The Greenwich Board of Selectmen on Thursday approved several parking-related amendments proposed by Greenwich Police Deputy Chief Jim Bonney, who is in charge of Parking Services, and did not vote on a proposal to remove one-hour parking along a section of East Putnam Avenue near Cos Cob School.
Greenwich selectmen approve parking amendments, defer East Putnam Avenue parking removal
The Greenwich Board of Selectmen on Thursday approved several parking-related amendments proposed by Greenwich Police Deputy Chief Jim Bonney, who is in charge of Parking Services, and did not vote on a proposal to remove one-hour parking along a section of East Putnam Avenue near Cos Cob School.
Bonney said the area inside a single white "fog" line was not wide enough for parking, and that parked vehicles impede traffic and encroach into an active lane of traffic. "This is definitely a safety issue. We had 9 accidents there last year. Either people swerving out of the northern lane into the southern lane because there is a car parked in the lane or people getting in and out of their car getting their doors hit," Bonney said. He said the road is state-owned, that it cannot simply be widened, and that "the state would take 20 years to do it. There is no easy fix." He added that every available space along the Post Road is already utilized for on-street parking.
Cars parked in the narrow shoulder at the location, by the rock outcropping close to Cos Cob School, hang into an active lane of traffic. Business owners including Arcuri's, Roost and Randy's Wines rely on customers being able to park in those spots.
First Selectman Fred Camillo said he visited the area the previous day. "I took my Ford pickup truck and when I opened the door, the door was completely in the traffic lane." Camillo said he had spoken to Randy Caravella, owner of Randy's Wines, about the situation and hoped to find a way to decrease the impact on the small businesses. He compared the situation to Glenville Pizza, where three spaces were found to replace the ones lost in front of the pizza parlor by the new traffic light during the Glenville corridor improvements. Camillo asked Bonney to reach out to the CT Department of Transportation to ask about re-striping and to "check all the boxes and make sure we're doing all we can."
Bonney responded to Camillo, "You have a small truck," and said pickup trucks with trailers park in the area and are "four or five feet out into the lane." Bonney asked whether there were any parking spots behind the stores where customers could park.
Caravella voiced his concerns during the meeting. He said not all the businesses in Cos Cob had been contacted and that "there are four or five other owners of businesses who would like to discuss which parking spaces and what options there might be." He said the Post Road had been re-striped incorrectly over the past 30 years, that there is no parking on the south side from Mead Avenue down to the Trovare building, and that skewing the line over would pick up two feet. He suggested a meeting between the businesses, the Department of Transportation and Parking Services. Camillo agreed and said he would like to see those parking spaces replaced somehow.
Among the proposals the Selectmen approved was updating the traffic ordinance to No Parking or Standing on portions of Field Point Road and Shore Road, in the Belle Haven area where landscaper trucks arrive early and idle. They also voted to approve an increase in fees for parking permits, including Greenwich Plaza from $720 to $795. Bonney said the lot needs to be repaved and that because the ceiling is low the project needs to be done by hand at a cost of about $1 million.
For View Street West in Byram, the Selectmen approved establishing a No Parking zone within approximately 25 feet of the stop bar at the intersection of View Street West and High Street, and eliminating parking on approximately 100 feet on one side of View Street West. One resident opposed the elimination of the on-street parking and suggested approving a shorter no parking section of 25 ft instead of 100 ft, but Bonney said the decision was based on traffic engineers' use of a standard road width of at least 26 ft to allow parking on both sides, and that it is difficult for people to get out of their driveways when the road is narrower. Bonney said an engineering study had been completed and the change reflected state statute. Gabriella Circosta-Cohee, deputy DPW commissioner, said, "We are just recommending removing parking on one side of the street for 125 ft, and of course the 25 ft from a stop sign is state statute, so we're recommending that signage be placed." The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the no parking extension.
- The source does not state the calendar date of the selectmen's meeting, describing it only as Thursday.
- The source does not name the resident who opposed the elimination of on-street parking on View Street West.
- The source does not reconcile Bonney's figure of approximately 100 feet with Circosta-Cohee's figure of 125 ft for the length of parking to be removed on View Street West.
- The source does not state the effective date of the approved parking amendments or the fee increase, or the prior permit fee for lots other than Greenwich Plaza.
- The source does not identify the businesses other than Arcuri's, Roost and Randy's Wines that rely on the one-hour parking spots on East Putnam Avenue.
- The source does not state when the East Putnam Avenue proposal might be taken up again or what the next step in that process is.
Read the original at Greenwich Free Press