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Selectmen approve contract with traffic consultant for Center School parking study under library MOU
Summary
The board authorized a contract with Hardesty & Hanover, not to exceed $17,500, for a parking supply-and-demand study of the Center School lot; the New Canaan Library will provide funds per a 2021 memorandum of understanding.
The New Canaan Board of Selectmen on Sept. 23 approved a contract with traffic consulting firm Hardesty & Hanover to conduct a parking supply-and-demand study of the Center School lot, with contract costs not to exceed $17,500. Per the memorandum of understanding between the town and the New Canaan Library (October 2021), the library will provide the funds for the study.
Town staff said the library’s certificate of occupancy for its new building was issued in August 2025, which triggered the MOU requirement that an updated parking study be completed within one year of issuance. The scope provided to the board calls for counts during multiple weekday periods, at least one Saturday count, and sampling during a library event so the consultant captures typical peak and event-driven demand.
Planning and zoning staff recommended Hardesty & Hanover because the firm served as the town’s peer reviewer during the library approval process and is familiar with the project’s prior analysis. The consultant’s scope, staff said, includes evaluating who uses the lot (library visitors versus town or merchant spillover), the distribution of spaces currently marked for library and town use, and identifying potential reconfigurations to increase spaces without unnecessarily removing green areas.
Library and town representatives told selectmen there have been anecdotal reports from downtown merchants and permit holders that employee parking — some of which is free and part-time — has become harder to find since the library opened. Staff said the lot contains about 76 library-designated spaces and roughly 90 town spaces; the study will verify utilization and whether overflow is occurring.
Selectmen were told the town hopes to complete the study in October if scheduling permits, with a worst-case completion before Thanksgiving 2025. The study’s findings will be presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission as required by the MOU.
The board’s motion to enter the contract was approved unanimously.
