![]() You can drive right up to the station, chain up your scooter, and get on a train without a hassle, and you can be sure it'll be there when you get back and that you'll be safe when you're unlocking it, putting on your helmet, and getting ready to go. Milford, Fairfield, Stamford (and I'm pretty sure every other MetroNorth station on the NH Line) have been able to cope with this. But they either don't care about the issue or don't understand it. It would be safer, of course, if they let us park under the garage in that rack next to the tracks. There aren't many streetlights, and on some nights there aren't other people around. ![]() But be a little careful if you come back late at night. Chain the bike to a pole or parking sign. If you park across from the police station you'll be fine. They have better things to do and they understand the issue. It was a big STFU.īut I've found that the police don't bother with scooters. The NHPA eventually returned one of my calls to tell me that scooter parking at the station was illegal, that there was no target date for changing this, and that the bike rack completion was delayed. They were polite messages, coming from someone who was a fellow traveler (I work on infrastructure issues in NYC and was at NJ DOT), which made their unresponsiveness somewhat surprising. My follow-up emails to him and the city traffic director - Mike Piscitelli - were unanswered. I started asking about this in early 2009 and was told by Sammy Parry, who I think is (or was) the director of parking at the station, that racks would be open to scooters by that summer. Is there any reasonable person working at this place? ![]() Is the NHPA the responsible agency or not? The guard made it sound like it was some kind of directive on high, but isn't the NHPA headquartered in the station itself? Or is it just impossible to find someone there who understands that you can park things other than cars? Bike racks that we could reasonably share are off-limits and moreover there seems to be no legal scooter parking at all for commuters at this station. Not to mention that if I didn't lock it up, my scooter would be gone in 2 minutes. The train ride to New York City is nearly 2 hours. He also said it was illegal to chain it to a parking meter or sign and that scooters are supposed to park at streetside metered spots. A policeman said that I could not park a scooter at the bike rack off State Street by the entrance to the station. (The rack was only 10% full - chalk it up to the heat). The guard at the gate said scooters were not allowed there. I tried to park my scooter (a 50cc Vespa) at the outermost bike rack under the garage. I've followed this thread for awhile now, and thought some of these issues might be resolved. It wouldn't be a bad location for a raised crosswalk (and flashing lights!) along the sidewalk where cars enter and exit the garage (often hastily) from Union Ave. We should mention in our letter that the heavily-trafficked intersection of Union Ave and Columbus Ave is going to need traffic calming and signs warning drivers of the presence of turning cyclists. Car drivers pay only $70 or so per month to park at the station, way below market rate. I agree that the existing keyholders are being grandfathered in, and that the enclosure is not being used in the most efficient way.īut I think the best use of our energies is to push for expedited construction of the new bicycle parking shelter, citing the massive subsidies in place for vehicles parking at Union Station that Mark mentions. But she is reluctant to issue any more keys because there are over 50 in circulation and the space often gets very crowded. They are issued by the secretary in the New Haven Parking Authority office in Union Station (2nd floor I believe). I managed to wrangle a key to the secure facility in the garage. But Eugene Colonese, CT Rail Administrator, should have the details on the project's progress as well. ![]() Bill Kilpatrick is the man in charge of the new bicycle parking facility installation. The New Haven Parking Authority has jurisdiction not only over the garage, but over Union Station as well. ![]()
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