New Canaan sets mid-April start for lot reconstruction
Other Committee · Meeting of April 1, 2026
New Canaan Parking Commission sets mid-April start for Park Street and Playhouse lot overhaul. Project engineer Tiger told commissioners construction will begin around April 15, starting with the smaller Playhouse lot, with paving finished by May 15 and striping to follow. The redesign converts parallel spaces to 90-degree parking and eliminates 12 spaces at the Park Street lot, prompting discussion of capping premium permits per business.
New parking manager Kevin O'Connor reported four appeals pending for the May 6 meeting and said all six appeals decided since October were upheld: "Total of six appeals since October of last year till now were heard, and all six were upheld by the commission." A Town Council ordinance change needed to resume appeal hearings is expected April 22, and O'Connor plans to recommend flat permit fees for the coming renewal cycle.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 883 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of April 1, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
NEW CANAAN — April 1, 2026 — The New Canaan Parking Commission got a construction timeline Wednesday for the long-planned reconstruction of the Park Street and Playhouse parking lots, with work expected to begin within two weeks and wrap up by mid-May.
The commission also heard the first formal report from its newly installed parking manager, Kevin O'Connor, who said four parking-ticket appeals are pending for the May 6 meeting and that all six appeals decided by the commission since October have been upheld. No formal votes were taken on substantive business; commissioners spent most of the 53-minute meeting reviewing project details, an appeals-ordinance timeline and permit policy for the coming year.
The Full Story
The commission's contracted project engineer, who joined by Zoom and was addressed throughout as Tiger, walked commissioners through the restriping and reconstruction plan for both lots, which the commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission approved last year. Crews will tackle the smaller Playhouse lot first, relocating town hall employees who use it to the Historical Society for the duration of the work, before moving to the larger Park Street lot. Tiger said preliminary work, including removal of several large trees and a utility pole to expand paved area, would take about a week to a week and a half, followed by roughly a week of milling and paving per lot. He estimated work beginning around April 15, paving starting by May 1 and the project finishing by May 15, with final striping by the town's contractor, Safety Markings, to follow.
The new layout converts a stretch of parallel spaces on the Park Street lot's southbound side to 90-degree, head-in parking, aside from three spaces that will remain parallel, and adds a five-foot-wide striped accessible walkway along the building line. Tiger said the project will also expand landscaped, green areas wherever pavement is not required. During construction of the Park Street lot, the town will stop charging for on-street parking, though time limits will still be enforced, Tiger and commissioners said.
Parking manager Kevin O'Connor, delivering his first monthly report since taking over the role, told commissioners the department is still resolving a financial reporting discrepancy between its parking-payment vendor and the town's finance system, which he described as a timing mismatch in when transactions are recorded rather than a revenue shortfall. He also previewed the coming permit-renewal cycle, business permits run July 1 to June 30 and commuter permits run September 1 to August 31, and said he will recommend keeping permit fees flat for the upcoming year, a decision commissioners are expected to formally take up in May. O'Connor and commissioners discussed whether to cap the number of premium parking permits any single business can hold at the Park Street lot, where the reconstruction will eliminate 12 spaces, and whether a waiting list of two for that lot's premium permits should keep shrinking through attrition rather than new sign-ups.
A commission liaison identified as Tucker updated the board on two parallel ordinance processes. An amendment needed before the commission can resume hearing parking appeals is scheduled to go before the Town Council on April 22; the council is finishing its budget review, with adoption expected April 14. Separately, the townwide charter revision commission will hold a public hearing on all of its recommendations, including draft language for the parking commission's charter article, on April 14, and expects to deliver its report to the Town Council around May 4. The council will then decide which recommended changes go before voters in a November referendum; Tucker said only items the charter commission formally recommends, not every topic discussed, are eligible to reach the ballot.
"The selectman has already approved it. First selectman has made this a high priority, or number one priority, for her." [07:04:00] — Tiger, project engineer for the parking lot reconstruction
"Total of six appeals since October of last year till now were heard, and all six were upheld by the commission." [07:41:00] — Kevin O'Connor, New Canaan parking manager
"That is scheduled to go to the town council at their meeting on April 22nd. They are still in the middle of the town council budget review." [07:22:00] — Tucker, commission liaison on the charter and ordinance review
Why It Matters
The Park Street and Playhouse lot overhaul is the most visible piece of downtown parking infrastructure the town has undertaken in years, and its timing during peak spring activity means residents and downtown employees will see altered traffic patterns, lost on-street charges and shifted parking through at least mid-May. The commission's separate appeals backlog, four cases now queued, will stay frozen until the Town Council approves an ordinance update, expected April 22, allowing hearings to resume at the commission's May 6 meeting. The broader charter revision process could also reshape the parking commission's own governing article, with voters getting the final say in November on whichever changes the Town Council forwards.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Motion to adjourn the meeting Tally: Approved unanimously
No other formal votes were taken; the restriping plan, permit-fee posture and ordinance items discussed Wednesday remain either previously approved or pending future commission action.
Source
Town Of New Canaan: New Canaan Parking Commission meeting, April 1, 2026