KENT, Conn.—The issue of parking again recently absorbed the selectmen when they met.
Complaints have again been lodged about parking irregularities by Motoriot, a Bridge Street business that sources and customizes classic four-by-four vehicles such as Land Rovers.
Residents of nearby Elizabeth Street have complained for months about Motoriot employees parking along their street. The Planning and Zoning Commission last month approved a parking plan for the business but did not address the complaints.
First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer said he was misquoted by Motoriot owners when they said he told them they could park anywhere they wanted. “That was not ever said,” he stated. “We have no ordinance about parking on the streets, but I never said you could park anywhere.”
Lindenmayer favors putting no parking signs on one side of Elizabeth Street to ease the situation for residents but added that he has not seen the number of cars on the street that he did last spring.
The only place that Motoriot is allowed to sell its inventory is from the onsite spaces approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission last month. “To be parked on the street, a [vehicle] must be privately owned and not for sale,” Lindenmayer said. “They [aren’t allowed to] put them on the street as they did during the Sidewalk Sales weekend taking up public parking spaces.”
Selectman Lynn Mellis Worthington said businesses are supposed to provide adequate parking for their employees, but Lindenmayer said some businesses on Main Street have been allowed to have fewer parking places than needed.
“The question is, how do we come up with more municipal parking,” Lindenmayer said. He said he has even seen local businesspeople parking in the Welcome Center parking lot. He favors creating a parking lot between the Swift House and the firehouse to relieve the pressure on Main Street.
Fire Marshal Tim Limbos commented that there is no ordinance governing parking in fire lanes and that one should be created.
Kent, a destination town, is often overwhelmed with traffic on weekends.
Other traffic-related issues were also presented. Lindenmayer said an ordinance controlling commercial bus traffic on South Kent Road has been drafted, based largely on one passed last month in New Milford, and will be sent to a public hearing on Sept. 18.
The Kent ordinance would prevent buses from accessing South Kent Road from Spooner Hill or Bull’s Bridge Road. The New Milford ordinance closes access from Gaylordsville. Despite prohibiting “commercial, private or chartered passenger transport or tour vehicles” of more than 30 feet in length and transporting more than 15 people, provisions are included in the ordinance to allow buses to bring students to South Kent School for sports and special events.
The selectmen would be able to temporarily suspend the ordinance in the event of an emergency or special event. For special events, the event sponsor must pay for Connecticut state troopers or Kent fire police to conduct traffic control.
Violations of the ordinance will result in $250 fines per violation.
The ordinance is designed to prevent large buses from taking a short cut along narrow South Kent Road to Club Getaway. Buses going to Club Getaway would have to come up Route 7 and turn onto Route 341. Worthington noted that it is a tight turn for large vehicles to turn right from Route 7 onto 341, but Lindenmayer said the state is working on new traffic lights at the intersection that should ease the problem.
