I know that parking can be a touchy subject around here, especially when it comes to surface parking lots.  Some folks under-estimate the need for space, others over-estimate.  And round and round we go.  I’ll leave solving that conundrum to the Zoning Task Force.

Be that as it may, this lot along Church Street in the heart of downtown, which serves as parking for many of the stores/restaurants along the Square, always gets my imaginary juices following when I think about the non-asphalt possibilities.  My latest random idea?  An urban park stretching from the back steps of City Hall all the way down to Church at the southern portion end of the lot!  Benches, statues, hedges.  Sorta like this. Then build up the northern end of the parking lot with street-front retail and with a small parking deck tucked in at the rear.

Now let me just say, I know this is privately-owned land (except for the parking behind City Hall) and thus not likely to ever happen – even if the increased property values around the park would help offset its cost – but it’s always fun to dream!

P.S.  In case my crappy picture doesn’t give you a good sense of where I’m talking about – here’s the Google Streetview of the lot.