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: 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.