Seeking new ways to reach local motorists, the New Canaan Parking Department has launched a text and email alert service.
By filling out a “Parking Alert Email Request Form”—available here on the department’s page on the municipal website—subscribers can get “updates on commuter lots, waitlist information and any other important parking notifications,” according to Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg.
The Google form is designed to “better serve New Canaan residents and commuters,” she said.
Once people sign up for email or text notifications, or both, they’ll receive a confirmation through their chosen platform.
The alert system comes as New Canaan takes steps to expand parking facilities and so reduce waiting times for permits at coveted lots. As of Tuesday, 483 people were waiting for Lumberyard Lot permits, 157 for Richmond Hill and 103 for Talmadge Hill (commuters often sign up for all three).
The Board of Selectmen voted recently to convert 36 spaces at Talmadge Hill from metered to permit spaces—a change slated to take effect June 1—and the town has commissioned designs for a new parking deck at the Lumberyard Lot.
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan during a media briefing Tuesday said that the New York City-based engineering firm hired to produce those designs is in the process of starting its work over again because they didn’t realize the branch line was electrical—they thought it was diesel-based—and didn’t account for the nearby catenary wires overhead.
Moynihan also has said that New Canaan is looking to expand the Locust Lot north by acquiring residential properties adjacent to it.
Can somebody do a survey of the metered spots at the New Canaan train station? By my account, a significant amount of spots are taken by cars with NY plates.