Selectmen Approve Temporary Valet Parking On Greenwich Avenue

GREENWICH, CT — On Thursday, the Board of Selectman unanimously approved a temporary pilot program to install two valet parking stations along Greenwich Avenue in an effort to alleviate parking issues in the area and encourage residents to support local businesses during the holiday shopping season.

The idea for the program was conceived by Sebastian Dostmann and Alyssa Keleshian Bonomo of the Greenwich Community Projects Fund, who recently worked to bring holiday lights to the avenue this month. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

The service was offered to residents over the weekend of Dec. 12-13 and will be offered again during the weekend of Dec. 19-20, from noon to 6 p.m. both days. The two valet stations are run by Parking Productions.

According to John Dent, general manager of Parking Productions, his company has previously provided similar parking services within the town, and he was eager to get involved in this project to aid residents and businesses along the avenue.

"As it stands now, the proposal calls for two valet stations on the avenue just to provide an additional option for a busy holiday season," Dent said during the meeting, "when every realtor knows it can be difficult to get a [parking] spot on the avenue."

The proposal calls for one valet station at the corner of Lewis Street and Greenwich Avenue, utilizing spaces near J. Crew, and the second would be located in front of the Greenwich Arts Council near Havemeyer Place, Dent said.

"That way, we get coverage of the avenue," Dent said. "Anybody can easily access each station and have a reasonable walk to wherever they are headed."

He also noted the service would utilize private parking areas for the valet parking vehicles.

"This way there's no loss of town spaces," Dent said, "which would kind of be contrary to what we're trying to do in the first place."

To use the valet system, residents will pay $20 per car. Dent noted measuring success of the program would be a challenge, however having 50-100 cars, including turnover, utilize one of the two stations each day it is offered would be ideal.

"My goal ultimately," Dent said, "is to provide a nice alternative on the avenue, convenience for the residents and the non-residents...and to alleviate some of the parking issues that are there.

First Selectman Fred Camillo said the valet system could address a "decades-old issue" in the area of the avenue.

"No one wants to see, in Greenwich, stand-alone parking garages," Camillo said. "They're not attractive, and it's just been rejected time after time, so we have to really think outside the box and look at any and all concepts. Certainly this one here, I think, really has a chance to work and even be expanded down the road, so I'm happy to see this before us."

After Dent's initial presentation, the board discussed at length with Town Attorney Vincent Marino whether a Request for Proposal (RFP) was necessary.

"I'd hate to see the RFP process affect something that I think, ultimately, could be positive for the downtown," Marino said, "for businesses that are struggling because they can't get enough people [inside]. This may actually help. It addresses parking concerns."

The board ultimately unanimously decided to allow the two stations to operate as part of a pilot program for two weekends to collect data on the viability and demand for such a service, in an effort to promote in-person shopping during the busy holiday shopping period.

After running the program for two weekends, town officials will examine the data collected from the program to help determine if valet stations could be utilized as a possible solution to the town's "long-standing parking issues" along Greenwich Avenue.

"I think this is a great step forward," Camillo said, "which I hope and pray will really provide benefits [to the town] down the road."