Politics & Government

State Bond Commission Approves $750,000 in Funding for Downtown Manchester Parking Lots

The money will be used to enhance the Purnell Place parking lot between Main and Cottage streets.

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The State Bond Commission approved $750,000 in funding for improvements to the Purnell Place parking lot in downtown Manchester on Friday, July 26, 2013. 

The improvements are intended to enhance customer and pedestrian usage of the lot between Center and Cottage streets downtown. 

“Main Street is doing pretty well; the problem is that our new Main Street is so popular that we have to accommodate all the cars and people who are shopping and eating there every day,” State Sen. Steve Cassano said in a statement announcing the news. “The town has explored this problem and come up with a great solution, and I’m happy to have helped secure some state aid to get this project done.”

There are more than 800 public parking spaces in downtown Manchester, according to information supplied by the town: 686 in municipally owned parking lots and 117 on private land leased and operated by the Downtown Manchester Special Services District. The 214 on-street parking spaces and the Purnell Place lot are the most heavily used, according to the town. 

“These improvements will create a more welcoming environment. There have been a number of initiatives downtown – MCC downtown, new businesses, and an arts focus – and these parking upgrades will build on that momentum to make it an even more attractive and easy place to visit,” according to Town Manager Scott Shanley. “There haven’t been any improvements to the Purnell Place lot in about a quarter-century.”

According to Cassano, the $750,000 will allow the town to implement the following improvements to the Purnell Place lot: 

  • Aligning the driveways of the Purnell and Birch Street lots at Birch Street to clearly delineate driveway openings to the parking lots.
  • Adding landscaping areas to separate vehicle parking from pedestrian areas and replace existing, unhealthy landscaping. 
  • Installing patterned crosswalks to clearly delineate pedestrian areas and help slow vehicles approaching crosswalks.
  • Providing two-way traffic on Purnell Place and on the eastern travel lane of the Purnell lot.
  • Improving parking lot lighting for pedestrians and vehicles.
  • Installing new “wayfinding” sign system to direct people to and from parking lots, from the lots to pedestrian connections to Main Street and Main Street destinations. 

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