The parking spaces at the new Town Hall came out about six inches narrower than others in New Canaan, officials say.
Asked by the Town Council about the spaces at Wednesday night’s regular meeting, Department of Public Works Director Michael Pastore said he wasn’t sure just how they came out narrower than usual but that there’s room to expand them toward the access road that runs past the addition.
“It’s something we’re going to have to address,” Pastore said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “Parking is still something that has got to be resolved. Day-to-day, so far, it hasn’t been a problem. I think it will be a problem when the holidays come and folks use the upper [Park Street] parking lot. Then it will get tight. But it’s something we are aware of.”
The comments, in response to a question by Councilman Roger Williams, came as Pastore reported a final cost of the Town Hall renovation and expansion of $17,844,000—about $154,000 under budget.
Town Council Chairman Bill Walbert praised Michael Avgerinos, chairman of the Town Hall Building Committee, for doing an “amazing job” and called Saturday’s dedication “a great event.”
“That whole building committee with your guidance, Michael, did an amazing job to bring this building to finality and it is something that all the citizens can be very proud of,” Walbert said.
Williams echoed those comments prior to raising the parking issue, calling Town Hall “a beautiful facility.”
“We have a great looking building, I know parking was an issue with much discussion, and it appears to me—or is it my imagination?—that our spaces out here are fairly narrow,” Williams said. “Narrower than probably our traditional parking spaces. We tend to squeeze more in. I don’t know if this means that Karl Chevrolet needs to start selling micro-cars instead of Suburbans. But it’s a little tight parking there.”
Pastore noted that the parking spaces perched just above the main Town Hall lot, alongside the former Outback Teen Center, also are about six inches narrower than usual.