BRUNSWICK

After years of discussion about using a state-owned lot on Cedar Street for parking, the town is moving forward with a $50,000 preliminary engineering project that could bring more than 100 parking spaces to downtown Brunswick.

Earlier this month, the council unanimously voted to use $10,000 in tax increment financing revenue to match a $40,000 grant from the Maine Department of Transportation for the design of a parking area and park-and-ride on Cedar Street.

“This can’t happen too soon as far as I’m concerned,” Councilor Alison Harris said before the vote. “The parking around here is becoming intolerable, so anything we can do to give it relief.”

The town first started talking about making the property a park-and-ride as part of the Brunswick Station project. An application for funding to the DOT in 2008 proved unsuccessful. In recent years, public transportation options have grown with the Downeaster rail service, the Brunswick Explorer and Metro- BREEZ. These services have increased the demand for long-term parking and park-and-rides.

Brunswick Economic and Development Director Linda Smith said Tuesday the town hasn’t conducted formal traffic studies, but that informal, in-house studies have examined town parking lot capacity at various times.

“What would be no surprise is that the public lots are pretty much full most of the time,” Smith said.

When people are traveling during winter holidays and during special events over the summer like Maine State Music Theatre shows, “it just goes way off the chart,” she said.

The town has also received many comments about people trying to find parking in the downtown and driving around the area two or three times.

Smith talked to the Finance Committee last November about parking options. The town also considered a lot on Weymouth Street owned by Brunswick Development Corp. — which would have been costly to purchase and prepare — and the municipal lot at 85 Union St. The Cedar Street lot was most feasible to get parking in the near future.

Smith said the DOT would be willing to provide funds for construction next spring into summer, “so something for people next year as proposed to three to five years.”

Town officials anticipate people would walk to the train station from the lot, so they’re looking into whether they’d want to install a sidewalk parallel to the tracks with fences and lighting for safety.

“And we plan to explore MetroBREEZ and Brunswick Explorer stopping at Cedar Street, probably in addition to Station Avenue,” Smith said.

Right now the town is looking at 125 parking spots, though the lot could support as many as 300. The DOT wants to do the project in phases.

The parking lot will be divided into a park-and-ride section for 24-hour-and-under parking, and long-term parking for more than 24 hours. The town would lease the lot from the state for 20 years, with the option to renew. That lease price is being negotiated. The town doesn’t currently have plans to charge for parking there.

In a separate push to create parking, the council agreed in July to spend $75,000 in tax increment financing revenue to pay for site evaluation and the preliminary design of a downtown parking structure. The study will look at the feasibility of locating a parking deck, garage or some other sort of parking structure at the municipal lots at 85 Union St. and on Bank Street.

Cedar Street is not being considered for a parking garage, but some neighbors still worry about the impact of a parking lot there.

“Of course it concerns me,” said Mary Heath, who has lived on Cedar Street for 25 years.

Especially given the history of the lot. It was used as a temporary train hub before Brunswick Station was online.

“It was something we on Cedar Street never had any information about until trucks started hauling off trees and brush and they clear-cut that whole area,” she said.

More recently it’s become a staging area for trucks being used at nearby construction sites.

“I guess if it’s a trade-off between cars and heavy construction vehicles going up and down the street, I’d rather have the cars. But maybe they’re going to do both; it’s a big area,” Heath said.

Cedar Street is located within a short walking distance to downtown amenities such as the Hannaford supermarket and Curtis Memorial Library. It is lined with single family homes and apartments, as well as seasonal housing for Maine State Music Theatre performers and staff.

Downeast Energy also operates a facility for vehicle maintenance on the street.

Heath doesn’t know how the parking lot project would affect the area.

“I just hope that it won’t be a big intrusion and that there won’t be a lot of traffic,” she said.

Smith expects the council will get a report on the Cedar Street parking lot planning work, and be asked to line up construction funding.

dmoore@timesrecord.com