“If parking is not enforced on Sound Beach, I don’t see the incentive for employees to buy permits for $175....I don’t think I’ve ever seen any parking enforcement on Sound Beach and I’ve been there almost 13 years.”
Abby Fox, owner Abigail Fox DesignsGarthwaite said in front of Sound Beach Pizza, people park beyond the striped spots, blocking the view of drivers coming out of the railroad station parking lot. She suggested creating a bumpout to prevent people parking there.
Similarly, Peter McDermott said too often people park in front of the fire hydrant at CVS and run across the street.
Owners of the needlepoint studio, The Village Ewe, Estelle and Ken Hall, who have operated for 51 years said they purchase two merchants spot permits for their employees and noted there are typically only six cars in that log on any given day.
“It probably needs to be better merchandised,” he said. “Parking Services makes you go through hoops to get a spot.”
Also, he said merchants were all in favor of parking enforcement to ensure spots are dedicated to customers. He noted many of his clients are elderly, and have a hard time walking longer distances.
Lastly, he said trees had been leaning on power lines in front of his store for a couple years.
Marcos Torno, owner of Images at 202 Sound Beach Ave agreed that enforcement was inadequate and employees often used the spot in front of his store.
However, he said since the pandemic, employees from restaurants and merchants have been using the Bank of America lot because the bank has been closed.
Charlene Barnes said the $175 permit fee for an employee parking permit behind CVS might be a barrier.
She it might be wiser to give businesses a certain number of spaces there and ask them to make sure their employees use the lot.
“If it frees up a parking spot it’s well worth $175 to the town,” Barnes said.
Rob Guerrieri from Upper Crust Bagel Co, who has been in business 27 years, said she has 15-20 minimum wage employees who can not no afford $175 for a permit for the employee parking lot and look for whatever free space they can find.
“I think it would be a great idea for the town to offer that employee parking lot for free,” he said.
Guerrieri recommended a bump out in front of Applausi because too often cars or trucks park across the crosswalk creating a safety concern.
“We don’t want parking meters because that would get rid of the nice ambiance of our town. If we can get someone to force a person not to park there more than two hours, that would be fantastic.”
Rob Guerrieri, owner Upper Crust Bagel Co
Jay Feinsod, owner of the hardware store agreed enforcement was needed.
Feinsod said he paid for four employees to park in the employee lot behind CVS, and didn’t think $175 was too much.
“That’s $14 a month. That’s 50¢ a day,” he said. “It’s not a lot of money.”
He said safety concerns included children bicycling on sidewalks, and said that even a minimal police presence would have an impact.
Mr. Feinsod urged Mr. Camillo not to remove any additional parking spaces.
He said that when recent road work and paving was completed, he lost a spot in front of his store, that Back 40 lost one, and the barber shop lost a third.
Carolyn Peterson, president of Old Greenwich School PTA asked for police enforcement in the parking lot behind the school after dismissal. She also asked for a gate to stop drivers from cutting through the school, and behind CVS to West End Ave. She agreed a second crosswalk up by Sound Beach Pizza would increase safety.
Betsy Kreuter Old Greenwich Garden Club said a stop sign had been removed between Arcadia Rd and the train station and that as a result cars speed through.
“Somebody is going to have a crash back there,” she said, adding the suggestion that a yellow line be redrawn from Arcadia, and around the curve in the parking lot.
Camillo took copious notes, gave out his cell phone number, and vowed to follow up on suggestions and questions.
He said input sessions were valuable and should be repeated once a year in each part of town.
“There may be things brought to our attention that we were not aware of, like today, that we’ve written down,” Camillo said. “You gave us a lot of homework here to do.”
See also:
Parade of Appreciation Boosts Old Greenwich Merchants on the Frontline during COVID-19 Pandemic
April 9, 2021
Old Greenwich Village Merchants’ Patience Wears Thin as Sound Beach Ave Construction Drags On
Oct 28, 2018