Parking Arcade To Close In Middletown: Mayor

MIDDLETOWN, CT — The city will be shutting down the parking arcade between Court Street and Dingwall Drive next week, Mayor Dan Drew announced on Thursday. Drew said the parking arcade will be closed effective close of business on Friday, March 9.

“The City has done many repairs to the structure in the past several years and has had assertions from structural engineers regarding the facility’s safety,” Drew said in a post on Facebook. “This winter’s constant freezing and thawing has taken a toll on the structure and it is currently in less than ideal condition.

“We have conferred with structural engineers who have informed us that they believe we can operate it for a short time into the future. They believe the structure is safe in the short term, but they agree that closing the facility is the best course moving forward – not because of the danger of a collapse, but instead because of disintegrating pieces of concrete.”

Drew said the city is keeping the parking arcade open until March 9 to give notice to the public, court and local businesses. The bottom level will be immediately closed, according to Drew.

“To accommodate moving the vehicles normally stored beneath the arcade, effective immediately, Dingwall Drive will be one way with local business access only with no thru traffic, meaning that pedestrians may head West from deKoven Drive to Metro Square and back out to Main Street when leaving Metro Square from Dingwall Drive,” Drew said. “We are also working on a plan with the structural engineers to remove the top deck of the arcade so that the bottom level can be accessed as a standalone parking lot. We will approach the Council with a financing plan for approval as soon as we have a better idea of what our costs will be and what engineering and demolition timelines will look like.

“In the meantime, the Parking Department is working to transition permit parkers into other spaces. The public will continue to park anywhere they normally do – except for the arcade.

“Another point of consideration is that we have long been working at a public-private partnership to develop this area. We will continue to pursue this course vigorously.”