Limited parking spots require residents to be creative, flexible

By David Scholz

Staff writer

Monday, October 14 (12:00 p.m.): With the subtraction by half of available parking spaces at Gateway Complex as the solar canopy installation project starts, residents are quickly recognizing that overcoming this inconvenience is going to require some creativity and/or change of routine on their part.

On any given day, at a given hour, there are a host of activities and events going on, such as the free twice-monthly performances in the complex’s Redwood Room.

One regular attendee is Marcia Thayer, 81, who on a recent Monday was sitting in what she called her favorite chair working a puzzle in her Green Belt Sudoku book, before David Weston’s first set. “Come earlier,” said Thayer, referring to the way forward if parking – especially a handicap spot, which she requires – is going to be limited and harder to get.

And, with walking a bit more difficult these days with her bad back, leaving the house earlier will be even more essential, too.

The early-arrival strategy was voiced by several residents observed making the most of the various studios, ranging from the Woodshop to the Lapidary Studio to the spaces for ceramics and sewing.

Quilter Susan Grancio has taken to parking in a nearby alternative lot. But as slim pickings for parking loom, she acknowledged that her secret place may soon be discovered by others coming to Gateway in search of other parking options, especially those close to the Peacock Hall movie theater.

People coming for meetings or activities scheduled on certain days will have to embrace a mindset of being more flexible, and even carpooling, Grancio said.

That advice was echoed by Brian Pennebaker, GRF’s events coordinator.

“Carpooling with a friend (or a group of friends) to events at Gateway would significantly help minimize the parking challenges during the parking lot construction,” he said.

Installation of the solar canopies is expected to take more than three months. When completed, the project is expected to save Rossmoor as much as $11.3 million in electricity costs over 25 years.

Tom Beckett, a supervisor in the Woodshop, said he normally arrives early for his role in the shop. But he, for one, is willing to do whatever it takes.

“I like to walk,” he said, so if it means parking at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, he is open to doing that. Alternatively, he said, he can bike to Gateway.