.
“We’ve gone from a little entity to grandiose—like doing stair steps all in one step. We have had to step around a lot of mine fields, but I think the Board of Directors, who all have diverse talents, and Jennifer Potter Hayes, our director, have been great.”
