Council will hear presentations on Thorndike parking lot and Winter Street

Parking, lighting plans to get aired before Rockland City Council

Thu, 07/31/2014 - 3:30pm

    ROCKLAND – On Monday Aug. 4, city officials will present the Rockland City Council with their recommendations for improvements to the parking lot off Thorndike Street and the electrical cables on Winter Street.

    According to John Holden, Community Development Director for Rockland, the current improvements being considered for the Thorndike parking lot center on lighting and layout.

    In a recent interview Jennifer Rockwell, the future manager of Main Street Markets at 435 Main Street, explained her and her father’s plans to improve the back of their building and add a back entrance into the Thorndike lot.

    Holden said updating the layout of the parking lot would “encourage development on the rear side of properties,” as the Rockwells and others plan to do.

    He added that lighting in the parking lot has been a concern, and improving the lighting is the second part of the plan he, Wastewater Treatment Director Terry Pinto and others will presenting to the council.

    Improvements that have already been completed in the Thorndike area include a new public restroom on Tillson Avenue near the parking lot.

    The “phase one” plans for lighting and layout improvements that will be presented on Monday are based on the available budget. Holden said they have larger future plans for the space which will depend on securing grants and funding.

    Also on the agenda for Monday’s meeting is a presentation on improving electrical service on Winter Street.

    Holden said property owners have expressed an interest in putting the cables underground, but a project like that is outside the budget. Instead, the council will be presented with two options for new aboveground service.

    The council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. on August 4, in the Council Chambers at Rockland’s City Hall.