Resident urges alternatives as Moses DeWitt parking proposal shelved

Mary Anne Fish of 170 Canterbury Road told the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District Board of Education on March 23 that a proposed new parking lot across from her neighborhood had caused alarm among neighbors. "I was told that the district is not pursuing a proposal for constructing a new parking lot on Canterbury," Fish said, adding she had not seen formal plans and was relieved if the project was off the table.

Fish proposed two alternatives she said the district should explore instead of new construction: a staff "park-and-ride share" that would use underutilized parking at other school sites and encourage carpooling, and negotiating short-term use of an apparently underused lot on Wellington Road across from the fire department. Fish said a small lot of about 15–20 spaces would be expensive to build and could negatively affect the nearby neighborhood and students.

Board members did not engage in a public response; the chair reminded speakers that the district generally does not respond during public session and invited Fish to follow up by phone, text or email. Superintendent Dr. DeKalb later told the board the district had asked state reviewers about whether Moses DeWitt's parking work would qualify as an emergency project and that preliminary findings said it would not; he said staff continue to work with Widewaters and will consider the phase 2 capital project as another avenue for addressing site needs.

The resident said she welcomed follow-up and requested feedback from the district; no formal motion or vote was attached to the public comment.