Committee to study Port Washington parking situation

A new committee to examine the parking situation in Port Washington is scheduled to meet in September.

The Port Washington Parking Committee, created by North Hempstead town Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio, will include representatives from the five villages within the Port Washington Public Parking District — Baxter Estates, Flower Hill, Manorhaven, Port Washington North and Sands Point — as well as Port Washington-area civic and business groups, police and fire officials, and community members.

De Giorgio, the Republican candidate for town supervisor, said the committee will examine several issues relating to parking for merchants, residents and commuters in the area, including concerns about the Long Island Rail Road’s plan to extend its tracks at the Port Washington station as part of its East Side Access initiative.

The railroad has said the extra tracks are needed to store train cars at the station so more trains can be run to Penn and Grand Central stations when East Side Access is complete in 2019. One proposed expansion would remove 140 parking spaces on railroad-owned land.

An alternate proposal, which would involve the town selling some land to the railroad, would remove 40 spaces from a town-owned lot, with the potential to re-stripe the existing lot to recoup those spaces, according to the railroad.

“My goal is to really incorporate some holistic long-term solutions to our parking and traffic problems through this committee,” De Giorgio said.

The first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. at the Port Washington Public Library, 1 Library Drive.