Government

Town Upholds $30 Parking Ticket Issued to Man Who Ignored Enforcement Officer Four Times

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Town officials this month upheld a $30 ticket issued to a man parked illegally on Elm Street. 

According to the enforcement officer who issued the ticket at 12:52 p.m. on March 4 (a Friday), the man had been asked four times to move his car to a legal parking space. “I stepped out of my vehicle and asked a fourth time (window was down),” the officer wrote in their report. “He ignored me again so a citation was issued.”

Members of the Parking Commission cited the officer’s report prior to voting 4-0 during their regular meeting April 7 to uphold the ticket. Those voting included Chair Laura Budd and members Nancy Bemis, Drew Magratten and Marley Thackray. Secretary Jennifer Donovan was absent.

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 $75 Parking Ticket Issued to Woman Who Obstructed Fire Hydrant

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Town officials last week upheld a $75 ticket issued to a West Haven woman who’d parked in front of a fire hydrant on Cherry Street. Mary Chegwidden told members of the Parking Commission during a March 10 appeal hearing that she had only parked by the fire hydrant in the area of 111 Cherry St. for about five minutes “so I could deliver to a client, DB Fine Wines.”

“I had some heavy boxes because I had some marketing materials and some heavy papers,” Chegwidden said during the hearing, held via videoconference. “So I wanted to drop it off to them quickly.”

The ticket had been issued at about 1:20 p.m. on Jan. 26, a Wednesday. 

The Commission voted 4-1 to uphold it.

Government

Parking Officials: Commuter Lot by Train Station Remains 60% to 75% Empty on Weekdays

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Saying demand for commuter parking remains down, town officials are in the process of issuing 100 additional permits for the large lot right next to the train station. On a given weekday, the Lumberyard Lot remains somewhere between 60% and 75% empty, parking officials say. In November, the appointed body that oversees the town’s municipal lots asked Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg to start issuing an additional 100 permits. As of the Parking Commission’s Feb. 7 meeting, Miltenberg had moved down 137 names on the list, she said—39 people wanted permits, 64 wanted to be added to a “priority list” where they reserve the right to pay for a permit in the future, nine didn’t want a permit and 25 never responded.

Government

Town Upholds $25 Ticket Issued for an Unpaid Space in Morse Court

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The Parking Commission at its most recent meeting voted unanimously to uphold a $25 ticket issued to a Ridgefield woman for an unpaid space downtown. Caroline Whelan told the Commission during a Sept. 9 appeal hearing that she tried to use the meter machine at Morse Court but that each time she pressed the ‘Start’ button “the screen just flashed ‘action forbidden.’ ”

“I inserted my card probably five or six times, pressing start and I saw a couple of other people around me who seemed like they were facing the same situation that had been trying to pay but just didn’t,” Whelan said during the hearing, held via videoconference. “And I was also late for a meeting, so I just kind of gave up. And would also like to note that the next time I parked there was on Aug.