New Canaan’s highest elected official is seeking feedback through a dedicated email address on a new parking machine behind the Playhouse that could replace the confounding clunkers that long have exasperated visitors to the downtown.
The new parking machine in the Playhouse Lot downtown. Credit: Michael Dinan
In place since last week, the new machine in the Playhouse Lot (up against the Outback building) features a more intuitive, color-coded touch-screen system than those long in place there, at Park Street, Morse Court, Railroad and Talmadge Hill lots, officials say.
First Selectman Rob Mallozzi is encouraging any motorists with feedback on the new machines to email parkingmachine@newcanaanct.gov with their thoughts.
The new parking machine in the Playhouse Lot downtown. Credit: Michael Dinan
“We have been getting, as a town—and I would say Tucker [Murphy] and myself as much as the Parking Commission, or more—a lot of complaints about the ease of use of our machines,” Mallozzi said.
“We see people frustrated in parking lots, trying to figure out the machines, whether it’s that the LED is not bright enough or conflicting communications in terms of instructions, it’s not a good experience.”
A few months ago, Mallozzi and Murphy—the executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce—together with the chamber’s Laura Budd, visited other Fairfield and Westchester County towns to look at their parking machines, he said.
Working with the town’s current parking machine vendor, New Canaan as a result of that trip opted to try out a newer machine, and Mallozzi said he and others are “itching for a switch.”
The machine now in place in the Playhouse Lot has the added bonus of being similar to those used in nearby towns such as Darien, Greenwich and Rye, he said.
“I would like to have the same machines so that the parking experience is familiar and not so different coming to New Canaan,” he said. “I also really love the idea of consistency in these parking technologies, so my goal is to get one that is tried and true in other towns around us, with a familiar look and feel.”
The new machine is in place for an approximately 30-day trial period, Mallozzi said. With support from motorists who use it, a change could be made to New Canaan’s parking machines around Oct. 1, he said, using monies already in place in the parking fund.
The parking machine behind the NC Playhouse isn’t bad, I used it yesterday, two tries. First try it said it lost its connection. But I think the new ones at the Stamford Mall are better.
I like those machines (at the mall) too. I wonder if they’re water-resistant? None of the ones I’ve used there were above ground.