Selectmen Vote On Removing On-Street Parking on a Stretch of Milbank Ave

A second of two parking ordinance changes proposed by Deputy Chief Marino just before his retirement was to remove on street parking on a portion of Milbank Ave.

The first was to remove on-street parking on North Street between Lita and the the intersection with Maple/North Maple.

The second ordinance was to eliminate parking on the west side of Milbank Ave, from Lexington to Lincoln Avenue.

Currently, on the west side of Milbank between Lexington and Lincoln Ave, on-street parking is allowed except for Fridays from 2:00am to 6:00am.
Currently, on the west side of Milbank between Lexington and Lincoln Ave, on-street parking is allowed except for Fridays from 2:00am to 6:00am.
Milbank Ave streetscape
Houses along the west side of Milbank where on street parking will no longer be allowed.

There is no on-street parking allowed on the west side of the street in front of Union Cemetery. And because there are no residences on that side, there is less demand for the on-street parking between Lexington and Lincoln.

Marino said a resident had complained to the Dept of Public Works that southbound vehicles crossed the double yellow line to avoid parked cars, and Milbank takes a curve there, creating a line of sight issue.

“There are other sections of Milbank Ave that are tight, but this seems to be the most significant section,” Marino said. “It’s one block where the road is really narrow.”

Marino said he proposed posting a no parking zone from 100 ft south of the intersection at Lexington to the intersection with Lincoln Avenue.

Currently parking is allowed, except on Fridays between 2:00am to 6:00am for street sweeping.

Asked how many parking spaces would be eliminated, Marino said the existing parking was not striped, but he estimated between six and eight vehicles fit there.

The parking is not restricted to residents, though Lexington and Lincoln have resident-only parking between 11:00am and 2:00pm, Monday-Friday.

Residents on this stretch of Milbank were sent letters two weeks earlier, and Marino said none had responded.

Ms Oberlander said she was concerned that removing the on street parking might result in more speeding.

First selectman Fred Camillo noted that after there were two deaths of pedestrians on Milbank near Agnes Morley, about four parking spots were removed by the crosswalk and flashing lights were installed. He said resident feedback had been favorable.

Mr. Camillo and Ms Rabin voted in favor of the ordinance. Ms Oberlander abstained.

Map of the stretch of Milbank where on street parking will no longer be allowed. The circles are trees. Lincoln Ave is at the bottom. The top of map shows the area just below the rotary where the no parking zone would begin. The white area to the right is the location of Union Cemetery.