City Council of New Rochelle members on Oct. 21 heard a presentation on a downtown parking management plan that recommends a mix of pricing, enforcement and operational changes to increase revenue and better direct demand away from on-street spaces.

Consultants from NV5 and subcontractor Lehi G Associates presented the study. Sofia Kyle of NV5 told the council “parking is a shared resource,” and urged a multifaceted approach that includes pricing changes, stepped enforcement and better wayfinding to move drivers into underused garages.

The presentation said municipal parking revenue remains roughly half of pre-COVID levels and that the New Roc and Transit Center garages are underutilized while demand in the downtown core exceeds supply. Gerard Giosa, a subcontractor, told the council that the parking system “was earning close to 6,000,000 in 2019 pre COVID,” and that the city remains about $1 million down in transient income from the New Roc garage when compared with 2019.

At a detailed level, consultants identified three time horizons for change. Short-term recommendations (months) include raising fines and removing the heavily discounted same‑day fine option, increasing enforcement to industry norms and revising permit and transient pricing so the most-coveted curb spaces cost more than peripheral garages. Medium-term items (roughly one year) include a curbside paid-loading pilot that would dedicate and price spaces for deliveries and short pick-up windows, and a comprehensive parking wayfinding program to route drivers to the larger, underused garages. Long-term recommendations (target 2028) include license‑plate‑reading gate‑less systems in garages to capture revenue more consistently.

Staff and consultants noted existing efforts already underway: a text-to-pay option and a license-plate-reader pilot at the New Roc and Transit Center garages. Rebecca Bonacci, identified in the presentation as the director of parking for the city, said the pilot will provide data to guide any future license‑plate system.

Council members asked about enforcement levels and meter reliability. Councilmember Tarantino and others urged stronger enforcement; consultants and staff said ticket-writing declined substantially since 2019 and that lenient fine rules and limited patrols encourage low compliance. Staff said pay stations are checked regularly, that maintenance and spare parts inventories were expanded under the current contract with the vendor, and that response crews now provide faster repairs.

Councilmembers discussed electric vehicle charging demand, the availability of roughly 200 new spaces coming online (Highgarden, Skyline), and how a planned two-way traffic conversion downtown could be coordinated with a parking wayfinding rollout. The consultants said draft recommendations will be available in January 2026 and a final plan in February 2026, with staged implementation beginning in 2027 and continuing into 2028.

No formal council action was taken on the report during the Oct. 21 meeting; staff said the study remains in the data-collection and draft phases and that further public engagement and review will follow before policy changes are finalized.