Government

Town Upholds Two $30 Tickets for Parking in Town Hall Lot

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Officials this month upheld two $30 tickets issued to a Norwalk woman for parking at Town Hall for more than one hour without a reason for being there. Karen Gallagher, a former New Canaan resident of 30 years, told members of the Parking Commission at an appeal hearing that she was “unaware that the Town Hall lot was ticketed during the summer.”

“I’ve parked [in the Town Hall lot] multiple times in the past and have never gotten a ticket,” Gallagher told the Commission at its regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Now, this one time, I get two tickets.”

Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg outlined the reasoning for each of the tickets given on June 17. “The first ticket was for not being in Town Hall,” she said. “There is clear signage that says Town Hall Parking Only throughout the lot.”

Miltenberg added: “The second ticket was given because there is a one hour time period for the lot, which she went over.”

Commission Secretary Kevin Karl and member John Clarke voted 2-0 to uphold the two tickets.

Government

Town Upholds $80 Ticket Issued for Obstructing Crosswalk

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[The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates.]

Officials last week upheld an $80 ticket issued to a Norwalk man for parking on a New Canaan crosswalk. Mark DelGuidice told members of the Parking Commission during an appeal hearing  that he was issued the ticket (at 12:49 p.m. on June 9, a Monday) after dropping off a Grubhub order and couldn’t find space for parking. 

 “I was waiting for the car in front of me to leave so I could move up in that spot, but I couldn’t wait any longer so I grabbed the order, ran inside as fast as I could, and when I came back I had a ticket,” he said during the Parking Commission’s Aug. 6 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. During the hearing, Commission Secretary Kevin Karl questioned whether there were “no other spots in town.”

“Did you drive around or only check for spots that were available on the roads?” he asked. DelGuidice said every town parking space, including the disabled spots, had been taken.

News

Paid Parking on Elm Street on Track for End of August

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The previously purchased parking machines—part of a plan to transition Elm Street and sections of South Avenue to a pay-for-parking system—should be installed by the end of August, officials say. The Parking Commission received an update on the new paid parking initiative at its Aug. 6 meeting. Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg told the Commission that “the machines are scheduled to arrive in late August” and “the hope is to have them installed by the end of the month.”

“Right now, we are working on preparing the concrete bases so everything will be ready for installation when the machines arrive,” Miltenberg told the Commission at its regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “We are also working on updating the signage on the streets and lots.

Government

Town Upholds $30 Ticket Issued to New Canaan Woman Who Used Town Hall Lot

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Officials this month upheld a $30 ticket issued to a New Canaan woman for parking at Town Hall without any legitimate reason for being there. The one-hour spaces in the parking lot behind Town Hall are only for those using the government building. 

Aria Guo told members of the Parking Commission during their regular meeting on July 9 that she had gone to pick up flowers from a friend across the street and then had planned to return and enter Town Hall on matters related to her taxes. After an hour-long discussion that multiple members described as uncomfortable, Commissioners Nancy Bemis and Katie O’Neill voted 2-0 to uphold the ticket issued to Guo on June 2. Commissioner Kevin Karl recused himself from voting, saying he is a neighbor of the appellant. “We need to reinforce that there is no parking at Town Hall tolerated outside of Town Hall business,” Bemis said at the end of the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Business

‘It’s Going To Hurt Merchants’: Parking Commission Pushes Back on Elimination of 15-Minute Spots on Elm Street

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Members of the appointed body that oversees New Canaan’s parking department this month pushed back on part of a larger plan that will see the one-way stretch of Elm Street converted to paid spots. Specifically, members of the Parking Commission during their May 7 meeting objected to plans to eliminate—rather than increase—the number of free 15-minute parking spaces on Elm Street while the town converts those free spots to paid. “If we are not interested in revenue, what is the argument against short-term parking?” Commissioner Katie O’Neill said during the regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Because as I see it, we are adding a surcharge on coffee shops, on sandwich shops. All the sudden now if you are picking up a $15 sandwich it’s going to be $15.50 or whatever.