Government

‘She Was Never Notified’: Longtime Parking Commissioner Out

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First Selectman Kevin Moynihan has unceremoniously cast off a longtime volunteer from the municipal body that oversees off-street parking in New Canaan, according to one of its members. Moynihan never notified Parking Commissioner Pam Crum that she hadn’t been reappointed to the panel, according to Commissioner Peter Ogilvie. During the Commission’s regular meeting Jan. 7, Ogilvie said he was “disappointed in the Parking Commission and town government for not having any conversations whatsoever with Pam Crum.”

“This clearly has been in the works for months and she was never notified, she was never told that she was no longer on the Parking Commission until she got email from you just a couple of days ago, Keith,” Ogilvie said during the meeting, held via videoconference. He addressed Chair Keith Richey.

Government

‘There Has Been a Lot of Abuse’: Commissioner Flags Poor Parking Downtown

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The restaurant “bump-outs” and revised parking and sidewalk schemes downtown have led to safety hazards because motorists are pulling into no-parking areas and even blocking crosswalks, official say. Trucks are pulling up along crosswalks so that it’s impossible to see pedestrians, according to Parking Commission Secretary Pam Crum. “There has been a lot of abuse going on as of late,” Crum said during the Commission’s regular meeting, held Sept. 10 via videoconference. 

Crum questioned whether appropriately sized planters could be set up in areas such as Elm Street near Dunkin Donuts in order to prevent vehicles from parking where they shouldn’t. “The planters were there before and it wasn’t a problem,” Crum said.

Government

‘They Probably Eyeballed It’: Parking Commission Voids Police-Issued Ticket

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Saying police hadn’t taken a formal measurement, town officials last week voided a ticket issued to a Village Drive resident for parking too close to a fire hydrant. On receiving the ticket around midday on June 10, Adam Shooshan said he went to the New Canaan Police Department to discuss the matter. By law, no one may park within 10 feet of a hydrant, a violation that carries a $75 fine. Shooshan said he’d been warned already about parking near the hydrant out front of his house (it appeared there after he bought it last spring) so he created a groove in the street to ensure his family wasn’t in violation. Shooshan in making his July 8 appeal to the Parking Commission brought photographic evidence showing he was about 12 feet away from the hydrant.

COVID-19 New Canaan

First Selectman: Parking Enforcement Suspended, Decision To Come on Starting It Up Again

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New Canaan is not enforcing parking regulations and will decide whether and how to do so as the business district reopens, the town’s highest elected official said last week. Parking Bureau enforcement officers are not out in the streets ticketing motorists “nor are police writing tickets,” according to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan. He told members of the Parking Commission at their most recent meeting that they should make a recommendation on what will happen after May 20, when some types of businesses—including restaurants with outdoor seating—can reopen or begin to operate in a more accustomed way. “Are we going to charge parking meter fees?” Moynihan said at the May 7 meeting, held via videoconference. “There is a sense that we shouldn’t.

COVID-19 New Canaan

‘We Have Screwed Up’: Town Waives Feb. 10 Ticket for Parking in Disabled Space

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Members of the town body that hears parking ticket appeals last week voiced concerns after its chair said a violation for parking in a disabled space had been waived without the group’s input. Parking Commission Chair Keith Richey said four appeals had come in recently from ticketed motorists and that he’d discussed them with the first selectman and head of the Parking Bureau “and the conclusion was we had to waive these because this meeting wouldn’t qualify as necessary due process” for an appeal. “Maybe we will come to a different conclusion going forward, but I don’t feel too bad about having to waive four tickets,” Richey said during the Commission’s special meeting, held May 7 via videoconference. “And I’ll bet even the one with the parking in the handicapped spot, there was probably the whole street was empty so there was plenty of places for handicapped to park. That’s my guess.”

Yet under the Town Charter, the Commission is the municipal body that fields parking ticket appeals, Secretary Pam Crum said, and under an Executive Order from the governor during this public health emergency, the group can meet remotely and postpone those appeals.