Selectmen OK charter tweak, add to parking program
GREENWICH — The town’s municipal code got a bit of a tweak Thursday morning in order to ensure that a residents parking program can continue without any interruptions.
Parking on several streets in Greenwich is restricted to neighborhood residents only during specific hours. This prevents employees and customers of nearby businesses or anyone else from using the spots. For eligible residents, permits cost $ 24 for two years.
But Greenwich’s Deputy Police Chief Mark Marino, who oversees the town Parking Services Department, told the Board of Selectmen at a Thursday meeting that a “clerical issue” needed to be addressed for seven local roads.
An update was needed because changes that have previously been approved by the selectmen had not been included in the municipal code, Marino said. The Board of Selectmen approved the changes unanimously during the Zoom meeting.
“We recently had a resident in Byram bring up the issue of residential parking on Mead Avenue,” Marino said. “That caused me to do some research into the town charter with regards to the residential streets.”
He said he discovered that seven streets that had been approved for the program had “never made it into the actual charter.”
The affected streets are: Church Street West, with 39 resident parking permits issued for 2020; East Elm Street, with 28 permits; Josephine Evaristo Avenue, with 22 permits; Lawrence Street, with six permits; Mead Avenue in Byram, with six permits; William Street, with 22 permits; and Sachem Lane. The number of permits for the last street was not provided.
“I’m just trying to have the charter actually reflect what is currently being done as far as the parking arrangement on those particular streets,” Marino
said.
The parking restrictions vary from street to street.
Signs are posted in each neighborhood reflecting the hours of enforcement.
First Selectman Fred Camillo thanked Marino and said residents had told the selectmen about parking concerns on Mead Avenue. Marino said the change affects only a “small portion” of Mead Avenue from Church Street West to William Street, due to its proximity to the business district.
The Byram Neighborhood Association is expected to return to the Board of Selectmen with recommendations about parking relief there. The selectmen, as the town’s parking authority, would be able to act upon any requests.
The Board of Selectmen also unanimously approved adjustments to the town code to allow for changes in the parking available on Museum Drive.
The “minor change” is needed while a sidewalk is installed on the southern side of Museum Drive closest to Steamboat Road, Marino said.
“In order for it to be ADA compliant, it required shifting the road a little bit and that affected the width of the road a little bit,” he said. “Some of the 12-hour parking spaces that were on that side of the street in that area were simply shifted a little farther east on the roadway. Part of this project also involved reconfiguring the eastern end of the road, which allowed them to make it a little bit wider and add some additional parking spaces on the northern end of the street.”
The selectmen approved the change without any debate.
“Any time you’re adding parking spaces, I think it’s a good thing,” Camillo said.
Extending the sidewalk extension will make it safer for pedestrians between the playground or the Bruce Museum and the Steamboat Road area or downtown, Marino said.
“This is an enhancement that is much appreciated,” he said.