Traffic and Parking Commission Meeting November 2nd

There is a City of Salem Traffic and Parking Commission meeting next Thursday, November 2nd at 120 Washington Street 3rd floor at 6:30 PM. (Item vii on the above agenda). The Bus Parking in Holyoke Square will be discussed at this meeting.  Please consider attending to support turning the Bus Spaces back into Automobile Parking spaces.  Please pass the word about this meeting by email and social media.

Salem Chamber of Commerce Political Forum at the Salem Waterfront Hotel

For those interested, the Salem Chamber of Commerce is holding a Councilor-At-Large forum tomorrow night for the 8 candidates who are vying for those 4 seats.

Tuesday, August 22
Salem Waterfront Hotel
6-7:30PM

Please click on the link below for more information about the event and the candidates:

http://www.salem-chamber.org/political-forums

Thank You,

Bob Femino & Barbara Mann
Co-Chairs, Greater Endicott Street Neighborhood Association (GESNA)

IMPORTANT MEETING THIS THURSDAY

The Parking Board is going to discuss parking in The Holyoke Square area on Thursday night. (See the attached agenda below). The last ten months have proven that The Bus Parking there is not working. There have been approximately 6000 hours of possible bus parking and buses have only parked there for about 10 to 20 hours. During this time there have been approximately 20,000 hours that cars could have parked there (7 cars times 10 hours a day for 10 months).  The bus spaces on Holyoke Square have remained empty for 10 months. Buses don't park there and cars are not allowed to park there.  It's time to allow cars to park there again. Please pass the word about this meeting and try to attend if you can find the time.  Thank-You!

Planning Board Meeting about Proposed Development at 120 Washington Street

Residents of 24 Norman Street, be aware (if you have not already received notice from the City of Salem Planning Board) that there will be a public hearing on Thurday, June 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM in room 313, third floor at 120 Washington Street to review plans to convert the 3rd and 4th floor offices at 120 Washington Street, currently occupied by the city, into (14) residential units and construct a common roof deck on the 2nd floor. The potential impact of this for 24 Norman Street residents is possible sound issues for the back and north side of the building, and especially on available area parking. The 120 Washington Street building has no parking of it's own and no mention has been made of where these (14) residents are going to be parking. Will the city make a deal to sell/lease more spaces in the already crowded Riley Plaza? With the leasing of space in Riley Plaza to the Merchant Hotel, another (2) hotels being built on Essex and Washington Streets and the loss of (8) spaces to tour-bus parking, parking availability promised to be a hot issue in the coming year or so.  If you can, please attend the meeting to find out the details of what is being proposed and to rasie any concerns you may have. This may be your only opportunity to be heard.

Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting

Markwood recently received the following notification about a Zoning Board of Appeasl meeting about an issue that may or may not affect us here at 24 Norman Street.

Dear Neighbor,

Many of us in the greater Endicott Street neighborhood recently received a meeting notice from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The notice reads that Excel Recycling is seeking a Special Permit which will allow them "to operate a metal storage, recycling and transportation facility categorized as a junkyard at 99 MARGIN STREET". That location is in Ward 3 between the Salem Police station and 1 Jefferson Avenue. It is diagonally across the street from the bottom of Summer Street.

If you are interested in hearing more about this development, or have concerns as to its impact on our neighborhood, the issue will be on the Zoning Board of Appeal's Meeting Agenda. It will take place at:

6:30 PM, Wednesday Evening, February 15, 2017
City Hall Annex
120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor

Concerns or inquiries can also be directed to Ward 3 Councilor Stephen Lovely.
stephen.lovely@verizon.net

Thank You,

Barbara Mann & Bob Femino
Co-Chairpersons, Greater Endicott Street Neighborhood Association (GESNA)

IMPORTANT MEETING TONIGHT!

The recent petition to change the City Ordinance pertaining to Tour Bus Parking and make all of Holyoke Square (east side) Tour Bus parking passed for first passage 2 weeks ago.
Councillors, Sargent, Milo, Lovely and Dibble were opposed.
It only takes (2) votes to make a City Ordinance Change. It will not become law until a 2nd vote is taken this Thursday night at the Oct 13th City Council meeting. The meeting will be on the 2nd floor of City Hall in The City Council Chambers.
Anyone interested can attend the meeting (at 7:00) and they will be able to speak on the issue, if they sign up on the Public Comment Sign Up Sheet located in The City Clerks office (room #1 on the first floor of City Hall) before 6:30.

UPDATE: PARKING MEETING TONIGHT!

There will be a meeting of the Salem City Council tonight, Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 7:00 PM in the Council Chamber at 93 Washington Street to discuss a new parking arrangement for Holyoke Street.
This meeting is about turning parking spaces on Holyoke Street into tour bus parking spaces.
This means we could potentially lose all of the parking spaces on Holyoke.

The council will also be deciding weather to change this:
"ORDINANCE to amend traffic, chapter 42 Sec, 11: Bus Stops, by deleting Holyoke Square, Bus Stops on the easterly side in a northerly direction, beginning twenty feet from Gedney Street and extending eighty feet. Tour bus parking two hour limit."

and replace it with this:

Holyoke Street, Bus Stops, on the easterly side in a northerly direction, beginning 20 feet from Gedney St. and extending 160 feet. Tour Bus parking Two Hour limit.

Ward Councillor Famico has moved to adopt the first passage. Which means we would keep at least some of the spaces.

If you care about parking on Holyoke Street at all, please consider attending this meeting, or if you cannot make the meeting please call your city councillors. Their phone numbers are on the Salem.com website. Or e-mail them at citycouncilors@salem.com.

Your Input is Needed for the Salem Artists Row Public Forum

The City of Salem has hired The Cecil Group to coordinate a process to re-envision Artists’ Row, with a goal to spur revitalization of the space so that it can be a renewed focal point of Salem’s creative economy.  A plan for Artists’ Row will be developed and focus on design, uses and programming, and management and operations.  We would like to know your thoughts on how the City can address these critical issues to improve Artists’ Row in the short term and for years to come.

Earlier this week, the City held one of two public forums to gather input from the community on this issue.  Below is a link to the presentation that was shown at the meeting.  Below the presentation link is a link to an online survey that we kindly ask that you fill out and submit by noon on Friday, June 26th.  If you have any questions about this project you may contact Andrew Shapiro at ashapiro@salem.com or 978-619-5685.

Thank you in advance for providing your valuable feedback on this important project.
Artists’ Row Envisioned Presentation (Powerpoint)

Survey

A Major New Initiative by the City of Salem

WHAT: Listening session on Age-Friendly Salem
WHEN: Tuesday, June 23, 2015
First Session: 2pm to 3:30pm
Second Session: 6pm to 7:30pm
WHERE: City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor

"An Age-Friendly city helps people of all ages participate in community activities and treats everyone with respect--regardless of their age. An Age-Friendly city welcomes everyone and adapts its structures and services to be accessible to all including older people with varying needs and capacities. An Age-Friendly city encourages active aging by optimizing opportunities for good health and social interaction in order to add ‘Life to Years.’ This is a vital part of Salem’s future.” - Mayor Kimberley Driscoll

Click Here to Learn More

Meetings on Pedestrian Mall Phase 2 Improvements

Design discussions focused on the second phase of improvements to the Essex Street pedestrian mall will be held this month. The first discussion will be at the Salem Redevelopment Authority (SRA) meeting on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at 6:30 PM. The second discussion will be at the Design Review Board (DRB) meeting on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 6:00 PM. Both meetings will be held on the third floor of the City Hall Annex at 120 Washington Street.

BACKGROUND

On April 11, 2012, the SRA approved the conceptual plan for pedestrian mall improvements. The work was divided into phases, and construction of phase one was completed on September 14, 2012. The work in the first phase was limited to the removal of the landscaping beds located in the following three locations: 226 Essex Street (Coon’s); 213 and 215 Essex Street (The Magic Parlor and Derby Square Bookstore), and 197-201 Essex Street (Witch History Museum). These areas were filled in with brick to match the existing pattern.

The design discussion for the second phase of improvements will focus on the refurbishment of the fountain at Washington Street and the treatment of the cobblestones.

Please note: Some elements were approved on April 11, 2012, but they were not implemented during phase one construction. These elements will be included in the next phase of construction and include the addition of canopy trees, the removal of the bulletin board kiosk in front of 216 Essex Street (Cabot Money Management), and the removal of the landscaping beds in front of 186 Essex Street (Witch City Ink) and 182 Essex Street (The Bootery). As was done in the first phase of construction, the areas that have something removed will be filled in with brick to match the existing pattern. The removal of the concrete circular planter in front of 210 Essex Street (Salem Five) was also approved on April 11, 2012. However, the revised design has the planter remaining.

Salem Power Plant Feasibility Study

Public Meeting Notice

The City of Salem will hold a public meeting on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 6:30 PM at the Bentley Elementary School, 25 Memorial Drive regarding the feasibility study for the reuse of Dominion Energy’s Salem Harbor Power Station site that is currently underway. At this meeting the City will provide an update on the progress of the feasibility study and solicit input from the public.

The purpose of this study is to understand the site context, review current economic trends and power demands in the region, and explore potential scenarios and alternative land use concepts for reuse, including associated costs, benefits, and issues.

The City has retained the services of Jacobs Engineering Group, in conjunction with Sasaki Associates, LaCapra Energy Consultants, and Robert Charles Lesser & Co. to help facilitate this study. The study is being paid for with a grant the City obtained from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center.