WESTPORT — More all-day parking spaces downtown — something that merchants have long lobbied for to accommodate their employees — are being designated by town officials.
A total of 43 new all-day spaces is being allocated from the overall inventory of downtown parking, a change made possible by imposition of timed, three-hour limits earlier this year, according to the announcement Thursday by the Tooker administration and Police Department.
There will be 18 additional spaces designated for all-day parking in the Baldwin lot off Elm Street, and another 25 spots in the Jesup Road north lot next to the Gillespie Center.
Three-hour limits on parking downtown were imposed last May, marking a return to timed parking that had been suspended in the early days of the COVID pandemic to encourage patronage for businesses struggling in that period of health restrictions and social distancing.
Since timed parking has been in effect, however, data from monitoring downtown parking lots show that spaces are regularly open in the Baldwin and Parker Harding lots, officials said in the announcement.
Meanwhile, the all-day spots in the Baldwin lot are “heavily utilized” during the day, officials said.
The lack of longterm parking for workers in the central business district has been a thorn in the side of merchants, with some of them advocating for a system of parking passes for their employees.
“Converting timed spots to all-day parking in the Baldwin lot and Jesup lot will provide downtown employees and visitors with better access to convenient all-day parking,” Tom Kiely, the selectwomen’s operations manager, said in the statement.
“This decision was made after several months of data were collected. It’s important to maintain the appropriate balance of spaces due to the current demands. As demands change re-allocating spaces in the future can always be considered,” he added.
For a comprehensive look at downtown parking options, click here.
A move in the right direction, this is.
Correction.
Merchants have lobbied for more all day spots not only for their staff, but also for residents and visitors, as the feedback we have from patrons is they regret not being able to spend more time shopping after their lunch.
This has hit retail shops particularly hard.
Effectively the return of timed parking has run shoppers out of the downtown.
Interesting to note the paragraph which says timed parking was suspended during the pandemic to encourage patronage of struggling businesses.
By that very rationale it can be acknowledged that timed parking is not something customers find attractive.
The holidays are going to be interesting.