For over ten years, the city of Portsmouth has been trying to decide whether and where to build a second downtown parking garage. On Monday night, city councilors voted unanimously to bond a $23 million new garage. Of the 150 o r so people who packed City Hall, more than 50 testified in favor of the garage; four testified against it. Pressure was on for the three city councilors who had indicated uncertainty over the project. Garage Enthusiasts People have called this the most civically engaged city in the country’s most civically engaged state. Suffice it to say: people here care about Portsmouth’s buildings, its views, its growth. But for many including 26 year-old Jeff Kisiel, “parking is the biggest issue in this town.” Like Kisiel, forty-year Portsmouth resident Dixie McLean Tarbell beseeched city councilors to approve the bond. She was already organizing her thoughts days before the hearing. “I’ve just given up on driving downtown,” says McLean Tarbell. “If it’s bad weather I’ll