Government

Commission Voids $30 Ticket for Obstructing a Fire Hydrant

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Town officials this month voided a $30 fine issued to a restaurant worker who had been ticketed for parking too close to a fire hydrant on Main Street. Edith Mendoza told members of the Parking Commission during her Aug. 4 appeal hearing that a police officer working early that Sunday morning had instructed her on where to park, due to a shortage of available spots during a popular car show downtown. 

According to Mendoza, some of those who attended Caffeine & Carburetors on April 24 kept Spiga Restaurant very busy, and she was unable to get back outside from about 8:30 a.m. to past 11 p.m.

“We were busy all day,” Mendoza said during the hearing, held via videoconference. 

Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg said, “It seems like one of the police officers directed her to park in a certain area, and that area happened to be a fire hydrant. She parked there and went to work and it got very busy. What happened in the meantime, the police officer’s shift changed and other officers came on, she was unable to move her car because the restaurant was very busy and she was ticketed for blocking a fire hydrant.”

The ticket was issued at 5:35 p.m., records show, at Main and Cherry Streets.

Government

Town Holds Fees for Commuter Parking Permits as Demand Remains Low

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted to hold flat the fees for permits for three commuter lots in New Canaan. The selectmen voted 3-0 during their regular meeting to keep the current rates for the Lumberyard ($663.62), Talmadge Hill and Richmond Hill Lots (both $504.10) for the next commuter parking permit year, which starts Sept. 1. The fees at Talmadge Hill would apply to nonresidents (who used to pay $630 per year there) as well as residents, according to Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg. Currently, there are eight nonresident permit-holders in the Talmadge Hill Lot, she said.

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.