Town Extends Downtown Chappaqua Parking Limit for Holidays
Visitors to downtown Chappaqua will have some more time to shop for holiday gifts, get their hair and nails done or have a bite to eat without the fear of receiving a ticket this month.
The New Castle Town Board decided last week to extend parking limits in downtown Chappaqua from two to three hours on an experimental basis through Dec. 31. The new rule went into effect on Monday.
Officials planned to place burlap bags over the existing two-hour signs rather than going to the expense of changing the signs. It will allow the town board to evaluate the impact of the change and whether it would be suitable long term, said Town Administrator Penny Paderewski. It was expected that the town would receive the bags and place them over the signs on Monday.
Paderewski said officials want to make sure three-hour parking limits is what merchants and shoppers want. Last year the town spent nearly $5,000 to change 63 signs from one-hour to two-hour parking throughout the downtown, she said.
The change was made following a letter submitted to the board less than two weeks ago by Tara Mikolay, owner of the King Street jewelry store Desires By Mikolay. She said customers, a couple of whom had been ticketed for exceeding the time limit, had told her that two hours was too restrictive and it discouraged people from shopping in downtown Chappaqua.
Following the board’s decision, which took place toward the end of its Dec. 4 work session, Mikolay said the feedback from the public has been positive.
“My customers now feel they can come into town, fully enjoy their time and not have to worry about clock watching,” she said. “It is an overall friendlier policy and that is what Chappaqua is all about.”
Before the change was made, several other merchants told The Examiner that they would also welcome the extended parking time.
While Mikolay was pleased with the board’s quick response to her letter and listening to the large majority of merchants and shoppers, she said she was disappointed that the board didn’t act to permanently change the parking limit to three hours. However, she said he understood that there are various issues to consider before enacting a permanent change.
Mikolay added that the most of the merchants and residents support three-hour limits and hopes officials will realize that allowing the public extra time to park will make the business district more accommodating.
The change affects all on-street parking spaces in the hamlet’s downtown. However, it does not include parking at the Metro-North station.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
