Politics & Government
VIDEO: Residents Deal with Parking Issues as Ferry Work Begins
Derby Street residents may be inconvenienced by lot closure, but some see the community benefit.
to the on Blaney Street will keep the lot closed for parking until April 1.
Work began on Tuesday with workers putting up temporary fencing.
Worker Joe Gonsalves said eight cars were towed out of the lot Tuesday morning to allow front-end loaders to clear snow piles.
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"It was the police; it wasn't us," Gonsalves explained. Although some neighborhood residents said the lot closure will be an inconvenience to them, they said the improvements should benefit the community.
Derby Street resident Bryn Barror said parking on the street poses problems — her car was damaged while parked on Derby Street earlier in the winter and many cars parked on the street have had their side mirrors knocked off by passing vehicles.
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She thinks paving the lot will be an improvement over the current gravel surface, but parking in the South Harbor Garage on Congress Street is also inconvenient for her and her dog, which has a leg injury that makes walking difficult.
"It's going to be a bit of a hassle," Barror said.
Arron Simon of Derby Street said he has been parking both his cars in the Blaney Street lot this winter, and finding street parking could be tricky.
At the laundromat on Derby Street, Rod Parker said the lot closure will make parking even more difficult for residents like him who don't live in the neighborhood, but patronize area businesses.
Vanessa Locke, who works at the laundromat and lives in the neighborhood, said she doesn't like to park in the ferry lot anyway. Her car was broken into and burglarized during a snow ban.
"I really don't have a problem with going down to the garage. It's probably safer," Locke said.
