Trustees Approve Shift In Tour-Bus Parking
To In Front Of Hall, Allowing Fair St. Access
COOPERSTOWN – Village trustees this evening unanimously approved a local law that moves tour-bus parking from in front of the Leatherstocking Corp. to in front of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The move allows tour buses to turn left and exit the village along Fair Street, alleviating some of the traffic on River Street, a block further.
A proposal raised by Mike Manno, 20 Fair St., to use the Doubleday Field parking lot to load and unload tour buses was discussed, but set aside for the time being. Trustee Cindy Falk said she has safety concerns about school children and Elderhostel tours having to walk from Doubleday to the Hall.
Shifting the parking to allow use of Fair as well as River was proposed by Trustee Ellen Tillapaugh, who reported tonight she was also in negotiation with Dreams Park owner Lou Presutti Jr. to shuttle youth baseball players from Hartwick Seminary to the Hall on the village’s trolley system.
Presutti reacted positively when she proposed the idea to him in August, she reported, adding that since Dreams Park send 50-60 buses downtown each week, that would alleviate some of the bus traffic downtown.
What had begun as a complaint against tour buses by River Street neighbors, who proposed banning tour buses from the village completed, by this evening had turned into a plan to meet the Hall’s customer-service concerns.
Hall VP Ken Meifert told trustees this evening the Hall prefers to have fans dropped off as close to the front door as possible. He reported that, of 400 buses coming to the Hall weekly, 180 are tour buses, but 220 are school buses.
Resident Jim Donnelly questioned whether the buses will impede the view of tourists seeking to photograph the Hall from the post office steps, a favorite perch. However, Trustee Lou Allstadt observed that, with van and car parking shifted to in front of Leatherstocking Corp. and buses coming and going in front of the Hall, tourists might actually get a clearer shot.
