At Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, Deputy Police Chief Kraig Gray, who runs the town’s Parking Services Dept, presented a new short-term parking plan that would involve switching several 15-minute parking meters on Greenwich Avenue to 30-minute meters.
He noted that visitors to the Avenue need to park for varying lengths of time depending on the purpose of their visit.
“You can buy a soup, a salad and a Steinway within feet of each other,” he said. “If I’m going to be trying out a Steinway, it’s a different length of time than buying a sub.”
The goal of the proposal is to improve the flow of traffic along the Avenue.
Gray said based on one of the parking enforcement officer’s suggestion, the 30-minute spots are going to be called “Express Short-Term Parking.”
“Obviously Greenwich Ave proper is the hub of the congestion,” he said. “There is no better people than those out there every day doing the enforcement to say what we can do to create better flow on the Avenue.”
“We can’t create parking spaces, but we can affect the utilization,” he added. “I have communicated with the Chamber of Commerce. I’ve spoken to people on the streets. I’ve spoken to the delivery guys. I’ve spoken with the Amazon guys. I’ve spoken with the bike officers, the merchants, everyone. Everybody wants something done.”
The goal is to create a convenient and efficient parking options for visitors who require a brief stay up to 30 minutes.
By offering designated parking spaces specifically tailored to this time limit we can optimize parking utilization, enhance customer experience and support the area’s economic vitality.
The 30 minute spots would be placed at the four corners of each of the Avenue’s intersections.
“The goal is to create a sense of flow and a rhythm of knowing where these parking spaces are going to be,” he said. “All of the 15 minute parking spaces are going away.”
DC Gray explained that by changing the color of parking meters to a “muted red.”
“This should create a sense of flow knowing that the short term spots hopefully will be available down the Avenue and encourage not parking and waiting, but checking to see if that space is going to come available.”
Gray said by strategically locating the 30-minute spots should achieve more turnover. Also, he said the 15-minute pilot parking program in the lot by the post office on Amogerone had been successful and was adopted, but 15 minutes was not quite enough.
“We believe that 30 minutes if probably the sweet spot,” he said.
The Selectmen all responded positively to the proposal. It was a first read and will return to the Selectmen for a tentative vote at their next meeting.