Handing out photographs of cars parked illegally and of clearly marked parking regulations being blatantly ignored, Greenport Village Trustee Doug Roberts called out for change at Thursday night’s work session.
“Greenport is a parking free for all,” Roberts said after the meeting. “The parking study commissioned by the board in 2009 clearly recommends that we keep the cars rotating and sharing spaces to maximize value for our residents and merchants alike.”
To that end, Roberts suggests the board take the advice of the study, and chalk some tires on cars parked illegally. “People will get the message and spots will free up for people who need them for errands. As a reminder, only 40 percent of our parking, street parking, will be subject to this enforcement. Our off-street lots do not have a time restriction, save for a few spots at IGA.”
At the meeting, Roberts said he and Trustee Jack Martilotta had reviewed the study. They said they’d like to see the recommendations enforced and followed up with the issuance of tickets to offenders.
One idea, he said, might be putting a machine at the parking lot near the Long Island Rail Road station, so that people could take a ticket and put it on their dashboard, allowing traffic control officers to patrol and issue tickets to those parked over their time limit.
The tickets could present a substantial revenue stream, he said.
Martilotta said the presence of TCO might mean people, to avoid getting a ticket, would start to park by the train station and the railroad dock rather than “circling like sharks near Mitchell Park”, looking for a spot.
The study, he said, indicated that there are approximately 400 spaces offsite at the railroad station and other lots. “It’s not that far away but by having someone enforcing shared use you leave or you get a ticket,” he said. “Codes that aren’t enforced are suggestions.”
Mayor George Hubbard said the board would investigate if the village could utilize a Southold town traffic control officer. Roberts asked if one might be hired from another source, as long as they had a TCO certificate.
Village Attorney Joe Prokop said the process of writing a ticket involves walking by a lot a number of times, writing down notes; he said a TCO might not generate as many tickets as Roberts suggested and even then, many times the offenders have their cases dismissed in court.
Trustee Mary Bess Phillips asked how merchants might feel to have their paying customers, who might want to linger over dinner or at the shops, pushed out of a spot.
Hubbard said the cars parked illegally present safety issues and keep handicapped or elderly residents from getting to the pharmacy or other shops. Cars are parked in no parking zones, by fire hydrants, and illegally in other spots. “On Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. there are cars everywhere,” he said.
“Having someone walk about, a visible presence, makes a big difference,” Prokop agreed.
Hubbard said he’d speak to the town to get an answer about a traffic control officer.
Phillips said it’s time to look at re-routing Main Street, where cars are parked on both sides and traffic has difficulty getting through, especially as vehicles get larger. She said she’s fearful of a fatality involving a pedestrian, since the number of visitors and residents in the area is exploding.
The board considered parking on only one side of the street. Phillips said she’s seen other municipalities re-route streets. “I would like to explore it,” she said.
