Drew Magratten

Parking Officials Seek To Re-Designate Loading Zone at South and Elm as ‘24/7’

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Saying it will ease congestion on Elm Street, parking officials are seeking to re-designate a loading zone just off the main drag downtown as 24 hours. The loading zone on the west side of South Avenue, just below Elm, currently is in effect from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg. But “people don’t read the signs that say ‘loading zone’ and they’re constantly using it as a parking spot,” she told members of the Parking Commission during their regular meeting, held Wednesday at Town Hall and via videoconference. “So it’s a recommendation that we make it a loading zone 24/7, technically, because we want to mark the street,” she continued. “If you mark the street, then it can’t go back to a regular parking spot at 3 o’clock.

Government

Parking Commission Upholds $30 Ticket for Loading Zone Violation

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Town officials are upholding a $30 ticket issued to a motorist who parked in a loading zone on South Avenue. In a written appeal for the ticket issued at 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 28 (a Friday), Sarah Becker said she misinterpreted the sign designating the loading zone. “I assumed it meant no parking beyond the sign, especially since there was a car parked behind me,” Becker said in a written appeal submitted to the Parking Commission. “This is my first ticket in New Canaan and I would appreciate it if it was voided.

Government

Parking Commission Voids $25 Ticket Issued to Elm Street Motorist

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Saying it had been a long time since parking enforcement officers issued their last verbal warning to her, town officials last week voided a $25 ticket issued to a woman who overstayed her time on Elm Street. 

Under New Canaan’s parking regulations, motorists approaching what is now a 2-hour time limit for the free spaces downtown cannot simply move their vehicle to a different area of the same street to reset that timer. If someone is not aware of the rule, “we try to educate them, usually the first ticket around, because it is not posted anywhere other than in the town ordinance,” according to Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg. Yet in the case of Lara Tiramani of Bridgeport, she was made aware of that when she similarly overstayed a space in 2016, Miltenberg said during the Dec. 8 regular meeting of the Parking Commissioner. Tucker Murphy, administrative officer for the town and a guest at the meeting, said the purpose of the rule is to ensure the free spaces serve those who wish to patronize downtown business and restaurants rather than those who work in those places.

Government

Town Upholds $150 Ticket Issued to Driver Who Illegally Used Disabled Space in Private Lot

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Parking officials last week upheld a $150 ticket issued to a delivery driver using a disabled space in a private lot on Pine Street. The Parking Commission during its regular meeting April 7 voted 4-0 to uphold the ticket, given to a driver in the heavily used Pine Street Concessions lot. Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg said at the meeting that disabled spaces fall under state statutes, including those in private lots “so we are allowed to go in there and ticket anybody who dos not have a handicapped permit and is parked in a handicapped space in a private lot.”

“And in addition, that particular area we get several complaints that people just utilize that spot as a regular spot and do not leave it open for people who need it, so it’s monitored on a regular basis,” Miltenberg said at the meeting, held via videoconference. 

Chair Laura Budd and Commissioners Nancy Bemis, Drew Magratten and Marley Thackray voted to uphold the ticket. The driver himself did not appear at the hearing. He said in a written appeal that he’d only been in the space for five minutes, the Commission said.

Government

Town Upholds $150 Ticket Issued to Truck Driver Who Parked in Disabled Space

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Town officials this month upheld a $150 ticket issued to a Norwalk resident who parked a truck in a disabled space on Elm Street. The motorist, Alexander Gil, had received the ticket at 11:12 a.m. on Jan. 21 (a Friday). In an appeal letter sent to the Parking Commission, Gil said he parked with hazard lights on for about one minute while trying to make a delivery. During a March 10 appeal hearing before the Commission, Gil’s supervisor at work—a man who identified himself only as ‘Diego’—said that it’s difficult to park a large truck in New Canaan and that there’s a lack of loading zones.