Government

New Rule: Parking Ticket Appeals Will Only Be Heard If Violators Show Up at Hearing

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Saying the town has seen a steep increase in the number of motorists fighting parking tickets on frivolous grounds, officials on Thursday decided that they’ll only consider appeals when violators show up in person to fight their tickets. Most appeals take a general form of “I know I’m guilty, but …” and one major reason the New Canaan Parking Bureau is seeing so many more of them is that the letters are quick and easy to write, according to Keith Richey, chairman of the Parking Commission. The town can “dissuade people from making—how shall I put it?—not well-founded appeals, frivolous appeals, by following the state statute,” Richey said during the group’s regular meeting, held in the Art Room at Lapham Community Center. “The state statute has language in it that basically tells you that you need to show up,” Richey said. The commission voted 4-0 in favor of more literally interpreting the state statute under which it operates (it’s here, see especially Section E) and updating its messaging to those seeking a reversal or reduction in the amount of their parking tickets.

Business

SLIDESHOW: 20 Things You Only Know If You Shop and Dine in New Canaan

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New Canaanites have plenty of reasons to shop and dine locally, and those reasons go far beyond the fact that the village center has scores of independent businesspeople—retailers, restaurateurs, service providers—who work here and have had a tough go with the weather these past few weeks. Our owners-on-site specialize in their fields and offer a wide range of expertise. They support most every community event that locals associate with the town—fishing derby, Waveny summer concerts, Santa’s visit, little league, Holiday Stroll, ice cream social, Halloween Parade. It’s hard to find two important community events in a row in New Canaan that aren’t sponsored in some way by Walter Stewart’s, Karl Chevy or both. Because familiarity breeds conversation and rapport, we can come to know our local small business owners and workers better than we may at, say, out-of-town chains. The slideshow above is a testament to that strong connection—click through to learn more about some of those who make up the economic lifeblood of the business district.

Government

‘Be Kinder to the Little Man’: Parking Officials Weigh New Permit Fees

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One year after deciding to keep rates flat during what was an especially difficult period for rail commuters, parking officials on Friday night discussed the prospect of raising permit fees for next fiscal year. A central question facing the Parking Commission is whether to raise rates at Center School—a parking lot where a significantly lower rate (now $120 per year) had been introduced to serve hourly wage earners in downtown New Canaan. The strategy worked, bringing many retail and other workers’ vehicles off of Main and Elm Streets, freeing up some 90-minute spaces for shoppers and diners, commissioners said at their regular meeting. Yet some members of the Parking Commission are looking to raise Center School lot fees by a larger percentage, given its low overall rate—a philosophy that newly re-elected Secretary Rick Franco questioned. “I cannot say I am in sync with the popular thought on the Center School lot,” Franco said at the meeting, held in the Art Room at Lapham Community Center.

Government

Officials Flag Parking Space-Reduction Piece of Cross Street Proposal

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Saying they’re concerned about any permanent reduction of parking spaces that Zoning Regulations require in the downtown, members of the municipal body in charge of off-street public lots on Thursday night voiced opposition to one piece of the closely followed residential-and-retail building proposed for Cross Street. The Parking Commission has no formal jurisdiction over the private development proposed for 16 Cross St., which would include retail space on the ground floor—possibly for the Post Office—three levels of apartments above and 54 parking spaces below. Developers say a text change to New Canaan’s Zoning Regulations is needed so that the mixed-use building can reduce beyond five the number of parking spaces normally required for such a structure (a calculation that considers total dwelling units as well as commercial square footage). Parking Commission Chairman Keith Richey said he is “against any change in the rules regarding the number of spaces that commercial establishments—which in my mind is the Post Office—need to provide.”

“Particularly the Post Office, where you have people coming in and out all the time,” Richey said at the meeting, held in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center. “They should be the last ones allowed to provide a below-code number of spaces.”

Technically, what the developers want to do on Cross Street is expand a regulation already on the books.

Government

Concerns for Pedestrian Safety Arise with Double-Parking Delivery Trucks Downtown

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Some delivery trucks that park on-street are obstructing pedestrian and motor vehicle sight lines at busy downtown New Canaan intersections, raising safety concerns among town officials. The problem is exacerbated at the complicated East Avenue/Main Street intersection, where motorists enter from three different directions (not counting those rolling out of the lot behind Varnum’s) and exit in four (if you include Forest). The way the light works, cars approaching from East Avenue often are forward in the intersection by the time the light turns red, and they continue either north or south on Main even though pedestrians have a walk signal, officials said. “I must see 30 people go through that red light at East and Main every day,” Parking Bureau Supervisor Karen Miller said at the May 1 meeting of the Parking Commission, held at Lapham Community Center. “It is just rampant.