If you’re parking a car in the village of Greenport this summer, you’d better make sure you abide by the rules.
Greenport’s new traffic control officer has been busy since he started in the seasonal, part-time post last month, issuing 118 tickets in his first three weekends on the job.
Between June 16 and July 4 the new TCO issued 15 tickets for uninspected vehicles and more than 100 for a variety of parking violations, from parking in handicapped spots without permits to parking in the wrong direction.
Village attorney Joseph Prokop said he has met with both the Southold Town Justice Court administrator and the village TCO Greg Morris. The court has agreed to have a court calendar dedicated to parking violations on the afternoon of the first Monday of every month.
Prokop told the village board last week he came to Greenport on a Saturday to “get a sense of what [the traffic control officer] is dealing with.
Morris brought some sign issues to the attorney’s attention, he said. Prokop in turn brought them to the attention of the village administrator “and in every case they were immediately taken care of,” he said.
The village has implemented an online payment portal for parking tickets. (The portal is accessible from the homepage of the village government’s website.)
Greenport hired the new enforcement officer as part of its efforts to alleviate ongoing traffic congestion and parking problems in the village, particularly during the summer months. Other initiatives have included changes in the parking ticket forms used, changes in justice court schedules and procedures in cooperation with the Town of Southold, an online ticket payment portal, and new parking restrictions and regulations in the village.
Tonight, Greenport Village Trustees will hold a public hearing on a code amendment to would ban parking on both sides of Wiggins Street year-round.
