The new City of Batavia Police Department project has started on at Bank Street and Alva Place.
Before the work begins, the area needed to be fenced off for construction equipment.
On Thursday morning, business owners at the corner of Washington Avenue and Bank Street who use the parking lot at Bank Street and Alva Place, say they and their customers were surprised after being fenced in and unable to get out of the fenced in area. Business owners say they were then advised one by one to remove vehicles from the parking lot.
According to a representative from the group of businesses, who did not want to be named, they were under the impression that one row of parking in front of the sidewalk area would be available for those customers who need handicap accessibility. The representative of the group says after learning of the setup of the parking situation, some customers have decided to go elsewhere as they are unable to park in handicap parking or close by to enter the businesses at the corner of Bank Street and Washington Avenue.
The construction of the new Police Department Headquarters will last about 18 months.
Employees and customers of the businesses located at Bank Street and Washington Avenue have been advised to park on the west side of the lot, which is currently being used by several other businesses and their customers.
Parking on Washington Avenue has been changed to 3 hours (from 2 hours) and a few customers/employees can park on the southside of Washington Avenue. There is also parking available in front of the former JCPenney’s location, but that location will require a long walk for those who need handicap parking.
The Jerome Center is also available for parking by crossing Bank Street.
Since the closure of the whole parking lot to employees and customers on Thursday, Police Chief Shawn Heubusch has reached out to business owners and invited them to meet and discuss their parking concerns around the new police facility construction site.
The meeting will be held on Monday April 22, 2024, at 5:30p.m. at the Police Department Conference room at 10 West Main Street, the City of Batavia Police Department. Heubusch says a project representative will be on site to discuss an overview of the project.
Disgusting. Handicapped folks deserve equal access. This isn’t a “let’s discuss” type situation. This is a situation where the business is being affected. If nothing can be done about lot….. they need to hire runners to stand outside all day and run orders for the business or transport the handicapped via wheelchair. They also need to compensate the business for loss. Don’t care what it takes…. this should have been addressed long before the project began. This oversight is a product of complete lack of care for anyone. I guess we should be used to that from the police by now. They can’t even put up a building without ruining people. They don’t care about anything but their ego.
We are complete fools to think any of this will be and but monkeey poop toss . We continue to prove our incompetence at managing anything .
Why did we need a bigger water lune cut into a fairly new street , because police and water usage , umm again why ? Or why was it not done just 4 years ago when it was ripped up .
Oh and its in the most lucrative empty lot in the city that will be forever untaxed .
parking issue will be nothing to the congestion crested and a resolution to bypass our own code are all standard now so its a matter of when that poop misses its target and hits the fan and splatering On the wrong person
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