Maynard structure to be repaired

Customers and employees of Ann Arbor's downtown shopping district may have one less option in the scramble for convenient parking as renovations to the Maynard Street parking structure are scheduled to begin this spring.

In response to the concerns of Ann Arbor residents, the Downtown Development Authority hosted an informational meeting and question-answer session at the Michigan Theater yesterday.

A handful of people attended, taking advantage of free popcorn and a chance to learn about the details of the project.

The 44-year-old structure, which contains 800 parking spaces, will undergo repairs to salt-damaged concrete and steel slabs during a five-phase project extending from March to August. Approximately 135,000 square feet of concrete will be removed from the structure.

LOUIS BROWN/Daily Mark Postma speaks at the Michigan Theater yesterday during an informational meeting about the Maynard Street parking structure repairs.

DDA Executive Director Susan Pollay and Mark Postma of Carl Walker, Inc., a company helping the city with the project, answered a variety of questions including where customer and employee parking will be available when the structure is under construction and how the DDA plans to inform regular parkers of the construction and temporary closing.

Pollay said Maynard Street permit holders will be able to park free of charge in the Fourth and East William streets structure once the project begins.

In recent years, the DDA has changed the funding process to ensure that taxes will not have to be raised to pay for the renovations.

All money collected from parking fees now remains specifically earmarked for parking projects. The goal was to create a parking system that pays for itself, Pollay said.

"The people using the system are paying for the system," she said.

When asked about excessive noise and dust resulting from the construction, Postma said attempts will be made to forewarn merchants and residents of inconveniences.

"We want to make this happen in a way that makes a structure that lasts, but also that we get through this construction period," Postma said.

Although the current problems have existed for some time, only short-term "band-aid" fixes have been applied, Pollay said.

The Maynard Street structure project is part of a $30 million dollar plan to renovate all seven of the city's structures during the next 10 years.

02-17-99