Drew Magratten

Town Upholds $80 Ticket for Parking in Crosswalk

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Town officials last month upheld an $80 ticket issued to a Pound Ridge, N.Y. man who parked in a Main Street crosswalk. David Rosenbloom received the ticket outside of Greenology at the corner of East Avenue at 1:54 p.m. on April 26 (a Wednesday). Saying he’s a frequent visitor to New Canaan, Rosenbloom claimed that the signage did not properly indicate where parking was permitted. During his June 14 appeal hearing before the Parking Commission, said that at the time, an arrow indicating the direction of a nearby 15-minute parking zone was not present on the sign, and had only been added after he received a ticket. He also told the Commission that he was only parked for a short period.

Government

Town To Increase Parking Meter Rates Downtown

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Town officials say they plan to increase parking meter rates in downtown New Canaan, as well as the amount of money that motorists will pay for eight types of violations. 

The meter rate increases follow from a state sales tax of 6.35% that “the town has been eating” since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, according to Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg. The town has not increased the meter rates in many years, she told members of the Parking Commission at their March 1 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. The rates will change as follows, she said: 15 minutes (25 to 30 cents), 30 minutes (50 to 55 cents), 45 minutes (75 to 80 cents) and one hour ($1 to $1.25). The six-hour flat rates for parking in three business lots—Playhouse, Park Street and Morse Court—will increase from $3 to $3.50, while two lots on the edge of the downtown, at Center School and Locust, will go from 50 cents to 55 cents per hour, she said. The increased rates will go into effect April 1, Miltenberg said.

Government

Parking Commission Forgives $25 Ticket Issued to Salon Customer 

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The Parking Commission during its most recent meeting voided a $25 ticket that had been issued to a Stamford woman who overstayed a two-hour time limit on Burtis Avenue. Sandra Francese told members of the Commission during their Feb. 1 meeting that the morning of Dec. 9 (a Friday) was only her second visit to The Vault salon on Burtis. “My first time was at night, so part of parking where I did, I either didn’t realize that there were parking restrictions at the time, or maybe when I came at night the restrictions were a little bit different,” Francese said during her appeal hearing, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Government

Parking Commission Voids $30 Ticket Issued to Local Commuter

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Parking officials last week voted to void a $30 ticket issued in January to a local commuter. Matt Miller had paid for his parking in the Railroad Lot on Monday, Jan. 23 and Tuesday, Jan. 24, officials said at the Parking Commission meeting, held last Wednesday at Town Hall and via videoconference. But he had inadvertently entered wrong space numbers each time, Miller told the commissioners during an appeal at the meeting.

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.