New Pilot Effort Gives New Canaan Retail Workers Free Parking

NEW CANAAN, CT — New Canaan's downtown retail employees, who have been forced to move their vehicles during the day to avoid tickets, will now have an opportunity to park for free under a new experimental program approved by the Board of Selectmen Tuesday.

But there's a small catch, to take advantage of the free parking, those workers will have to walk a couple of blocks from their vehicles to their stores.

Under the pilot program, the town's Center and Locust parking lots will be available to downtown employees to park for free from Jan. 1 though June 30. The program requires them to apply to the town for a permit.

The move will free up spaces in other downtown lots for visitors and customers, and has been considered for years, writes the New Canaan Advertiser.

Officials said the town will lose about $40,000 in fines paid permits as a result of the trial program over six months, and nearly $80,000 in a full year.

The program will be reviewed in the spring to determine if it should continue.