Government

Officials Flag Parking Space-Reduction Piece of Cross Street Proposal

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Saying they’re concerned about any permanent reduction of parking spaces that Zoning Regulations require in the downtown, members of the municipal body in charge of off-street public lots on Thursday night voiced opposition to one piece of the closely followed residential-and-retail building proposed for Cross Street. The Parking Commission has no formal jurisdiction over the private development proposed for 16 Cross St., which would include retail space on the ground floor—possibly for the Post Office—three levels of apartments above and 54 parking spaces below. Developers say a text change to New Canaan’s Zoning Regulations is needed so that the mixed-use building can reduce beyond five the number of parking spaces normally required for such a structure (a calculation that considers total dwelling units as well as commercial square footage). Parking Commission Chairman Keith Richey said he is “against any change in the rules regarding the number of spaces that commercial establishments—which in my mind is the Post Office—need to provide.”

“Particularly the Post Office, where you have people coming in and out all the time,” Richey said at the meeting, held in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center. “They should be the last ones allowed to provide a below-code number of spaces.”

Technically, what the developers want to do on Cross Street is expand a regulation already on the books.

Government

Concerns for Pedestrian Safety Arise with Double-Parking Delivery Trucks Downtown

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Some delivery trucks that park on-street are obstructing pedestrian and motor vehicle sight lines at busy downtown New Canaan intersections, raising safety concerns among town officials. The problem is exacerbated at the complicated East Avenue/Main Street intersection, where motorists enter from three different directions (not counting those rolling out of the lot behind Varnum’s) and exit in four (if you include Forest). The way the light works, cars approaching from East Avenue often are forward in the intersection by the time the light turns red, and they continue either north or south on Main even though pedestrians have a walk signal, officials said. “I must see 30 people go through that red light at East and Main every day,” Parking Bureau Supervisor Karen Miller said at the May 1 meeting of the Parking Commission, held at Lapham Community Center. “It is just rampant.

Government

Increased Fines for New Canaan Parking Violators Proposed

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Saying New Canaan demands far less from parking violators than nearby towns, the volunteer group that oversees off-street parking here is recommending a new slate of increased fines. In all, the Parking Commission is seeking to raise amounts on 15 of 23 violations that range from parking on a curb—or more than one foot from it—to obstructing fire hydrants and crosswalks. A look at what the commission is proposing —current fines and proposed—can be found at the end of this article. Not every commissioner agreed with every decision. When Peter Ogilvie suggested raising the three $20 fines—no parking zone, loading zone and obstructing two spaces—to $30, this exchange took place between Chairman Keith Richey and Secretary Rick Franco:
Franco: Someone has to second Peter.

Government

‘Perfect Storm’ Brewing at Locust Avenue Parking Lot

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Problems of overuse at what long had been New Canaan’s least busy parking lot are expected very soon to worsen, and town officials are trying to figure out how to get out ahead of what some are calling “a perfect storm.”

The past six weeks has seen a dramatic rise in the number of motorists parking in the Locust Avenue lot. In addition to longtime regulars—including people who work on that side of town—“new” users include some personnel and construction workers at the Fire Department (where interior and exterior capital projects are underway), construction workers at the Town Hall renovation site and in-town shoppers, diners and post office visitors who, under normal circumstances, would park behind Town Hall itself or in one of the lots that rise behind it (toward Park Street). Starting in August, demolition and construction work is expected to start just down the hill on Forest Street, where a 3-story residential-and-retail complex is going up. “There is a perfect storm that is exploding over there,” Parking Bureau Superintendent Karen Miller said at the group’s May 1 meeting. “And I won’t lie to you: It’s very bad.

Government

Coming to Pine Street Parking Lot: 90-Minute Spaces at $1 per Hour

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The volunteer group that oversees off-street parking in New Canaan wants the 15 non-handicapped spaces in the Pine Street parking lot for downtown commercial—as opposed to commuter—use, and designated at 90 minutes for each space at a rate of $1 per hour. The Parking Commission additionally will recommend to those in charge of on-street that the seven parking space up alongside Mrs. Green’s on Pine Street switch from 15 minutes—a relic from the post office days—to 90 minutes. Business and town leaders attending the commission’s meeting Thursday night at Lapham Community Center urged the group to designate the spaces in the Pine Street lot—that’s the one on the northeast corner at Park and Pine, where you can exit by driving past the postal mail drop-off boxes—for commercial rather than commuter use. “I understand that at one point it was a commuter lot,” Tucker Murphy, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce and a guest at the meeting, said when asked for her view. “I think you have been hearing a lot of need to keep it as an open lot.