Parking meters have been in effect on Elm Street since October. Implementing a large-scale initiative during the fourth quarter brought several issues into sharp focus.
Throughout the season, I heard increasing feedback from customers who were hesitant to come into town for quick errands. As a merchant, it was particularly discouraging to see social media comments from frustrated residents saying, “I’m just not coming into town anymore.” Turns out, New Canaan shoppers still want convenience, and convenience is one of the last remaining advantages for brick-and-mortars. Supporting these shoppers’ experience is crucial to retailers’ success.
We need free short-term parking on Elm Street. Short-term parking has already been implemented successfully on Locust Avenue, Main Street and Morse Court. There is no reason it cannot be applied on Elm Street, in the heart of the village. Designating even 15 to 20 of Elm Street’s 78 spaces for short-term use will ease congestion, reduce double-parking, improve turnover, and better serve New Canaan residents and shoppers.
During the last several months, I also heard frequently from elderly shoppers who find the kiosks confusing and are not comfortable with using apps for parking. From my daily interactions with these customers, I can say they rarely come to town for extended shopping trips; they are running a quick errand. Making brief visits more difficult for senior shoppers is both unnecessary and unfair.
Short-term parking works best when it is located where shopping activity is most concentrated. The newly-designated short-term spaces on Park Street have proven to be a poor substitute. They are out of view, inconvenient, and difficult to navigate for seniors with mobility challenges and parents with strollers. Also, we’ve discovered that their parallel layout makes them attractive to delivery trucks who can take up multiple spots with ease.
Midday congestion remains a problem. Diners occupy many of the available spaces at a time when shoppers want convenience for that lunchtime errand. When all spaces are metered for longer stays, these short visits are the most likely to disappear. And the merchants are feeling it; 12-2pm foot traffic just about comes to a standstill. Short-term spots would secure parking for those running errands, without hurting restaurants.
We’ve also seen an increase in double-parking, which contributes to congestion. (Also, unfortunately, it raises safety concerns, as it’s clear that watchful thieves are now present in our downtown.) But for the shopper, short-term parking will provide high turnover spots for those retrieving a pre-ordered item or picking up a food order. It makes sense.
From conversations with fellow merchants and daily interactions with customers, the conclusion is clear: Elm Street needs a block of clearly designated, free short-term parking spaces. The residents have made clear they still want convenience. The meters are in place. Now is the time to fine-tune the initiative so that Elm Street functions as well in practice as it does in theory.
[Carl Franco is the owner of Franco Wine Merchants. The Franco family has served the New Canaan community since 1917.]
Well said Carl. There have been times when running quick errands it has taken longer to figure out parking meter than errand itself. And as you wrote there have been times when it’s not worth the bother to even stop.
I completely agree with Carl’s comments. I wrote to our First Selectman with the same concerns. I encourage others to do the same. It’s not about accepting changes. It’s about making sensible changes, if at all. These changes make no sense.
Agree. My husband and I rarely go downtown to shop anymore because we don’t want to deal with the meters! Double parking still impedes travel.
I think this is a great idea. It is absolutely true for me that if figuring out the meter is going to take longer than the errand, I’m going to go somewhere else. I also wrote the selectmen with these same concerns and was told to give it a chance and they will adjust as necessary, so let’s hope that’s true. I’m sorry your business is suffering for it, Carl
I agree! Lately I find Westport much easier to shop and park and that is sad because I would prefer to support our local merchants.
I agree with Carl and all above comments however, I can see people using the proposed short term parking as an avenue to get a good spot and pay an overtime ticket vs using it as it is intended.
For those of you who don’t want to shop in town anymore: have you considered how your home values will change if New Canaan becomes a non-shopping district? All the Mom and Pop stores support and participate in the town-loved events such as Christmas Stroll, Halloween parade, etc. let alone school fundraisers, etc. Those can easily disappear. Why is it too hard to figure out a meter (once you do it a few times, I am sure it becomes rote) and shop locally? I don’t get it. Have you considered the consequences??
In fairness its really up to our elected officials to determine “the consequences” So far the results don’t seem positive. Maybe its best to go back to old system. Not optimum but it worked. Thought the idea was to support the stores not hinder them. Im reminded of the old Ronald Reagan line about the nine most terrifying words in the English language… ” I’m from the government and Im here to help”
Agree. Needing to pick something up at Salzburg, and parking in front of Dunkin, we sat and debated whether we should skip paying for a couple minutes, then wanting to be good citizens played around with the app (poor reception) for a another few minutes, and finally were able to complete our errand. It’s just a pain in the rear and doesn’t appear to be solving anything. Consistent enforcement with the truck and gig-driver problems might help. (Or go back to free parking.)
Completely agree! Let’s listen to our town merchants!
In many shopping mall, hospital and airport parking lots the first 15 minutes or so is free. After that you pay. While it is easier to manage this in a lot where you pay upon leaving, surely, in the 21st century, we can manage street parking in Elm and South so you only have to pay if you are going to stay longer than 15 minutes. Let’s have the parking commission figure this out. There has to be a way.
Agree!!!
Local merchants are what make New Canaan special. We have already lost so many to these trying times. Now that they have tried this new parking concept there is definitely room for improvement. I have worked in New Canaan for over thirty years parking has always been a problem ,but there is a huge influx of new developments that bring more people and vehicles to town. Our customers complain everyday about the parking. I laughed when I went to the meeting about the new parking for it was such a joke!!
Finding a parking space in town is not easy no matter where you go and I agree that the new parking regulations take some adjustment. I like the idea of free short term parking for quick errands, but that would require vigilant oversight to prevent abuse. How would this be enforced? That’s the rub.
Gone is the small town feel that other towns want to emulate, where a quick errand turns into window shopping, a spontaneous purchase at the Whitney shop or maybe a cappuccino, or remembering a birthday and stopping into Penny Weights ….and so on. Now replaced with pulling into a parking spot forgoing the parking fee, a furtive glance around for the parking officer, and in Franco’s case, grabbing a bottle of wine and making a quick exit, or going to one of the 3 or 4 other liquor stores around that have stressless parking and maybe (gasp) taking part in a wine tasting one hadn’t planned on. I get it Carl.
In full agreement, would love to see more free short term parking spots! I think a few centrall,y located would be amazing. The current 15 min spots are almost always full.
It is so frustrating to go to town ! The meters and the double parking make it unpleasant to try to shop. In addition, the cost of the parking meters are more expensive than other towns close by, with some even offering free parking. It appears people are going to shop and dine out of town unless there is a solution to this problem in a timely manner. The merchants deserve immediate attention from our elected officals.
It takes less than a minute to pay for parking. Or maybe 4-5 minutes to walk from the several free lots that surround Elm Street. These comments read like you have to fill out a form, pay a massive fee, and that there is no other option available.
Driving 20+ minutes out of the way to park for free in Westport? C’mon. Having to walk more than 30 seconds to get alcohol? Maybe a good thing. The solution all of these comments are looking for is unlimited parking in front of every store, all the time. Parking as far as the eye can see – that is the acres around Metlife Stadium, or Disneyland. Not the ‘small town’ feel everyone is constantly on about.
The issue isn’t whether someone can walk 4–5 minutes or tap a phone for 60 seconds. The issue is whether we should be adding complexity to something that used to be simple and welcoming. A small town shouldn’t feel like an airport terminal where every basic action comes with a fee or an app.
And the “less than a minute” argument only works in theory. In reality, you’re often stuck behind someone trying to figure out the machine while they’re on the phone talking about their Pilates class. The whole process slows down the very people who just want to run a quick errand. What should be a 30‑second stop turns into a small line and a hassle, exactly the kind of friction a small town should avoid.
Meters don’t create a small‑town feel, they create a transactional one. Small towns thrive when people linger, browse, and make spontaneous stops. When you put a clock and a fee on every visit, you change behavior. People shorten trips, avoid downtown for quick errands, or choose businesses with easier access.
And no one is asking for MetLife‑Stadium‑level parking. That’s a straw man. What people want is the same thing they’ve always had here, the ability to run an errand, grab a coffee, pick up a prescription, or meet a friend without worrying about a meter, a ticket, or an app glitch.
Free parking isn’t about entitlement, it’s about supporting local businesses. Every barrier you add, even a small one, pushes people toward places that are simpler and more convenient. If we want a vibrant downtown, we should remove obstacles, not introduce new ones.
Town hall sold this inefficient idea that delivery truck double parking and blocking lanes would end. We’ll nothing has changed in the 4 months town taxpayer’s have been paying for parking and our merchants hurt. I opposed this based on queuing theory from the start. Trucks still double parking and even parking in handicap zones with impunity. Time to roll back this horrendous idea. This is what happens when non experienced politicians make decisions. Just like the non transparent $14 a square foot rent for the taxpayer owned playhouse to a third party without disclosure or transparency. Time to elect knowledgeable persons to our town offices. Not inexperienced know-it-alls.
As a retailer on Elm, we have experienced a decline in foot traffic, hence sales in our store. Many customers will just shop online. They either don’t want to deal with the meters or walk far. They are not coming downtown.
I have helped many customers navigate the Kiosk as they are older or from other towns and they don’t know about it. This parking system is hurting all of downtown. The free short term would at least be a help for those who are picking up an order. I often run a package out to the customers car as they drive by. I almost got hit by another car. Retail is a challenging industry in general, add in a new inconvenience and watch it decline. The goal is to get customers to want to go shop/eat downtown and support the business. This is doing the opposite.
Several free options available.
There are free parking spots for 15 minutes on Park Street, a short walk to some of the shops mentioned.
And there is free parking for 3 hours in the Park Street lot.
Main street is free for 2 hours, if you can find a space.
The system fails because the previous 2-hour limit already provided:
Time limit caps service time (W):
• No one can legally occupy a space longer than 2 hours
• This forces turnover regardless of price
So the system already controled one variable.
What adding a flat price (no peak/non-peak) changes
1. Arrival rate drops—but unevenly
• Some marginal trips disappear
• Peak demand is price-inelastic → people still come
• Off-peak demand is over-reduced
Result:
• Peak periods remain congested
• Off-peak periods become underused
Queueing theory view
You’ve fixed:
• Capacity (spaces)
• Max service time (2 hours)
But you didn’t control utilization (ρ) across time.
At peak:
• λ (arrivals) ≈ capacity
• ρ → 1
• Small fluctuations → long search times
Off-peak:
• λ ≪ capacity
• Empty spaces
• Revenue left on the table
Why this setup underperforms
• Time limit ≠ demand management
• Flat pricing ignores when parking is scarce
• The system oscillates between overloaded and underused
In queue terms:
You regulated service time, but not arrival intensity when it matters most. Thus availability and fixed capacity during the period of overload remained constant. Hence no solution.
Why charge for parking at all?
How much revenue are we getting?
Some people want to spend hundreds
of millions of dollars for North School,
but at the same time can’t give us free
parking for the business district.
A voice from the minority side: I find parking on Elm much easier with the 2-hour limit. I have a disability tag and there is nothing welcoming and convenient about finding zero spaces on loop after loop – especially when one sees the same vehicle in a designated space day after day, hour after hour.
I’m far more likely to shop in town now than I was before. The double-parked trucks are a nuisance but if you’ve been following this issue, you know that that is being addressed. Change is hard – give it time.
To add insult to injury our tone deaf Selectman is considering expanding the failed program by placing paid parking meters on Main St and Forest St. Forget no Kings, how about no Queens!!!.