FARMINGTON – Selectmen are holding a public hearing at their meeting on Tuesday on proposed changes to the town’s traffic ordinance that would add the new Church Street parking lot and include its hours of operation. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Farmington Municipal Building.
The town’s Parking Committee made recommendations last month which would allow for overnight parking at the newly completed 27-space lot bordered by Church and Cony streets downtown.
The committee recommended having the entire lot be available for overnight parking from April 16 through Nov. 14. During the winter, defined as Nov. 15 through April 15, the Cony Street side of the lot would not be available for parking from midnight through 6 a.m., to allow for snow removal.
The six-month provision would keep that half of the lot in line with the majority of the other parking in the downtown that prohibits overnight stays during the winter. The only overnight parking allowed is a portion of the lot off Front Street north of the Better Living Center.
The east side of the Church Street lot’s 13 spaces, closer toward High Street, would be open for overnight parking year-round. The exception would be Sundays, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m., on both sides, to allow for the town to clear the lot. There are 14 spots on the Cony Street side of the lot.
The lot’s hours of operation will be set by a vote of the Board of Selectmen following the hearing on Tuesday.
The lot was officially opened on Sept. 6. Farmington’s Downtown Tax Increment Financing District’s revenue funded the project, which involved removing a deteriorating apartment building and constructing the new lot. Town officials approved the construction of the new lot to help ease the parking crunch downtown.
The parking is being used by mostly visitors of the court and employees of nearby business’. Parking is still difficult to find when shopping downtown or grabbing a meal.