To the editor:

I’m all in favor of the proposed parking garage on the backside of Winslow Way adjacent to BPA. We are never going to be able to get downtown parking in as invisible a location as this.

I say this as a Winslow resident who lives two blocks from downtown and almost always walks there. I will never park my car in the proposed garage, but those who do will be keeping the stores on Winslow Way in business so I can shop there too.

As for who pays for it, I feel the bulk of the cost should be paid by the store owners (landlords) but as a Winslow resident I am willing to bear some of the costs. When built we will also have to have parking enforcement to keep it from being used by ferry riders. Shop workers should be able to park here all day probably by some kind of permit, and shoppers should have a 2- to 4-hour limit.

As long as there is a ferry terminal in Winslow we will always have a parking problem. The solution is not to pave over Winslow but to have the parking concentrated in parking garages. As stated earlier the proposed parking garage adjacent to BPA will be the most hidden location possible. However, I would like to the access to this parking garage not come from Madrona Lane off Winslow Way. This would mean getting rid of the current pedestrian mall with tables and umbrellas used by the patrons of the nearby restaurants and coffee shops.

Instead car access should come from Madison Avenue on the west via Henshaw Way, the road next to city hall. And since there is talk of expanding or relocating the museum there could also be car access from Ericksen Avenue on the east.

Fellow island residents, let’s not make the same mistake with the proposed parking garage as we did with the proposed police station next to the city hall. Anti-development sentiment combined with the toxic pollution found on the proposed site lead to it being voted down.

So what do we have now, an existing old overcrowded police station with access problems every time a ferry pulls in and the toxic waste that is still there with no hope of cleanup. Had we built the police station as proposed the toxic pollution would now be gone, the police would have an efficient new building, and the police officers would feel valued. As it is now we have told the police that you are not good enough to deserve a new police station.

GARY PETTERSEN

Bainbridge Island