Parking Construction Slated to Begin

Date:April 07, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Further Information Contact:

• Karen Huxtable
  (607) 547-4581
  karen.huxtable@bassett.org
• Diane L. Wells
  (607) 547-6354
  diane.wells@bassett.org

Cooperstown, N.Y. – Construction to expand parking on the Bassett Medical Center campus at Bassett Hall and Harrison House on Beaver Street in Cooperstown is slated to begin in April. The expanded parking calls for a total of 118 new parking spaces.

The project was first proposed in 2003 and has undergone in-depth engineering and environmental review to minimize the impact on neighbors, traffic flow and the environment. As part of the parking project, Bassett will also upgrade municipal utilities such as village storm drains and water lines located near Bassett Hall and Harrison House. Among the project’s other features:

• Shaded light fixtures directing light downward to prevent scatter light from hitting nearby homes and to minimize intrusion on the environment
• Certain lights can be turned off after hours to reduce brightness
• Retaining wall to reflect noise away from neighboring homes
• Special water handling equipment to prevent pollution of the Susquehanna River from run-off
• Wider entrances at Bassett Hall to enable vehicles to turn into the lot safely
• New and expanded sidewalks along Susquehanna Avenue and Beaver Street
• New landscaping at Bassett Hall and Harrison House in keeping with the residential character of the neighborhood
• New wrought iron fencing along Susquehanna Avenue and on Beaver Street at Harrison House

The tennis courts located behind Bassett Hall will be removed to make room for the new parking lot, which is intended to provide 64 additional staff parking spaces. A retaining wall will be built at the western edge of this parking lot to mitigate noise and headlight intrusion on neighboring houses.

The new paved lot at Harrison House, which has limited parking now and no paved parking, will be constructed along the sides of the property and two-story building, providing an additional 54 parking spaces for staff, visitors and patients. There will not be parking directly in front of Harrison House, rather the landscaping plan will replace and renew some of the trees and shrubs on the front lawn.

Construction is slated to begin in mid-April and finish in August. In addition to the parking expansion, work to resurface existing lots will also take place and be completed in late fall.