Commission Forgives $75 Ticket Issued to Man for Parking in Front of Fire Hydrant

Town officials this month voided a $75 ticket that had been issued to a delivery driver who parked in front of a fire hydrant. The Parking Commission voted 4-0 during its Jan. 3 meeting to void the ticket issued to Claudio Pila of Danbury. During an appeal hearing held at Town Hall and via videoconference, Pila told the appointed body that he was dropping off some boxes at That Personal Touch on Main Street when he was issued the ticket at 10:18 a.m. on Nov. 28 (a Tuesday).

Public Works To Extend Setback for Problematic Parking Space at Main and Maple

Town officials are extending the setback between a parking space and corner downtown, in hopes that it improves sightlines for motorists. Flagged recently by the Parking Commission, cars approaching Main Street from Maple Street often have an obstructed view of northbound traffic. 

As a result, Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg recently asked Public Works officials to review the area, she told members of the Commission during an update at their Sept. 6 meeting. “They did find that the setback was only 15 feet instead of the 25 foot setback that it should be, so they are going out and they will make it a 25-foot setback,” Miltenberg said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “We will unfortunately lose a parking spot,” Miltenberg continued.

The car pictured here

Town Voids $30 Ticket Issued to Local Man Who Parked in No-Parking Zone

Saying the space wasn’t sufficiently marked, parking officials this month voided a $30 ticket issued to a New Canaan man who’d pulled into a no-parking zone downtown. Members of the Parking Commission during their Aug. 2 meeting voted 4-0 to void a ticket that had been issued to Edward Neugeboren for pulling into a space in front of the Mobil station on South Avenue that had been a legal spot in the past. During his appeal hearing, held at Town Hall and via videoconference, Neugeboren said he’s lived in town for 25 years and didn’t realize that the striping had changed in the spot between the South Avenue curb cuts to the gas station. “There was no sign and I’ve been parking in that spot obviously previously for upwards of 25 years,” he told the Commission.

Safety Concerns Prompt Town To Move Large Trucks Out of Parking Space at Main and Maple

Town officials say they’re monitoring use of a parking space at an increasingly busy intersection downtown, following safety concerns about blocked sight lines. 

Motorists approaching Maple and Main Streets, near the new main entrance to New Canaan Library, often are prevented from seeing northbound traffic on Main due to large vehicles parking in a spot on the southwest corner of the intersection, according to Parking Commissioner Marley Thackray. Thackray said during the Parking Commission’s most recent meeting that residents have spoken to her personally about the safety concern—one that she shares as someone who travels through the area multiple times per day—and that it came up on New Canaan Moms in June.  

“This comes on the heels of how nobody wants to lose any more parking space, but I literally say a Hail Mary every time I go through this intersection, because I can’t see anything,” Thackray said during the Commission’s Aug. 2 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg said she did reach out to those parking large trucks in the space to ensure they try to leave it for regularly sized vehicles and continue to abide by the two-hour limit.