Government

Town: Parking Permit Renewals Down As Commuters Wait-and-See

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Demand for commuter parking lots near the Metro-North Railroad line is still in flux and remains low overall compared to pre-COVID figures, officials say, as New Canaan residents try to figure out whether it makes sense to purchase an annual permit or use daily pay spaces as needed. On a given Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, lots such as the Lumberyard downtown are at least two-thirds full—less so on Mondays and Fridays, according to Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg. Yet renewals for permits are down this year as increasing number of permit-holders ask to be listed on a “deferral list” that allows them to put off a decision until next summer, Miltenberg told members of the Parking Commission at their regular meeting last week. It’s unclear “how often people are commuting,” Miltenberg said at the Oct. 6 meeting, held via videoconference.

Government

Commission Voids $30 Ticket for Obstructing a Fire Hydrant

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Town officials this month voided a $30 fine issued to a restaurant worker who had been ticketed for parking too close to a fire hydrant on Main Street. Edith Mendoza told members of the Parking Commission during her Aug. 4 appeal hearing that a police officer working early that Sunday morning had instructed her on where to park, due to a shortage of available spots during a popular car show downtown. 

According to Mendoza, some of those who attended Caffeine & Carburetors on April 24 kept Spiga Restaurant very busy, and she was unable to get back outside from about 8:30 a.m. to past 11 p.m.

“We were busy all day,” Mendoza said during the hearing, held via videoconference. 

Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg said, “It seems like one of the police officers directed her to park in a certain area, and that area happened to be a fire hydrant. She parked there and went to work and it got very busy. What happened in the meantime, the police officer’s shift changed and other officers came on, she was unable to move her car because the restaurant was very busy and she was ticketed for blocking a fire hydrant.”

The ticket was issued at 5:35 p.m., records show, at Main and Cherry Streets.

Around Town

Podcast: New Canaan Sculpture Trail

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This week, on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Nancy Bemis, co-chair of the New Canaan Sculpture Trail. Composed of 10 sculptures to be found throughout New Canaan and running under the theme “Open Space for Everyone,” the Sculpture Trail is up now and will remain in place through October. A kickoff celebration and fundraiser for the New Canaan Land Trust called “An Evening Under the Fireflies” will be held 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, June 17 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. 

Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

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.