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.

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Town Voids $20 Police-Issued Parking Ticket

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Saying there’s not enough evidence to uphold it, members of the Parking Commission voided a $20 ticket issued to a Wilton man who had parked on Locust Avenue on a Friday evening in May. Jaromir Kosar told the Commission during a July 8 appeal hearing that two signs located near each other on the south side of Locust between Forest and Cherry Streets are in conflict, since one says ‘No parking any time’ while the other says ‘Parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.’

Police wrongly issued Kosar a ticket at 6:40 p.m. on May 14, he said, because he was parked near the latter sign (which has arrows pointing in both directions) behind two SUVs that blocked his view of the ‘no parking’ sign. Furthermore, Kosar said during the hearing, held via videoconference, there were no street markings in the area where he parked that would’ve indicated to him that it was a no-parking zone. Told that the police officer wouldn’t have ticketed him if he was parked legally, Kosar said, “I’ve got news for you: Police officers are human and they make mistakes. And they made a mistake here.”

When enforcement officers with the New Canaan Parking Bureau ticket vehicles downtown, they capture a photo of the violation.

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Town Upholds $150 Ticket for Woman Who Parked in Disabled Space

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Town officials this month upheld a $150 ticket issued to a Norwalk woman who’d parked in a disabled space on Main Street on a Tuesday morning in May. Kim Scavo told members of the Parking Commission during her July 8 appeal hearing that she was confused because the disabled space outside the New Canaan Fire Department is designated by a sign affixed to a nearby railing, not a curbside post. The blue paint on the street that normally indicates a disabled space also isn’t visible as it is for other such parking spots in town, she told the Commission during the hearing, held via videoconference. “I don’t feel it’s clearly marked and I did not do it intentionally at all and I just don’t understand and I don’t think it’s fair,” Scavo said. The commissioners said the space was clearly marked by the sign and that any motorist pulling into the spot should have noticed it.

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Town Voids $30 Ticket Issued to River Street Man for Leaving Vehicle in ‘No Parking’ Zone

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Despite neighbors’ complaints about traffic and safety problems caused by cars parked on what is already a narrow road, municipal officials last week voided a River Street man’s $30 ticket for leaving his car in a no-parking zone. There have always been no-parking signs at either end of River Street on the west side of the road, according to Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg. However, the signs were far apart and residents mistakenly thought they could park in the middle section of River Street on the west side, she said. When the town installed sidewalks along that side of the street several months ago, public works officials put up temporary no-parking signs that became permanent once the sidewalks were in, she said. The town for many months has received complaints from residents “that it’s been difficult for buses and two cars” to go down River Street with vehicles parked on the side of it, though enforcement has been difficult in the past, Miltenberg said during a regular meeting of the Parking Commission, held July 8 via videoconference.