Saying the area directly in front of the former Thali Restaurant on Main Street is the only suitable place for delivery drivers to park their trucks while serving downtown New Canaan businesses, officials plan to install a new loading zone there.
Officials plan to install a loading zone in front of the former Thali space here on Main Street by the Varnum’s alley, opposite the U.S. Post Office branch. Credit: Michael Dinan
The 7 to 11 a.m. loading zone would be coupled with the one directly across Main Street in front of the Post Office, according to Police Capt. John DiFederico.
“I was hoping to get onto Forest in the first spot, but Forest Street is so narrow now, plus that first spot has a handicapped space so we would have to have a handicapped spot and it’s just not a suitable place,” DiFederico told members of the Police Commission at their Dec. 15 meeting.
The new loading zone comes on the heels of a plan to install “No Parking” signs down the first stretch of East Avenue coming off of Main Street—an area where truckers are accustomed to parking, though it creates sightline and safety problems for motorists and pedestrians as well as concerns for business owners just there.
Officials plan to create a more permanent loading zone in front of the Post Office after the Post Office moves into its new location on Locust Avenue, likely next summer.
Town officials long have grappled with the problem of just where to designate loading zones in the business district. Motorists routinely ignore the designations, officials have said (see here, for example), and the town 18 months ago created two new zones on Forest and Elm.
The new loading zone planned in front of Thali Restaurant will not disrupt any businesses. The Indian food establishment closed in November, its owner saying Thali would reopen in a smaller space elsewhere in town.
The Police Commission voted 3-0 in favor the new loading zone.