BATH

Hoping to alleviate limited parking in the city, Bath city councilors have approved adding 25 spots downtown.

“A while back I was approached by a business owner requesting to put parking on the west side of Commercial Street north of the Kennebec Tavern,” said Police Chief Mike Field.

After looking into the request, the police department determined there were other places in the area where parking spots could be placed and made the recommendation to the Transportation Committee, which supported the proposal unanimously.

The new spots will be located along Commercial and Summer streets, and will have a four-hour limit.

Parking will be added to both sides of Commercial Street, around Hampton Inn. On Summer Street, which connects Commercial and Front streets, parking is currently allowed on the south side; an ordinance will be changed to allow parking on the north side as well.

Parking will be added to both sides of Commercial Street around the Hampton Inn. Parking is currently allowed on the south side of Summer Street, which connects Commercial Street to Front Street, and the ordinance will be changed to allow parking on the north side as well.

“Having been involved with parking downtown for a long time now, short of building a parking garage, which feels like a pie in the sky project at the moment, we’re always trying to squeeze out as many spaces as we can,” said Council Chairwoman Mari Eosco. “This is a great way to add more spaces.”

She added that the city encourages business owners and workers to use the four-hour spaces instead of the more limited two-hour spaces along Front Street, which should be prioritized for customers.

“If you’re parking in front of your store, you’re not allowing space for customers to park there,” Eosco said. “So if we’re creating these four hour spaces, that helps to leave parking for paying customers.

The new parking will also narrow Commercial Street, slowing traffic, said Field.

Second passage will be voted on in September.

nstrout@timesrecord.com

The Times Record Sustaining Sponsor
We believe a community must be informed to thrive. bowdoin.edu