Parking on and around Main Street to serve some businesses has been an issue for as long as Bridgeport City Manager Kim Haws has been serving the city. And it’s safe to say it was probably an issue prior to his arrival nearly two decades ago.

 

That doesn’t mean Bridgeport hasn’t worked on the finding new parking. There’s the lot behind the Bridgeport Fire Department, across from the Benedum Civic Center and then there’s the small lot between Embellishments Too and Almost Heaven Desserts at the corner of Center and Main Streets.

 

However, it’s the parking in the section along Main Street near Center Street and up to and past Davis Street that is an ongoing issue. Once again, the city is revisiting the issue, according to Bridgeport City Manager Kim Haws.

 

“Staff opted to have Public Works put no parking signs on Davis Street and that has created some parking problems for the new exercise studio down there and Marquette Insurance and others,” said Haws. “We felt that we needed to revisit the situation again.”

 

The situation involves taking the property behind the business in question, which sits on the opposite side of Simpson Creek, and potentially developing it into additional free public parking.

 

“The good news is that we own most of that property,” said Haws.

 

While the property sits partially in a flood plain, that won’t be a problem. Haws said development of a parking lot in a flood plan area is allowed. Still there are issues behind leveling the ground, putting in asphalt, a putting in an entrance off of Center Street in that particular area.

 

“It’s a financial situation, but we don’t own the entire area needed to make that work at this moment. Access, though, is the big problem,” said Haws. “We’re not sure if we can provide ingress and egress, both, on Center Street because of the slope and the space that’s there.”

 

Haws said that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. Rather, he said it just means you have to be a bit more creative.

 

“It’s possible we may have to put in a bridge in another area that will allow a new entry point to that area,” said Haws. “Any bridge would expensive. Eventually, we’ll come up with a recommendation to City Council, with or without a bridge, for a way to develop that into parking.”

 

Although far from a certain thing, Haws said the area where a bridge could possibly situated is in the area of the new exercise business located and Ann’s Sounds Familiar. Along with that, additional acreage would need to be purchased.

 

“We would have to look at acquiring some acreage owned by the church (at the intersection of East Philadelphia and Center Street) that is adjacent to the property we already own,” said Haws.

 

Haws doesn’t have concerns about the church being a willing seller. He said that there is little to no use the church could have the property and that there have already been appraisals done on the land in question.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows the property just off Center Street that could be used for future parking with the Embellishments Too building to the right. Bottom photo is of City Manager Kim Haws with City Clerk Andrea Kerr in the background.