The
conversation about parking ebbs and flows. A few years back there
was discussion of building a multi-level parking garage off
Bailey Avenue. The current discussion has taken on a new
dimension.
On the one hand there is the danger of
burying a stream near the Boys & Girls Club & creating
"too much asphalt".
On the other hand, there is an
idea, voiced by the First Selectman, to create a pocket park frontage
to hide more parking spaces on Catoonah -- a creative idea.
However, I have a different take. I'm not sure there is a
parking problem. I think there is a people problem. We chose
Ridgefield to live in, not for parking convenience.
This
is what I saw On Monday, July 17th at 1:00:40 pm.
Even though
these are snaps of one sliver of one summer week day, it still
raises the question (in my mind) whether we really do need more
parking spaces.
If it's for weekends or community
events, maybe we should consider walking more. We know taking
10,000 steps daily is a healthy goal.
I ask myself, if
downtown is so crowded on Saturdays, why are so many
businesses going out of business? Is everyone having coffee at
Tazza?
And what about weekday parking? Here's something else I
saw at 11:04:27 the same day.
A woman walked out of
this Main Street establishment and erased the chalk parking mark from
her right front tire.
While
I'm sure she's not alone in this kind of activity, I submit that
before we spend one additional taxpayer cent on more parking, we
FIRST address the people problem. Otherwise we
risk transforming our quaint village into a parking lot to
service the lazy and inconsiderate.
Jan Rifkinson
169 New
Road
