By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT–Earlier this month, as part of a four step plan approved in July, on-street parking downtown was reduced from from three hours to two and the number of all-day parking spaces was reduced as well. 

Merchants have opposed–loudly and often–the reduced-hours plan, which was again the target of criticism at Thursday’s meeting.

Nobody is listening

“Nobody is listening to the merchants who support this community,” Laureen Haynes, owner of the Chocolatieree, 66 Church Lane, told the committee. “Westport is a destination to shop, dine,” and use other services “that take more than two hours,” she said.

She accused the committee of “manipulating the conversation,” to make it sound like shorter time spaces were preferable. “It’s called spin selling. It’s inaccurate and misleading,” she said.

Parking management professional

Randy Herbertson, the chairman of the DPIC, said the decision had already been made about which spaces would permit two-hour, three-hour or all-day parking. “You’re not a parking professional,” he said to Haynes. “This was done by a parking management professional.”

Each phase in the plan–spot reassignment, metered parking, permit parking and structured parking–will be closely examined. Improvements and refinements will be made after the outcomes are studied, DPIC member Matt Mandell told Haynes. “If it works, it works. If not – we will move on,” he said. 

Bad for business

Also commenting on the negative impact shorter parking time limits could have on downtown businesses was RTM member Sal Liccione, whose District 9 encompasses downtown. Several downtown businesses have closed, he said, and, with the shorter parking limits, “more businesses will fail,” he predicted.

Haynes then left the meeting saying, “there’s no point coming to these meetings because nothing changes.”

Lawsuit

Alan Cohen, co-owner of Elixir Spa at 163 Main St., is another disgruntled merchant. He, with two other business owners, filed a lawsuit against the town in May, 2024, alleging that the renovation of Parker Harding Plaza would damage their businesses. Mr. Cohen was unable to attend the meeting on Thursday; on Friday, he spoke with Westport Journal.

“They’re removing 44 spots instead of creating more parking, which is the end goal of every merchant we know,” Cohen said. “No matter how loud we yell and the evidence we give, it essentially falls on deaf ears.”

 He said he thinks the town is looking for a way to get around the lawsuit he and the other merchants filed. “This thing has been decided by them from the beginning,” he said of the DPIC.  “They labeled us as obstructionists and won’t consider the input of the merchants – the stakeholders whose livelihoods depend on the downtown.”

Later in the meeting DPIC member Kenneth Bernhard defended the commission. “I’m tired of the criticism of this commission,” he said. 

New explanatory signs

To notify motorists of the recent changes, large signs showing the type of parking permitted in different lots in the downtown area will be placed in each parking lot.  The signs will indicate which spaces are for all-day parking, and which are limited. Information on the number of spaces and whether they are timed or all-day spaces is also available on the Discover Westport website.

DPIC to appeal to P&Z for an 8-24

The next step in the strategic management plan is to get P&Z’s approval for improvements to the Parker Harding lot, Herbertson told the committee. He is planning to schedule “a pre-app” meeting in September with the P&Z to discuss the proposed changes. The DPIC would then return with a formal application to the P&Z for an 8-24 land use report, he said.

If approved, the Parker Harding improvements should go out to bid this fall, Herbertson told his committee.

The Parker Harding improvement plan will also be brought before the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting, he said. The plans for improvements to the Jesup Green and Imperial Avenue parking lots are still in the design phase, and will likely go before the P&Z and other town boards this winter, Herbertson said.

Westport Journal’s recent stories on downtown parking

Gretchen Webster

Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, has reported for the daily Greenwich Time and Norwalk Hour, the weekly Westport News, Fairfield Citizen and Weston Forum. She was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman for ten years. She has won numerous journalism awards over the years, and taught journalism at New York University and Southern Connecticut State University.

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