New Canaan plans pay-by-plate meters on Elm Street; commissioners debate 15-minute spots

The New Canaan commission reviewed an update May 7 on a paid-parking initiative that will place pay-by-plate meters on Elm Street and change lot machines to plate-based payments; staff estimated delivery and installation in August after a roughly 12-week procurement lead time.

Stacy, a parking department staff member, said the town will install nine machines (seven on Elm Street plus one on each side of South Avenue) and switch lot machines and the back office to a pay-by-plate system. She said the goal is turnover, not revenue: “It’s not for revenue purposes. It’s really to have more of a turnover on the street so more people can utilize the Elm Street parking,” she said. Staff also plans a merchant outreach and a grace period before enforcement begins.

Under the planned rules, on-street payments will be possible in 15-minute increments up to two hours. After the two-hour maximum, a forced rotation will prevent immediate repayment to remain on Elm Street; a driver must leave the street for at least an hour before returning. To accommodate longer visits, Park Street will be designated free for up to three hours and longer-term parking will be encouraged in upper lots such as the Lumberyard and Playhouse lots.

Staff said the town will integrate multiple mobile-payment apps, including ParkMobile and Passport, and is receiving quotes from Flowbird. The vendor will provide a project manager, back-office setup and marketing support; machines are expected about 12 weeks after purchase orders are accepted. Staff said the machines mount on cement pads and require no sidewalk wiring.

Commissioners and merchants raised concerns about removing dedicated 15-minute short-term stalls on Elm Street. Several members argued that dedicated short-term spots are valuable for turnover that supports small, quick-run businesses such as coffee shops and takeout. Commissioners asked staff to evaluate options including: (a) pilot areas of 15-minute paid or free spaces, (b) app-based incentives (for example, a free 15 minutes when paying through an app), and (c) targeted signage and wayfinding.

Staff said they will hold merchant meetings, invite the vendor/project manager to a future commission meeting, run utilization counts with interns this summer, and return to the commission with data and proposed refinements. Commissioners also asked staff to avoid rolling out the paid meters close to the holiday shopping season; staff said August deployment would allow time to work through issues before the holidays.

The commission discussed enforcement timing, signage, CCTV and license-plate reader possibilities for counts and enforcement, and asked staff to track re-up rates and extensibility of paid sessions in Park Street and other lots.