Parking in Beacon: Stop and Go
Drawing the lines in battle over space By Jeff Simms Scenic Hudson is hoping to nearly double the parking at the base of Mount Beacon to ease congestion at one of the Highlands’ most popular hiking spots . Meanwhile, the Beacon City Council and a developer clashed over who should provide spaces for a new 24- unit apartment building on Main Street. Mount Beacon Representatives from Scenic Hudson appeared before the Planning Board earlier this month to discuss plans to expand the lot at the park from 40 spaces to 77. The project, if approved, would be completed this winter, said Meg Rasmussen, a park planner for the nonprofit conservation group . It would involve moving the Howland Avenue lot entrance farther away from Route 9D and turning it into an exit. Cars routinely line Howland on holidays and weekends when the park’s lot is full. An overflow area north of the lot will be off-limits (it was recently determined to be wetlands), while the existing lot will be widened and orien