Savvy + Grace owner Annette Norton says, “when I speak to people in my store, most are not aware that redoing the Parker Harding lot will cause us to lose 45 parking spaces, in an already parking supply-challenged area.”
Prior to the Board of Finance meeting this week, at which members approved $630,000 to redesign the Jesup Green and Imperial Avenue parking lots, she emailed members. Annette said:
I am proud to be a Westport resident and business owner. Downtown is one of the jewels of Westport, and should be cherished and not taken for granted.
That said, our downtown is in a precarious position. None of the people behind this request are retailers, and therefore may not truly understand the impact and inner workings of the redevelopment.
Site plan for Jesup Green parking area. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
The parking situation has long been a challenge. With increased population comes space constraints and congestion. Aside from the parking dilemma, downtown brick and mortar retailers face fierce competition from online shopping. These are threatening the viability of downtown businesses.
The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee, with the director of Public Works, agreed to add parking spaces at Jesup and Imperial, after much opposition, in an attempt to make up for the 45 spaces that will be lost with the redesign of Parker Harding parking lot.
I believe caveats should be put in place prior to approval. This ask is only the first phase for what will ultimately be the redesign of the Parker Harding lot, in which 45 parking spaces will be lost.
- There should be signs should be placed downtown to inform drivers so they know where additional parking can be found.
- There should be signs to indicate fines if drivers exceed the 3-hour minimum.
- DPIC plans to put in underground scanners at Parker Harding to fine drivers if they exceed the 3 hour time limit. I believe the funds should be used to invest in technology in the form of a parking app, and eliminate the 3 hours limitation as it will hurt businesses.
As the vice president of the Westport Downtown Association, I support the use of metered parking, and am in favor of the WDA managing it to relieve the burden from the town. Please note that the WDA already manages the refuse program downtown, and funds are used for beautification and downtown events.
The logistics of the metered parking maintenance arrangement between the WDA and town should be discussed. Every major downtown has parking in place using a mobile app: Fairfield, New Canaan, Greenwich, Bronxville and Larchmont to name a few.
Finally, I am not in favor of limiting parking to 3 hours. This is a deterrent for shoppers and diners. Dining in a restaurant takes 2.5 hours. When shopping is factored in, that’s well in excess of 3 hours. It’s unrealistic expectations.
It is important that retailers be engaged in these crucial decisions. Their input is critical to keep businesses from moving away from Westport. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Westport is paying someone 💰to “redesign” a parking lot and they lose 45 spaces ⁉️
Beyond FUBAR‼️😂🇺🇸
FYI: They were just approved this week for $630,000 to redesign Jesup and Imperial. That is ONLY for the design, nothing else.
Gee, I’m sure one or our more artistically-gifted residents would have been glad to draw up a parking lot rendering for, say, only $250,000!
Some points of clarification:
“There should be signs should be placed downtown to inform drivers so they know where additional parking can be found.”
– Once all the lots have been completed, a comprehensive wayfinding initiative will be done, informed by the existing wayfinding plan sponsored by the Town several years ago.
There will also soon be a complete parking map section on DiscoverWestportCT.com including the location of all day and timed parking, as well as EV spots.
“There should be signs to indicate fines if drivers exceed the 3-hour minimum.”
– This will be a decision by the Police Department, determining whether it follows established and best practice.
“DPIC plans to put in underground scanners at Parker Harding to fine drivers if they exceed the 3 hour time limit. I believe the funds should be used to invest in technology in the form of a parking app, and eliminate the 3 hours limitation as it will hurt businesses.”
– Once again, the parking enforcement plan is under the jurisdiction of the Police Department and First SelectWomen’s Office, and underground scanners are not part of their current plan. The extended 3-hour limit they determined (from 2 hours) was in response to merchant requests for their patrons. The main goal of the limits are to discourage all-day parkers from using these spots, and instead use the many all day spots available elsewhere. Parker Harding currently fills up with these parkers long before patrons arrive each day.
Metered parking has long been a discussed and contested opportunity, with friends and foes on both sides (I am personally an advocate) but if this were to be done, it would once again be managed by our traffic authorities.
As noted, it has been decided to put forth a new schedule to put the addition of spots to be lost in PH in the Jesup area prior to PH construction in response to merchant concerns and P&Z advisement. This work was always in the Master Plan, but we’ve reordered the timing.
Randy Herbertson, Chair
Downtown Plan Implementation Committee
And Randy, most importantly, you and Pete promised us that you will be sure to get an accurate count of staff( or we can use the 1987 NYT article count) and daily staff parking requirements to come to their place of work. We asked that we be shown where this number of staff will be able to park without getting a fine. You told us you would do that.
We are looking forward to this factual, unambiguous information.
Had you done this simple mathematical excercise and accounting before any plan was presented or worked on at least the stark reality would be out in the open, instead of ignoring FACTS.
The DPIC has been populated with many ( not all) cronies and henchman who have no clue how businesses operate. The fact that this is the plan being presented is proof of that statement.
It is grossly ANTI business and ANTI merchant. I suggest you fix it, get a staff number, show us where staff will park, present residents who would like more than 3 hours in order to eat AND shop where they can park for longer than 3 hours.
and only when all those boxes have been ticked should any redo other than maintenance be even entertained to any more parking lots.
That includes the “permanent home” for the farmers market, and the remarkable theatre. Because if you are including parking numbers at imperial lot, then it is for parking.
It cannot be 2 things at once.
If you want staff to park there provide the shuttle bus it had in 1987, as well as cease to do any and all fairs, markets etc.
it is either parking or it is not.
I will say this Randy and Annette I Been asking for a meeting for awile there are merchants that Randy and max has not meet or Jen. Tooker as a rtm member downtown I live on church lane I making a public request from Randy who always says no to meeting with the merchants or me I use work for the dma but Randy and Jen won’t meet with us that is th truth jen says he in that she will meet with everyone last time she did Parker Harding she only meet with Randy and max and Matt mandell and others I would ask them to meet with us plus Randy gets paid from the town of Westport to do the downtown website for the town of Westport thanks all from sal liccione any questions please call me my cell is 203 434 6348 ask Jen if her administration is rely open it is not she does not care I live Nezt to Randy office it is on church lane next to Mrs londons my address is 50 church lane my cell is 203 434 6348 I requesting a meeting with Jen tooker and Randy asap
Stop with the ‘jewel’ description and we may take you seriously.
Jockeying around teenage girls at LuLu or Athleta is old now.
I agree with you sal , 3 plus hours parking is store employees parking all DAY. The 2-1/2 h hours for lunch or dinner then how many hours to shop? The math just doesn’t work
How many people go downtown for allday or
1/2 day parking?
Most people break up the visits.
This store owners over reaction to customers parking when in
Realty it’s their employees all day parking.
Otherwise you would have to go on an app to schedule your 3,4
5 hours of parking that means 1-2 or 3 people shop a limited time 7 days a week, wow the reality of that is limited customers.
Is that how you make a living?
NO it’s fair parking for the customers and multiple customers that WANT TO SHOP DOWNTOWN but again the never ending bs of how to provide that parking SANS employee and owner all day parking.
Plus no one wants to walk to and up main st and back again to a parking lot near by.
All the bitching about the cops , own up put yourself in their place . They are caught up on this but
Can’t win on what the best way to deal with it is. Yet they see it all but their reality no one wants to see.
Downtown parking needs to be limited hours to allow for more customers to shop or the business owners cut their nose off for a few customers all day and night?
With all due respect, where do you suggest 1200-1800 staff park ? Because they have to park somewhere, or businesses cannot open.
When the town as we have asked on multiple occasions answers that question I am sure the staff will happily park there.
But to offer 3 hour parking which for your information is NOT sufficient because I’ll tell you what, the restaurants in this town are the anchors( like it or not) and so the restaurants will not lose out from the 3 hour parking but the retail stores will be in all sorts of trouble, because nobody will have time to go anywhere after eating.
These are facts.
We also need more than only residents to frequent our shops and our restaurants but who wants to come to a town where they cannot do both and all because of a selfish and vengeful selectwoman who runs an authoritarian and anti business anti merchant ship. A ship she is going to sink if these plans go ahead.
Again we await patiently direction from Randy and Pete who assured us they will let us know where 1200-1800 staff can safely park without being fined.
Nobody coming to Westport is walking around for hours in a daze, kicking rocks.
It’s a nice town. It’s not so incredible , folks are coming to just waste their time purposely outstaying their welcome.
What happens when Pete and Randy let staff know where it is they are to park. Let’s assume there is lots of parking in the town . Let’s take the slower days as an example. Mondays, Tuesdays.
We are then on those slower days going to kick people out of the downtown after 3 hours ? Why ? How in gods name does that make an iota of sense.
It DOES NOT make any sense.
We have asked our customers. Residents and non residents alike and they are all upset and think it’s ludicrous.
They think the idea that after their lunch they have only time to go to one shop or no shop at all is such craziness.
No other town does this. None.
So I suppose we have an anti business, anti merchant, administration hell bent on destroying Westports downtown prosperity and bringing merchants still recovering from the financial effects of covid to their knees.
How sad is that.
It’s pretty clear they haven’t the first clue how businesses work.
They need to get with the program and start by asking businesses how many staff they have and showing the businesses where they expect them to find parking.
That problem if you care to read the article I copied to one of my comments here was written in 1987 by the New York Times.
Nothing has changed.
BUSINESSES CANNOT OPEN WITHOUT STAFF.
STAFF DRIVE CARS.
STAFF MUST BE ABLE TO PARK.
This is not supposed to be residents VS business owners.
I happen to be a resident and a business owner.
But one thing this town administration has become experts in, is getting one group in town to fight the other.
Randy had the neck to tell me at the last DPIC meeting that the parking in town is not about staff, it’s about residents.
But you see AGAIN, the staff MUST also be able to park SOMEWHERE, safe, reliable, secure and if it’s imperial with the same shuttle they had back in 1987. The “shopper schlepper”.
Maybe it can be called the “staff and shopper schlepper”.
We are not stupid. Though we are becoming jaded having to listen to the drivel of an administration and a DPIC, committee clues about how businesses are run.
We are not deliberately trying to inconvenience customers BUT we also drive cars and need to park somewhere in the vicinity of where we work.
So again waiting patiently to see where it is we are to park. All 1200-1800 of us.
What has been the drop off in your business seeing you’ve alienated and/or insulted at least 1/3 of Westport residents?
This comment is not helpful. Ms Webster highlights many important questions that still need answers before the town cuts into Jesup Green, and spends millions more to implement the $630K in “plans and permits” approved by the BOF last week.
I agree 100%with Annette. 3 hours is too limiting especially if you are having lunch and shopping afterwards.
i always wondered when they repaved the parking lot behind brooks corner why they did not do the big dig and add all the spots they needed with underground parking?
Agree 100% with Annette as well .
Also, after getting PH to code with
appropriate fire lanes and handicap parking
make the boardwalk narrower and eliminate
the green( will be impossible to keep
the grass looking good as many many people bound to
walk through continuously anyway ) and voila you have
more spaces in PH and more room for the
many truck deliveries every day and the costs will
be more reasonable especially with the $100
million school and turf athletic field whose costs
the town seems refusing to compromise on.
I as well as many others keep saying the same thing to all intetested parties , Town officials, the RTM and Westport residents.
BUILD A 3 LEVEL PARKING STRUCTURE AT THE ELM STREET PARKING LOT!!!
Design and build it with one level below grade and two levels above and have external on structure landscaping to soften the look. Provide 2 paid entry metered entrances, one on Elm and one on Myrtle.
This will make parking shortages in Downtown disappear even with growth and secure the sucess of our great downtown retailers, restaurants and buzinesses.
COME ON WESTPORT! THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX AND MAKE SURE DOWNTOWN REMAINS ONE OF WESTPORT’S BEST ASSETS!
Totally not in favor of metered parking. It will be the kiss of death for downtown Westport.
If the downtown parking “problem” is fixed, you will be, in effect, inviting even more shoppers to park and shop downtown and you’ll be right back where you started. The supply of spaces is fixed but the number of shoppers/vehicles is unlimited. Sometimes, folks will have to wait for a space no matter what is done. There are worse things in life.
One major thing that endeared my wife and I to Westport when we first visited here 10 years ago to find a new place to live was the wonderful look and feel to Westports special downtown area ,its retailers, businesses and restaurants.We did not want a town with big box retailers or a mall. We like most who come to live in or visit Westport who want to support our special downtown want the same.
To limit and restrict downtown parking and convienent acess to the great shopping and dinning in this wonderful and historic town of ours wiil slowly choke and destroy its economic viability and we will be left with an empty boarded up shell of a former jewel in Westports crown.
Lets quit spending rediculous monies on poorly designed and thought out consultants plans and use better common sense means to properly fix DOWNTOWN Westports parking problems.
Lets do this right!
Ray & Dianna Broady
Please, no metered parking.
I cannot think of anything essential to normal life that can only be found in Downtown Westport. There may have been a time when one needed one’s TV set repaired, shoes resoled, automobile serviced there, but those days are now the stuff of 06880’s retro-photo posts. So I sympathize, to an extent, with Ms. Norton’s concerns. Paid parking will simply further discourage what’s really recreational shopping, or will force retailers to, at their expense, “validate” (ie. eat) their patrons’ costs. Enforced reasonable-time-limited parking makes sense with sufficient disincentives for employee, or, ahem, business owner/manager) parking.
Ken, nobody is suggesting that asking staff to park in reasonable, safe, secure( if it is far away, such as the Imperial lot) is not in fact a better idea than having all close proximity spots taken up by staff.
As a business owner I could not agree more with you. I absolutely want customers, residents, visitors to want to come to the downtown and to not have a huge headache finding parking, but businesses cannot operate without staff, and staff drive cars like the rest of us.
So a current staff count must be done, and it must be worked out where the staff should park.
There must be a full accounting for this, BEFORE, plans are carried out, and the fact is, 37 years after that New York Times article written about our dire parking situation might as well have been written yesterday and nothing has changed. Except we are minus 66 spots already. That’s before Parker Harding is re paved and maintained with ADA improvements.
Therefore there is STILL no room for green space.
Using the cart and the horse example, to implement any plan that has not thoroughly investigated exactly where 1200-1800 staff a day is going to park is very much putting the cart before the horse.
We told Pete and Randy at the last meeting. Show us where staff will park.
They assured us they will.
We need an accurate count as in 1987 that was 1200-1800. Possibly that number has changed. Maybe it’s fewer, tho unlikely with ymca, now retail and second floor retail, advocated for by all the landlords who sit on DPIC, and downtown association.
Once we have that the folks in our administration and on DPIC must show us where the staff are going to be asked to park.
Again, 1200 plus staff all working 8 plus hour long shifts, without whom businesses cannot open.
It’s quite simple. Show us where all those people need to park.
As to the 3 hour parking. It will mean people will have time to eat their lunch or dinner and frequent other businesses for 30 minutes.
It is as simple as that.
Anybody in favour of this plan is anti business, anti merchant, and quite frankly does not understand how a downtown with businesses works.
Businesses need staff to operate those businesses.
I think we can all agree with that. It is a fact. Therefore one way or another it is the town of Westports responsibility to tell staff where they have an opportunity to park safely, and securely for the duration of their shift.
Westports downtown has had a staff count as far back as 37 years ago when the New York Times published an article ( yes I did say 37 years ago) titled WESTPORTS BOOM STRAINS PARKING- 22 November 1987
https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/22/nyregion/westports-boom-strains-parking.html
Another interesting piece published by our very own Dan woog 9 years ago titled westporters urge restoration of transit funds. It quotes staff numbers once the YMCA was converted to more retail space to be 1200 in non peak times and 1800 in peak times. It’s all in the article. 9 whole years ago.
https://06880danwoog.com/2015/05/04/westporters-urge-restoration-of-transit-funds/amp/
Yet here we sit with no solutions to where would the town of Westport like the staff running the businesses of downtown Westport to actually be able to park in order to serve the customers who would like to come to eat, shop, run errands etc.. at the last meeting several weeks ago in town hall, Pete Ratkiewich and Randy Herbertson were asked to show us where they would like staff to park, we were assured twice by them they will do a staff count and will show us where they would like our staff to park. We still await this information eagerly and with anticipation.
Schools cannot operate without teacher parking and for that matter student parking.
Hospitals cannot operate without parking for their doctors and nurses.
Airports cannot function without parking for their staff and flight crew.
The businesses of Westport cannot open their doors if staff cannot find parking for 1200-1800 employees.
These businesses do not operate minus staff.
That should have been the very first problem with a very clear solution before the 3 hour parking was albeit “upped” from 2 hours to 3. Where in reality are you telling someone who works an 8 hour shift to park. 1200-1800 people.
That’s number one ! And it has been number one point as far back as 37 years ago, so nobody need feign surprise.
Number 2.
The disappearance of the ability to park on church lane during 8 months of the year when it closed to facilitate the spotted horse and a few other businesses who during covid started to use it for outdoor seating.
Not only does this cause a deficit of about 25 parking spots but it has enabled those businesses to grow in seating capacity by as much as 75% this increasing the burden on parking.
I’m not arguing that this type of policy is commonplace now in many towns and in our town, in fact it is very important to our residents to have the option of eating outside now, and in fact most restaurants with the ability to do so try and offer some kind of patio seating which allows an outdoor dining option. Often those patios are an extension of parking or private space areas.
But what has not been counted is the lost parking on church lane of 25 spots.
The Baldwin lot has lost 35 spots in that parking redo. A private business now has 6 parking spots across from Serena and lily indicating parking for their tenants only.
That is 66 parking spots lost before we start to talk about the loss of parking at Parker Harding.
As to the loss of parking in the proposed Parker Harding plan being 40 spots, Parker Harding in this proposed plan is getting much needed additional ADA parking and much needed cross walks.
The proposal also adds a lot of green space.
The only reason the plan shows a loss of only 40 and not 100 parking spots is because it has changed the configuration of parking to be super majority mini compact car spaces for “small “ cars and all perpendicular impossible to park in spots.
Angled parking takes up more room but it is far easier to park in and I’m not sure why but it means spots can be narrower.
These are FACTS.
Now add to that the loading zones which take up 20 parking spots AND are a required need to conduct business and get stock and food deliveries.
Well those are now only in play until 10am. They then become parking spots which is why the appearance of 40 lost spaces is such a joke.
This major parking lot is being designed in “Barbie world” where people will not be able to park an SUV, where it will take 3-5 attempts to get into a parking spot unless you are Houdini, or are an incredibly talented driver.
And the road to park is 2 directions, so now you have people trying to park going north, going south, people trying to leave while they watch the 5 point manoeuvres of an SUV trying to park in between 2 already parked cars in a “small” spot.
Their plan shows them as “small” spot. Not my words.
Add to that scenario a tractor trailer/ups/fed ex/ Amazon delivery truck double parked in the middle of the road after 10am delivering pallets of food/furniture to businesses and we have an absolute nightmare unfolding.
Instead of rushing into trying to pull the wool over our eyes, with pretty pictures and unrealistic plans.
This administration must acknowledge the loss of parking already at the Baldwin lot of 35 spaces.
Reinstate the loading zones as all day, get rid of the “small car” spaces back to a manageable size either angled or if it insists on perpendicular impossible spots then make them larger.
Account for the eventual loss of parking over by the library when they take spots away from there or again render it impossible to park in Barbie world spots.
Fix the decrepit imperial parking lot which needs a shuttle bus and designate it as all day 7-6 pm parking every day of the week.
Until all this is addressed, and implemented there is zero reason to mess with Parker Harding, because I for one know as sure as day follows night the implementation of the redos of these other lots is factually not going to be fast.
Imperial first !
Show staff where you would like them to realistically park
Put on a shuttle bus from imperial. There’s a reason residents do not what to park there.
It is 17 minutes walk from my business.
Do the math on 3 hour parking.
2 plus hours to eat a meal with friends. 30 minutes left to shop, if you aren’t parked at the imperial lot, if you are then good luck, you have time to eat and run.
How on any planet is this not going to destroy the westport downtown businesses.?
How ?
It is an ANTI business, ANTI merchant policy, and nobody can call it anything but that.
As a merchant it is unbelievable.
Ciara webster
Your comments, facts and written word hit a homerun.
Kudos, well done!
Ms. Ciara, I’m an admirer of yours here on 06880 for your panache, and your skill in making some valid points. I’ve followed Dan’s blog since 2010. We lived in Westport in a different time… 60s and early 70s before we left and I was young. I loved it and remember so many good things about it. It was a lovely time and not to be duplicated it seems.
Please forgive me as I’m a pretty new grandmother to two small granddaughters, and I mother everything and everyone these days. A reflex in the dna that you might understand. So I hope you take this as a compliment, vs a criticism. I feel like I want to shield you from some heat you take because of your bold delivery. As well meaning as it may be.
You seem very talented and successful. Your delivery of your message could maybe distance potential supporters you could have for all the points you make. I liked your contributions to the community gardens discussion for example. I wish Westporters could watch the Australian tv show, Neighbours and their similar controversy. They ended up with the high school and the retirement community sharing the building and the land. A blessing for both sides. Silly but…maybe instructive. Sorry folks. Life isn’t tv but it spoke to me.
Anyways, I admire your chuttzpa and zest for life, and hope you can draw some more admirers in Westport by sharing your expertise in a way people can hear you and not get offended. You have some gifts people need. A little sugar won’t hurt in my view but I’m a different generation. We offer a little sweet with the medicine. Old fashioned I suppose and I’llprobablytake a bashing posting this..so.😬 anyways. Blessings!
Mr. Stamm understand your opinions about Downtown, but I respectfully disagree with your analysis.
Downtown always has been and hopefully retain its title of the wonderful “heart” of the Town of Westport.
I am not sure you do not patronize the many wonderful restaurants or establishments downtown based on your comment. Many Westporters do and during those hours trying to find available parking becomes a frustrating task. This does not even take into account the hundreds of downtown visitors, shoppers and patrons who trek to Westport daily to experience our downtown.
Westporters also need to keep in their minds the taxes and financial contributions all these establishments pay into state and Town coffers which is a great offset to our ever increasing property taxes.
I think we all agree paying for parking is not always the best option and in itself does not cure the parking space problems, however “WRITING OFF” Westports wonderful downtown would be disaterous to our Westport look, feel and sense of community.
As a complete community we have to stop just relying on our town government, officials and overly expensive consultants alone to make and move these projects and changes without all interested and concerned residents and businesses being a bigger part of better solutions.
Thank you for your comments and views, much needed,.
Come on back downtown and enjoy a special place!
With the loss of parking, Westport will not become a destination for people to come to dine and shop.
I invite those from town hall, who are making these decisions to drive their cars into town: dine, shop, and have their hair done within the three hours. I’d be happy to join them and record how long it takes.
To gain foot traffic, in order to keep downtown alive, we need parking. We also need parking for our employees.
Once they figure out how to add parking to downtown, then they can make other plans for the town. But first, they should fix the problem before they create more. Unless they want the downtown to die, like it did when they were doing all of the work on Main Street and nobody could park- which was pre-Covid. I didn’t forget. I had just opened my business that year, not knowing that downtown was a ghost town as a result of the lack of parking.
Every single time that the street is closed on Main Street for events; it brings people who do not shop. All of our regular clients who frequent downtown for shopping, avoid downtown Westport, knowing they will not be able to come in, park, and shop. I am certain that if you open the books of every single business downtown, they will see that those weekends we do zero business. Further proof that without parking the business in downtown will not survive. I don’t think that they live in a reality. Ideas are thrown around without knowing what it really takes to run a business.
On a personal note, I have clients coming from out of (multiple) states, and drive a couple hours to come to my store. They spend at least two hours with us, minimum. If it’s going to take them half an hour to park, that will give them very little time to go or do anything else in town.
The group in power has failed to include all parties in the planning phase, and it has failed to communicate its vision for changes. The plan itself is not the problem, it is the process and attitude of those appointed. If it was an inclusive process, there would be more agreement on common grounds. I suggest that the chairman of DPIC be removed and replaced by a person with demonstrated experience and abilities to bring people together, not divide them.
The question I have is which problem is being solved with the time limitations and redesign of PH and the downtown Westport lots? This initiative originated in 2015, years ago when there was a different problem with downtown. Are the redesigns solving the heart of today’s problems? What is different in downtown Westport today vs. 5-years pre-covid?
From a business’s perspective, I had customers come in Friday saying there was no parking to be found (obviously finally found a spot and glad they persisted!). I am concerned about the continued net loss, the increased constraints and reduced ease-of-use parking will have on drawing shoppers/diners/visitors to downtown.
As a note, I am also a resident that luckily lives walking distance to downtown. I have empathy for residents who say they avoid downtown because of traffic and parking. I ask, will the proposed parking lot and time-limit changes bring you back?
The only reason to implement 3-hour parking limits is to evacuate all-day parkers from PH and then justify the reduced number of parking spots. Downtown businesses/restaurants have expanded since 2015 and P&Z added second floor zoning allowances. So, in a business district, where now do all of these businesses park?
Ahead of these changes, I have asked for a “try-it” to designate alternative locations for ladies and gentlemen to park all-day, to measure the impact and ensure safe, workable solutions that Keep Westport Working. If we solve this, do we really need time-limited parking and pay the cost for technology to monitor this? Do some of the new businesses need more than 3-hour parking for their customers? And, as well-intended this may be, from the POV of all-day parkers/visitors, I don’t see saying parking guidance is in the works on some unfamiliar website as a viable solution. For people driving cars.
To know exactly what the total impact will be, I ask the DPIC to provide a TOTAL GOAL for the TOTAL NUMBER of parking spots planned in all of the downtown lots- all day vs. time limited, etc. To say spots will be added at Upper Jesup (at the cost of green space) may counter spots lost at PH, but now what about the spots to be eliminated at Lower Jesup near the water? Again, a net loss after the loss at Baldwin.
Let’s improve the lots, solve the right problems, AND Keep Westport Working.
Westport’s Downtown is similar to an open air shopping mall, patronized by mostly out of town shoppers who, if they can afford to purchase Gucci handbags, they can afford to pay for parking.
I believe the contemporary method for collecting revenue is through a kiosk system, not a parking meter system that takes quarters. All parking collection systems are now cashless electronic kiosks. West Hartford has a very good parking kiosk system, worth a look.
Final thought; I would strongly consider a simple exercise to determine if revising the parking on Main Street to a 60 degree, angle in, parking space layout, (versus the current parallel parking system which is incredibly inefficient) on one side of the street, between the Post Road and Elm Street.
I suspect this system will be more efficient and provide an opportunity for more new trees, new green space and more seating areas. I suspect three kiosks to pay for parking would be adequate in this section of Main Street.
In my opinion, this should have done years ago.
I completely agree with Ray Broady and many other Westporters who have long felt that a parking garage or some form of decked parking in the Elm St. lot would provide more than enough parking for users and workers in our downtown. It would solve all of the parking issues mentioned above. And it would be just steps away from downtown Main Street. I would think that our merchants would rally eagerly behind such a proposal, as they would be its chief beneficiaries.
Also, having this parking solution in hand would clear the way for something I and many Westporters strongly support: the replacement of the Parking Harding lot with expanded retail space and a pedestrian promenade. Only in this way would we truly re-connect our downtown to the riverfront and create a space that would provide a real reason to linger longer in our downtown and also feel more connected as a community. As long as there is parking lot, whether it be the current one or the proposed one, abutting the real “jewel” of our downtown, the riverfront, we will never either experience the full pleasure of it nor reap the commercial benefits it could provide.