As suggested in a recent comment thread on the New Canaanite, setting up a task force of town officials, business owners and citizens is a logical next step to address New Canaan’s downtown parking situation. Yes, in hindsight, it may have been a great first step, but we are here today and need to look forward.
I drive down Elm Street every day and while my business is not located on the one-way section of Elm Street, I do feel the merchants’ pain. I also know that the current downturn in shopping is not totally the result of parking rules changing. Besides the meters, we have lost many spaces over the past five years due first to a compliance issue with state of Connecticut ADA compliance around cross-walk safety and most recently the installation of curb bump-outs (which actually reclaimed about five previously lost spaces). In addition, the outside world has impacted our local economy with higher interest rates, tariffs, supply chain restrictions, and an ongoing migration to the digital world.
When I think of other charming small towns and cities I’ve traveled to (thinking Charleston SC, Boulder CO, Bloomington IN, Hanover NH, Woodstock VT), you find meters in all the prime parking and free parking nearby. When Jeff Speck came and spoke about ‘walkability’ at the New Canaan Library a couple of years ago, he showed many examples of successful shopping districts where the prime parking was paid and nearby adjacent parking was free. Historically, here in New Canaan, we’ve had the opposite approach (roughly 60-70 free spaces on Elm/South and 120 paid spaces at the Park Street lot). I believe that Jeff’s talk, and a follow-up session with local leaders the next day, was the catalyst for looking at a change.
I understand that change is hard and sometimes traumatic. Missing in most of the dialogue around our parking issue is this simple fact: It is not so much about how many parking spaces there are on Elm Street; rather, it is how often do those spaces turn over during the day. Yes, we used to have more spaces ON Elm Street. But many of those spaces were taken up by employees of businesses in town. Over the years, the Chamber worked with the town to provide businesses with no-charge parking permits for employees at town lots like Center School and Richmond Hill. But that had limited results. Today, we may have fewer on-street parking spaces, but in my observation, those spaces are turning over more frequently during the day resulting in MORE area residents finding a space on the street when they want.
Those folks who need longer timed parking, like employees and anyone spending more time in town or anyone who doesn’t want to pay for parking, can use the FREE parking at the newly paved Park Street lot.
Speaking of the Park Street lot, perhaps timing is everything. Had the sequence of events happened differently, and the new stairs and ramp by the Playhouse alley been completed first, then the Park Street lot repaved and striped, and THEN the parking meters installed on Elm Street, we all may have felt differently. But again, we are where we are and we need to find a logical path forward.
We have a ton of very smart people in New Canaan. Getting a group together for a collaborative brainstorming session should lead to a better future for downtown parking.
For starters, I’ll throw out some basic ideas:
- Initiate a ‘First 15 minutes are FREE’ policy for Elm/South. Yes, you still need to ad your license plate to the app or scan the meter, but your first 15 minutes are FREE to run in and grab that coffee or quick errand.
- Consider a special mirror hang tag for local seniors who cannot navigate the stairs or ramp.
- Improve directional signage to FREE PARKING
Change is hard. Let’s work together to make it as EASY as possible.
I do love these ideas and agree that finding parking spots on Elm Street is much easier now.
You have to enter your car and payment info just once in one of the parking apps. Then it takes just a few seconds to enter your location, amount of time and pay online when you park on Elm.
Finally, creating the ramp behind the movie theater for commercial trucks to use for unloading their deliveries will hopefully help to also clear the middle of the day traffic congestion on Elm. It is frustrating when your car is blocked by a commercial truck from leaving. Is there anything that can be done to encourage those trucks to not double park on Elm and use the back ramp for deliveries instead?
Leo, As a long time resident of NC, I often “target shop” in Elm Street. That is quickly pick-up a items at Franco’s , or a meal at a number of our fine restaurants.
I don’t need more than 15′ to complete my errand. I think the grace period for parking would be appreciated.
This may also help prevent the double parking that so often is the case in Elm Street
Leo,
Thank you for your letter and insights. I completely agree with you about looking forward! I wanted to add another insight that Jeff Speck spoke about when he visited New Canaan – the hierarchy of beginning with least aggressive measures when making changes. What I hear most from people isn’t that they mind paying a couple of dollars to park, but rather that they don’t want to take the time to log in to the app or use the meter machines that were installed on the street. A less aggressive solution would be to make both Elm Street and the Park Street lot free, but limit Elm Street to 60 minutes and keep Park Street at 3 hours. This would have immediately turned the spots on Elm Street twice as often as they were prior to the installation of the parking meters. With this scenario customers who are running a quick errand (grabbing a cup of coffee, picking up a gift, ordering food to go) could park on the street for fast in and out. Customers who are spending more time in town (having lunch, shopping at multiple stores, getting a haircut) could park on Park Street for up to 3 hours. One hour parking on Elm Street would likely also discourage any employees who are still parking on the street from doing so, because who can leave work to move their car every hour?
Following Speck’s approach of a hierarchy that begins with the least aggressive methods while reviewing parking in other areas of town will also cost significantly less (some new signs versus purchase and installation of parking meters) than starting with the most aggressive method and offer an opportunity to review whether “less is more” when it comes to downtown parking.
YES to a parking task force. Everyone’s perspective counts!
Great suggestions, Leo, as to be expected. The 15 minute idea is good, and Kevin hit it on the head. Many stops on Elm are targeted runs. The key is the app usage. We use apps for so many other things in our lives that the town parking app should become second nature after a while. Hopefully, in time the service fee will decline as usage increases. They are a bit steep at present. May I suggest the “first 15” should be both free of parking fees, and free of service fees. After the “meter” starts, so to speak, then all charges are applicable. BTW, a ton of people is about a dozen. We’ve got more a lot more than a dozen smart folks in this town.
A link to the Jeff Speck event at the Library https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfCYOM20wWo
Thank you, Leo, for highlighting the importance of addressing the errand-focused customer. I agree with the sentiment behind “first 15 minutes free,” however would advocate taking it a step further by dedicating 15–20 centrally-located spaces exclusively for free/meterless short-term parking. That is what will create the high-turnover spaces that downtown retailers rely on and New Canaan shoppers are asking for. Similar short term parking spots currently work on Morse Court, Main Street and Locust Avenue and it only makes sense to offer it on Elm Street as well.
Dedicated short-term spaces would ensure that, even during high-volume periods, such as the 12:00–2:00 p.m. lunch rush, there are still convenient spots available for residents who want to pick up a sandwich or run an errand. Without designated spaces, the most convenient midday spots will continue to be occupied primarily by diners and longer-duration visitors. A balanced system should accommodate both long-term and short-term parking needs on Elm Street at all times, creating a downtown environment that remains welcoming and accessible for all types of shoppers.
I write for the third time in this publication to advocate that the first 15 minutes in Elm Street should be free. It was not my idea, that is the way it works in metered parking spaces in Norwalk and people like it. Will this fix the problems that our local merchants raise? I do not know but please can we try it out and see? I hope the decision makers at town hall read Leo’s letter and all the comments submitted by readers. Perhaps even give 30 minutes for free?