Business owners in Larchmont Village are concerned about the lack of affordable parking for employees and have taken the issue up with the Traffic Commission.
Several of them, not wishing to be identified, complain of “selective enforcement.”
“We don’t want them parking in spots for customers but there is no legal place for them to park on either end of town,” says one store owner. “The teachers at Chatsworth School park on Chatsworth and Larchmont Ave all day and they don’t get tickets, even though it’s 3 hour parking.”
“Ours are lower wage workers who can’t afford over $1000 a year in parking permits,” says another.”
One store owner’s idea is to issue permits to park legally all day on certain streets. Homeowners on the affected streets would get free permits.
The Traffic Commission suggests that businesses on the Palmer Avenue side of town purchase day permits for Lot 3, the elevated section of the train parking lot. Permits are $55 a year plus the meter for $5/day.
One resident complained to the Traffic Commission about the vertical spaces at the corner of Larchmont Ave and the Post Rd, saying even though it’s 2 hour parking, Village Hall workers park there all day.
The Commission recommended that employees near Boston Post Road park at Flint Park, where the parking is free, and will look into potential merchant parking at the lot behind Sherwood’s Restaurant.
The Traffic Commission recently voted in favor of permanent 2 hour street parking, rather than one hour.
This is an issue throughout Larchmont, and while it does seem true that teachers do not get ticketed on Chatsworth and Larchmont Ave., teachers DO get ticketed on some of the smaller side streets. The enforcement is irregular, and seems to correspond to residents who have complained. For all the workers in the area, who are in need of affordable, consistent all-day parking, these issues need to be resolved.
As a Larchmont resident and business owner this has been a sensitve subject for me and my employees. There is no way for my employees to economically arrange for legal parking here in town. So they have three choices–park leagally in permit spots that are expensive, park illegally and risk getting a ticket, or seek empoyment elsewhere. We need to come up with a reasonable solution or our local businesses will suffer. Perhaps the village would consider issuing employee parking permits that would allow either street parking outside the business district (but in town) or in shopper parking lots.
BTW Jen, U turns are illegal within any business district or when there is an oncoming vehicle within 500 feet according to New York traffic law. Hence the no U turn signs posted all over town.
I know that and I’m anti u turn….but I see it all day, everyday on Chatsworth ave…it seem like the locals get away and out of towners get the tickets…just sayin
mailmen park for free also in front of CVS park and dont get tickets, also you can make U turns in Larchmont and not get a ticket.
no way, i got a nasty tic for making a UTurn on L’mont Ave.
I feel for the workers because I avoid these areas for voluntary shopping – theres never a place to park. They NEED to be there. Business owners can get creative…have employees park in free spaces (maybe at one of the parks around town?) and shuttle them to work? i bet they could easily find a person with a minivan looking to make a litle extra pocket money to pick up at flint park for instance and drop off on main street at 8:30 then reverse the process at 5. That way, no one has to pay for parking spaces that are in high demand and low supply. Owners, get together with each other and come up with creative solutions so that workers dont have to stress every day over whether they can get to work on time because they cant park anywhere.