Middletown committee agrees to restrict daytime parking on Du Bois Street, urges resident outreach and citywide study

Middletown DPW committee members on an evening agenda discussion agreed to move forward with restricting daytime parking on Du Bois Street to the side with an existing sidewalk, after a commissioner’s site visit and measurements showed two‑sided parking can make the narrow street impassable for larger vehicles.

The commissioner, who led the field inspection with the chief and Lieutenant Thalmann, said photos and on‑site measurements showed that when cars park on both sides ‘‘you really cannot even drive a pickup truck in between.’’ He said neighbors who came out during the visit described similar problems and one resident told staff that garbage trucks and delivery vehicles would not be able to pass. The commissioner recommended permitting parking only on the side of the street with a sidewalk and applying that approach to other narrow streets such as Earl and Ingalls.

Alderman Kleiner said the city should consider a standard street‑width threshold before allowing parking on both sides, noting other narrow residential streets already have one‑side rules. Alderman Green and other members voiced support for the commissioner’s recommendation and asked that affected residents be consulted before signs are changed. The mayor urged staff to speak with neighbors so residents are not surprised by new signs.

Committee members did not record a formal roll‑call vote on the Du Bois action in the transcript; the chair summarized committee agreement to proceed administratively with the Du Bois change and requested staff follow up with outreach. The transcript records that the committee intends to prepare separate resolutions for the streets under consideration and that the commissioner and chief will carry out the measurements and recommendations.

The committee also discussed whether to adopt a citywide parking evaluation to set consistent standards rather than making case‑by‑case decisions; the commissioner and mayor supported commissioning a consultant for a comprehensive study to produce objective recommendations.

Next steps recorded in the discussion: staff will prepare the Du Bois action for committee resolution and consult residents on the affected blocks; a citywide parking study was recommended but not authorized in this meeting.